Don’t die young; munch on carrots.

We’ve touched on some exotic vegetables here at Kaplifestyle, things like water chestnuts and jicama. Those are the role players. That’s not an insult; every great team needs role players, and these guys may make an All Star team here and there. But they’re not the perennial MVP candidate. No matter how hard they try, they will never have the versatility, widespread appeal or pound for pound nutritional punch of the carrot.

Carrots may be one of the most familiar vegetables, but most people only think of them as being good for the eyes (or rabbits). Perhaps because they are so recognizable, their amazing health benefits are typically overlooked.

We know that health is the first prerequisite for enhancing our well-being. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer worldwide. Eating colorful fruits and veggies is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of CVD over time. You know this. But the champion of the heavyweight bout? You can wrap the shiny belt around a bunch of carrots. From whfoods.com, discussing a 10 year longitudinal study from the Netherlands:

Intake of fruits and vegetables in the study was categorized by color and focused on four color categories: green, orange/yellow, red/purple, and white. Out of these four categories, orange/yellow (and in particular, foods with deeper shades of orange and yellow) emerged as most protective against CVD. And even more striking, carrots were determined to be the most prominent member of this dark orange/yellow food category. Participants who had the least carrot intake had the least amount of CVD risk reduction, even though they still received risk-reducing benefits from their carrot intake. However, participants who ate at least 25 more grams of carrots (with 25 grams being less than one-quarter of a cup) had a significantly lower risk of CVD. And the groups of participants who ate 50- or 75-grams more had an even more greatly reduced risk of CVD.

Carrots are inexpensive, found in every grocery store and one of the finest vegetables you can ingest. It’s simple; eat carrots, and you are less likely to die. They’re also amazingly easy to incorporate into your diet. Hand a kid a carrot, and they’ll probably eat it. Most vegetables get a turned up nose, but the sweetness and snap must be nature’s lure to assist in survival.

As a young boy, I remember peeling carrots in the sink. Now I don’t bother. A quick rinse gets any visible dirt off, and I like the deeper, earthy flavor that the peel adds.

They obviously work well in salads or as a vessel for dips like guacamole or hummus. Since they’re available worldwide, carrots form the base of soups, sauces and stews from dozens of different cuisines. If you can’t stand the flavor of greens alone in a juice or a smoothie, try throwing a few sticks and a red apple in the blender. You’ll add rich color and enough sweet pop to counter the bitterness of the leaves alone. If you still don’t dig the taste, down it anyhow, you’ll live (see?).

They’re versatile, affordable, healthy and tasty. I told you carrots were the MVP of the vegetable world.