Spiritual Forum

Carrots to Help Nourish Astronauts with Phytonutrients

Posted by Jazmin on November 16, 2009 at 5:05am in Food, Health and Nutrition
The following article by S. L. Baker was transcribed verbatim from:http://www.naturalnews.com/027489_astronauts_carrots.htmlCarrots going into space to help nourish astronauts with phytonutrientsSaturday, November 14, 2009 by: S. L. Baker, features writerKey concepts: Carrots, Astronauts and FoodView on NaturalPedia: Carrots, Astronauts and Food(NaturalNews) NASA has announced there's evidence of frozen water on Mars and the moon, raising hopes humans will eventually explore and colonize those and other neighbors in our solar system and beyond. Already, astronauts live for long periods aboard the International Space Station. And, like their earth-bound counterparts, those space travelers need good nutrition -- especially when you consider they are faced with the extra stresses of cramped living conditions and exposure to excessive radiation.Now new research just published in the Institute of Food Technologists Journal of Food Science has provided a way astronauts can grow their own gardens of health-enhancing fresh veggies, starting with carrots, aboard their spacecraft.So why should carrots in particular be such an important part of astronauts' diets? Carrots are loaded with phytochemicals in the carotenoid family (highly pigmented fat-soluble compounds found in many fruits, grains, oils, and vegetables). Alpha, gamma and beta carotene, which is particularly plentiful in carrots, are antioxidants that are transformed within the body into an active form of vitamin A. Researchers believe adding unprocessed, carotene-rich carrots to astronauts' diets can help protect space travelers from the negative effects of excess radiation which include an elevated risk of cancer.In fact, as previously reported in NaturalNews (http://www.naturalnews.com/026756_c...), scientists have associated the high carotenoid content of carrots with protection against not only cancer but also cardiovascular diseases, cataracts and macular degeneration.In order to investigate ways to incorporate natural and fresh antioxidants into the diets of astronauts, researchers from Tuskegee University in Alabama grew carrots using hydroponics, a technology for growing plants in nutrient-enriched water instead of in soil. In all, the scientists grew 18 different varieties of carrots using two different hydroponic approaches. In one, called the nutrient film technique (NFT), roots were exposed to a nutrient solution held inside a plastic film trough. The second method, known as the microporous tube membrane system (MTMS), involved planting carrots in nutrient tubes embedded into a material dubbed Turface which is similar to crushed clay.Seventy days after planting, all the carrots were harvested and tested for moisture, fat and carotene content as well as for color and texture. The researchers also had consumer volunteers test the hydroponically grown carrots. The group evaluated the color, crunchiness, sweetness, fibrousness and blandness of each of the 18 different carrot types grown using NFT and MTMS. The volunteers also told the scientists which carrot they preferred overall.The results showed that all the hydroponically grown carrots had similar moisture content and contained close to the same amount of carotenes. However, the hydroponic carrots grown using the MTMS method were most appealing to consumers, primarily because of their better color and more carrot-like appearance. There was one carrot variety that had the highest overall ranking. "The Nevis-F carrot cultivar grown using the NFT method had the highest carotenoid content and acceptability among consumers, and therefore, it will be the most likely choice for inclusion in NASA's food system, lead researcher A.C. Bovell-Benjamin said in a statement to the media.
Views: 15

You need to be a member of Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community to add comments!

Join Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community

Tags: astronauts, carrots, food, phytonutrients
Email me when people reply –
Follow

Latest Discussion

Most Popular Discussion

Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives

Latest Activity

RichRaelian posted a status
Hello! Thank you for allowing me to continue here I really appreicate it.
1 hour ago
Hellen left a comment on Comment Wall
"<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/okImad_pS4U?si=ilo2RBVBpG680yUM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;…"
3 hours ago
Hellen left a comment on Comment Wall
"Listening to Rendlesham Forest was an interesting view. These men were very young when this incident happened. One of the men in this interview was badly mistreated. There must have been a lot of people involved in this incident . Larry was the…"
3 hours ago
Hellen left a comment on Comment Wall
"There were a lot of sightings of UFOs, especially in the early years. I once saw an interview with this individual who was stationed at a base. He said he saw spaceships coming through this building. He mentioned that this spaceship had grey aliens…"
3 hours ago
Hellen left a comment on Comment Wall
"Whenever there is a major UFO event, there is always military personnel among the witnesses and a lot of confusion and suppression. Some witnesses have never spoken for decades after UFO events."
4 hours ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"Back to politics and it's rather amusing to observe how irrational lefty lawyers are, when it comes to conflating illegal migrants with refugees....Genuine refugees are grateful to this country and offer their identification documents, freely, at an…"
14 hours ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"A new movie about the Rendlesham "UFO" incident, is called; "Capel Green," and it's producer and director, Dion Johnson, is interviewed, along with a couple of very reliable witnesses to the 1980 event.....Note how the interviewer tries to get a…"
17 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Two more day of ignoble festivities"
17 hours ago
More…

New Blog Posts