For best anti-cancer boost, cook carrots whole

updated 2:02 p.m. ET June 17, 2009

LONDON - The anti-cancer properties of carrots are enhanced 25 percent if they are cooked whole rather than chopped up beforehand, a study has found.

They taste better too, according to scientists at Newcastle University, because more of their sugar is retained.

"Chopping up your carrots increases the surface area so more of the nutrients leach out into the water while they are cooked," said lead researcher Dr Kirsten Brandt.

"By cooking them whole and chopping them up afterwards, you are locking in both taste and nutrients."

Brandt, along with colleagues at the University of Denmark, discovered the health benefits of the anti-cancer substance falcarinol in carrots four years ago.

A blind taste test they conducted among 100 people also found 80 percent preferred the taste of whole-cooked carrots.

Also in msnbc.com Health   Teen suffers rare illness after H1N1 shot   Chemical in plastic bottles tied to impotence   When exercise is bad for your body 9 surprising places where germs lurk Dismal response to H1N1 epidemic   Animal Tracks: Eye candy for animal lovers

MORE FROM DIET AND NUTRITION

Diet and nutrition Section Front

Mon Dieu! French women do get fat, study says Healthy ice cream? Scientists set out to create it Is it a food allergy or food intolerance? 8 Thanksgiving recipe makeovers Big brewers battle it out in calorie-cutting Most obese pregnant women gain too much Food labeling program halts over FDA concern Red wine with meat not fish? It's science! Minn. city's get-healthy effort called a success U.N.: World hunger on the rise for a decade Diet and nutrition Section Front   Add Diet and nutrition headlines to your news reader: