Many if not most people like to start the day off right with a sparkling glass of orange juice, and this is not a practice that anyone should discard lightly. It might, however, be wise to consider alternating this healthy and delicious breakfast drink with another equally healthy, tasty beverage of a similar hue, carrot juice.

Although not as readily available as the better known citrus drink, carrot juice not only tastes good, it is a source of many essential vitamins and minerals. While orange juice is most closely associated with vitamin C, carrot juice is a tremendous source of vitamin A, via the proto-vitamin, beta carotene, which the liver converts to vitamin A.

Regrettably vitamin A is a vitamin that many people simply do not ingest in sufficient quantity. Vitamin A deficiency is no laughing matter. It manifests early on as night blindness, and can lead to total blindness. The immune system may become compromised making the bodies ability to deal with infection suspect. In extreme cases vitamin A deficiency leads to death.

A single 8 ounce glass of carrot juice supplies about eight times the daily requirement of vitamin A.

But that is not all that carrot juice offers. Carrot juice, like the vegetable it springs from, is a source of vitamins C, E, and K, and minerals like aluminum, copper, zinc, iron, phosphorus and calcium.

Carrot juice is available at health food stores, organic foods shops, and shops catering to the vegetarian life style as well. But to really enjoy the full range of carrot juices' benefits and culinary possibilities, it is best to juice your own carrots. It takes a bit more than a pound of carrots to produce an 8 oz. glass of carrot juice, and it takes a reasonably robust juicer to reduce the carrots, they are a "tough" vegetable when raw. To avoid straining your juicer, cut the carrots into 5 or six pieces each before running through the juicer.

Carrot juice is tasty in and of its self, but for a real treat try this superb recipe, courtesy of WWW.CarrotJuice.com:

Apple Ginger Carrot Juice

You will need:

A juicing machine

8 large cleaned carrots, about a pound

inch of fresh ginger

2 large ripe granny Smith apples

1 sprig of mint

Wash and cut the carrots, ginger and apples into pieces to avoid straining your juicing machine. Place a glass under the juicers spout, and feed the carrots, apples and ginger in. Stir the results to blend them completely. Garnish with the mint, bottoms up and enjoy!

However you prepare it remember to incorporate carrot juice into your dietary plan; it is good and good for you as well.

Carrot juice; it's the other OJ!

Learn more about this author, Mac Pike.
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