Carrots May Be Key to Unlocking Microbiome’s Diabetes Defense System

January 20, 2025 journo

An anti-fungal agent produced naturally by carrots has been suggested in a new study to substantially aid in the regulation of blood sugar.

The authors suggest that carrots may be a useful, low-cost, non-pharmaceutical diabetes treatment, although as the study was only conducted in mice, they stress further studies are needed.

Americans are crazy about dieting. Health enthusiasts and those concerned about their weight have practiced every diet imaginable, but health researchers rarely have the time and funding to properly investigate their supposed benefits.

Among these many eating patterns are ones that aim to help the proliferation of beneficial microbes that live throughout the human GI tract. Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) recently found that two bioactive compounds in carrots were linked to better composition in the microbiome, including species that aid in the regulation of blood sugar.

“Everything we eat affects the composition of gut bacteria,” explains project coordinator Morten Kobæk Larsen, associate professor at the Department of Clinical Research, SDU. “Consuming carrots shifts the gut bacteria towards a healthier balance, benefiting mice with type 2 diabetes.”

The benefits of a healthy gut microbiota are manifold. One key feature to remember is that beneficial gut bacteria help to break down fiber in the gut, producing short-chain fatty acids in the process which our cells need for various processes including preventing colon cancer, reinforcing the gut lining, and regulating energy metabolism.

The study from SDU studied the effects of carrots over 16 weeks in two groups of mice—one that was diabetic and another that wasn’t. One group was fed with a diet containing a supplement of freeze-dried carrot powder, which was found by study’s end to have had a positive effect on blood sugar regulation.

KEEP THEM IN THE KITCHEN: Keep Out All the Christmas Spices – They’re Powerful Antioxidants Known as ‘Nutraceuticals’

“Our study showed that carrots altered the composition of the gut microbiome—the billions of microorganisms living in the gut that play a crucial role in digestion and health. Mice consuming carrots exhibited a healthier balance of gut bacteria,” said Larsen.

The chief bioactive compounds in carrots are called falcarinol and falcarindiol and are produced by the carrots and members of the carrot family like parsnips, fennel, and parsley, for the purpose of defending themselves from fungal infections. These phytonutrients are just two of many—originating in fruits and vegetables of all kinds—that seem to confer fitness-promoting effects to humans who eat them.

MORE FOOD-FOCUSED HEALTH: Eating Dark Chocolate Is Associated with Lower Risk of Diabetes Type 2 in Large Study

These compounds have many names; one may have read about polyphenols, terpenes, triterpenes, or carotenoids. All these variations provide for similar purposes: defending the plant against infections.

The researchers at SDU told Sci-tech Daily that they are currently securing funding for future trials in humans to investigate whether the effect in mice can be replicated in diabetics, as well as to find out which varieties of carrots contain the most falcarinol and falcarindiol.

GIVE Your Friends On Social Media A Bite Out Of This Good News Story…