The Unusual Vegetable Juice That Can Prevent Heart Disease And Cancer At The Same Time

Heart disease and cancer remain among the most commonly diagnosed medical conditions for adults in the U.S. According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease affects millions of people and leads to death for hundreds of thousands annually. Cancer is prevalent, too, with the National Cancer Institute estimating that more than two million individuals are expected to be told they have cancer in 2024.

Given these realities, it makes sense to lower your risk of developing heart disease or cancer. And a solid preventative strategy is to nourish your body with foods and beverages that boost your cardiovascular health as well as provide protection against cancer, like black carrot juice.

Black carrot juice is derived from (what else?) "black" carrots, which are actually a deep purple color. As noted in a 2024 review in Applied Food Research, black carrots contain significant levels of anthocyanins and polyphenols. The anthocyanins are what make them purplish-black and provide hypertension-decreasing, arterial plaque-lowering antioxidants. For their part, polyphenols act to decrease both inflammation and cancerous cell growth.

Registered dietitian Angel Luk shared her knowledge of black carrot's preventative properties with Health Digest. "Black carrots contain anthocyanins, carotenoids, and polyphenols. If I were to personify these compounds, I would liken them to attentive gardeners that prune away diseased parts of a plant and shoo away harmful pests, then nurture and restore the remaining plant to flourish once more."

Just how do all the special components of black carrots combine to support a stronger, healthier body? "These compounds work together like a superhero assembly, each playing a crucial role to reduce cancer risk," Luk explained. "Polyphenols are toxic to cancer cells, so their presence stops tumor cell growth. Preclinical data from [a 2020 study in Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids] is also showing that carotenoids may help with reducing cancer cell growth or causing cancer cell death. Anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid, neutralize free radicals, which means they delay and reduce cell damage, preserving the health of all of the body's cells."

Essentially, this means that swapping out orange carrot juice (which doesn't have quite the same beneficial effect because of fewer anthocyanins) for black carrot juice might be a good move. However, you might wonder if you should just eat black carrots in their raw form rather than go the juice route. 

Luk speculated that you'd probably be right, since the 2024 review recommended storing black carrots in the dark, under moderate temperatures, and in sealed containers to retain their maximum nutritional value. "Eating black carrots raw or lightly cooked would offer the most nutrition since most high-powered blenders in today's marketplace would introduce a lot of heat and air due to the friction of the moving blades."

A 2021 study (via Foods) backs Luk's suggestion to consider nibbling on black carrots in their whole form, as it focused on the bioaccessibility of the polyphenol-related nutrients in black carrots. According to the researchers, black carrots offered a very high level of nutrient bioaccessibility when they were eaten in raw, snackable form.

Of course, the biggest issue might not be whether to try black carrot juice, but where to find it. Black carrot juice may be a trendy food, but it's not as widely available as orange carrot juice. Therefore, you may have to investigate your local organic foods store or order it online (Amazon sells fermented black carrot juice and this black carrot juice blend).

If you're an avid gardener, you could also buy black carrot seeds and grow this visually intriguing vegetable, taking care to properly store your harvests as Luk described. This would allow you to substitute your black carrots for regular carrots whenever you like. Or, you could make small batches of fresh black carrot juice at home from your personal supply.