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RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Waiting to chop up your carrot until after it’s been cooked can preserve a significant amount of anticancer properties in the veggie, according to new research out of the United Kingdom. The findings were presented at a conference in France earlier this month.

THE DETAILS: Scientists at Newcastle University found that “boiled-before-cut” carrots boasted 25 percent more of the anticancer compound falcarinol than those that were chopped up before cooking. A blind taste test also found that people considered those carrots more appetizing than the ones cut before cooking. “Chopping up your carrots increases the surface area, so more of the nutrients leach out into the water while they are being cooked,” explains Kirsten Brandt, PhD, based in Newcastle University’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and the Human Nutrition Research Centre. Brandt’s interest in carrots began four years ago, when she and colleagues found that rats fed carrot-rich diets were more than 30 percent less likely to develop full-scale tumors compared to those who weren’t. They cited falcarinol as the protective substance.

WHAT IT MEANS: The carrot is mighty. This veggie powerhouse contains antioxidant compounds that can protect against not only cancer, but cardiovascular disease, too. Carrots are the richest vegetable source of vitamin A, which can cut postmenopausal breast cancer risk by 20 percent, and decrease your chances of getting bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, or larynx cancer. Some researchers say a carrot a day can cut your lung cancer risk in half. Carrots are also beneficial to diabetics because they can help regulate blood sugar. Raw carrots contain many nutrients, so don’t think you have to boil them to benefit.