The answer: how long to cook carrots to best fight cancer (and a story of healing)

In my last post, I said I’d share info about how long to cook carrots in order boost their cancer-fighting properties by as much as 25%. I heard back from the press officer at Newcastle University, who wrote: “In the research the team boiled the carrots for different lengths of time and the longer you boil them for - the more nutrients leech out.” Walking our dog this morning, I shared this with my husband, who said, “I wonder if this has anything to do with why chicken soup is so healing.” I researched this and found some interesting articles (see links below), but what came to mind was a memory far more vital and enriching than any information I gleaned online. I remembered bringing my friend, Sandy, chicken soup, two and a half years ago. She had advanced lung cancer, and hardly any appetite. I asked if she’d like some chicken soup, and because she said “Sure,” I made some right away. Although I’ve always loved making chicken soup for friends, in this case I was especially eager to help, because although there was no longer hope for Sandy’s survival, there was still hope for her comfort and pleasure. Her husband Michael called me about a week later, and said that Sandy had requested more of my chicken soup. Again, I immediately went to Farmer Joe’s and bought the best organic chicken, carrots, onions, celery, parsnips (my mom’s secret ingredient), and lemons (my secret ingredient), and added all the love in my heart (the universal healing ingredient), and drove straight to Sandy’s, mason jars of hot soup in tow. Sandy was in the living room, her long legs stretched across the length of the sofa. I asked if I could give her a very gentle hug. She allowed me to, but wasn’t up to visiting, so I told her I loved her, and left. Michael called me two days later to say that Sandy had passed away. He added that she ate my soup, and that it gave her pleasure. I can’t express how much comfort it gave me to know that I was able to help in some small way. I adored Sandy – still do. What a brilliant, strong, assertive woman, a woman who taught me much about speaking my mind. She would have loved learning this information about carrots, and I bet we would have laughed together about over-cooking vegetables. I miss her so much. Think I’ll make some more chicken soup before it gets too hot outside, and freeze it, just in case a friend gets a summer cold. And, as a bonus, I won’t feel bad about overcooking the carrots anymore. Making them mushy makes them sweeter and more potent. Wonder if there’s a lesson in that… Always hope,rnLorirn--rnLori HopernAuthor • Editor • Essayistrnwww.LoriHope.comrn-- Interesting information re: chicken soup: Chicken soup helps heal, shows research (includes info on the healing benefits of ingredients)rnExcerpt: “Carrots, one of the routine vegetable ingredients found in chicken soup, are the best natural source of beta-carotene. The body takes that beta-carotene and converts it to vitamin A. Vitamin A helps prevent and fight off infections by enhancing the actions of white blood cells that destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.” Foods to Fight Your Cold Looking for a cold remedy? Get the facts on 10 cold-fighting foods. Chicken Soup Offers Stress Relief for Pandas Excerpt: “Your grandmother probably prescribed chicken soup if you had a cold, were run down or simply weren't feeling well. Chinese zookeepers have taken a page from her recipe book, having fed a pair of stressed-out pandas some homemade chicken soup as a way to calm their nerves. . .” -- This post originally appeared on Lori's CarePages blog, "Hope for Cancer: what helps. what hurts. what heals."