What Are The 10 Benefits of Beetroots?

What Are The 10 Benefits of Beetroots?

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This vibrant vegetable's lineage dates back to prehistoric times, when its wild cousin, the sea beet, grew on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It was recognized as a culinary and medicinal herb by the ancient Greeks, with the Romans being the first to cultivate it for its root.

Often overlooked by the more glamorous 'superfoods', beetroot has a lot to do with its high nitrate content and the fact that it is a rich source of many beneficial compounds which give beetroot its unique color.

So, what are the top 10 benefits of beetroot?

1. Its nutritional profile is very strong

Packed with plenty of beneficial vitamins and minerals, this earthy-tasting vegetable has an excellent nutritional profile.

Both leaves and roots are rich in folate. Folate is essential for the growth and repair of our cells and plays an important role in our immunity and nerve function. One raw medium beetroot provides 44% of the recommended daily intake.

The same beetroot provides us with 12% of the recommended daily intake of manganese. This mineral plays an important role in bone formation and supports antioxidant activity in the body.

Beetroot contributes potassium, magnesium, copper, iron, vitamin C, and zinc to our daily intake.

2. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory

Beetroot is one of the few plants that contains betalains: pigments that give red and yellow beets their distinctive colour. It has been found that betalains can reduce inflammation in the body.

Inflammation is considered a short-term response of our immune system to any damage to the body, which helps protect us from infection. However, if inflammation persists, it can become a problem and is recognized as a contributing factor to most chronic conditions, including heart disease.

Several preliminary studies suggest that beetroot extract has better anti-inflammatory effects than many synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs, including ibuprofen, which have undesirable side effects.

3. It is an antioxidant

Free radicals occur naturally as a byproduct of chemical reactions in the body. Unhealthy lifestyle factors such as smoking, stress, and poor diet can increase their production. If free radicals are left unchecked, they can cause damage called oxidative stress, which plays a role in many chronic health conditions.

Antioxidants can stop free radicals in their tracks, and we need to ensure a constant supply of them to keep things in balance.

Studies show that beetroot juice has a higher antioxidant capacity than other fruit and vegetable juices – only pomegranate has more.

4. Supports healthy blood pressure and heart health

High blood pressure, often symptomless, is a significant risk factor for heart disease and other conditions that affect the blood supply to the brain, such as stroke and aneurysm. It is estimated to affect 1 in 3 adults in the UK.

Poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and being overweight can contribute. In addition to overcoming these lifestyle factors, drinking beetroot juice can be a valuable tool in helping lower blood pressure.

Beetroot contains a high amount of nitrate, which gets converted into nitrous oxide when eaten. Nitrous oxide relaxes our veins and arteries, allowing blood to flow freely and lowering blood pressure.

Researchers funded by the British Heart Foundation found that drinking just 250 ml of beetroot juice every day significantly reduced blood pressure over the four weeks of the study.

Do not stop taking your prescribed blood pressure medicine without talking to your doctor.

5. Supports liver function

We ask a lot from our liver: It's constantly working to produce bile that helps eliminate harmful toxins and digest fats. It breaks down hormones, stores essential minerals and vitamins, and plays a role in energy production. So, if our liver is struggling, it affects all the other systems in our body.

The compounds present in beetroot help detoxify the liver, remove harmful toxins from the body, and prevent liver damage.

6. Improves athletic performance and aids recovery after exercise

When it comes to exercise, beetroot works well in improving both stamina and performance. For example, athletes who drink beetroot juice two hours before training can run shorter distances and train for longer periods before tiring.

Additionally, athletes who drank 250 ml of beetroot juice after intense training recovered much faster than those who did not.

This is all due to the nitrates in beets that improve our blood flow, which means oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the muscles more efficiently during exercise.

7. Supports brain health

Unfortunately, as we age, our brains get smaller. Not only this, the blood flow in our brain decreases. All of these things together contribute to reduced cognitive function, which means your memory doesn't work as well as it should, and you may find it harder to remember or learn new things.

Older studies have shown that drinking 450 ml of beetroot juice daily increases blood flow to the part of the brain we rely on for some of our memory functions, and our ability to switch rapidly between tasks. increases.

Much more research is needed in this area, but studies are currently underway to evaluate the effects of drinking beetroot juice on the blood supply to the brain.

What are the best ways to slow age-related brain shrinkage? Include physical activity in your daily routine, maintain healthy blood pressure, avoid processed foods, do not smoke, and avoid excessive alcohol consumption.

 8. Blood Sugar Control

We want our blood sugar levels to remain as stable as possible, but this can be affected by all sorts of things, including stress, lack of sleep, and poor diet. Irregular conditions can lead to inflammation and disease.

Drinking 225 ml of beetroot juice helps keep our blood sugar stable after meals due to the synergistic effect of the beneficial compounds present in it.

9. Supports friendly bacteria

Beetroot contains glutamic acid. This amino acid is essential for the health and maintenance of our intestine. Once eaten, it breaks down to form glutamine, which fuels cells in our intestines that help maintain a strong and selective barrier between our intestines and the rest of our body.

They contain a high amount of fiber, which provides food to our intestinal bacteria while passing through our intestines. Thousands of friendly bacteria in our digestive system perform many essential functions that help us stay healthy. These include aiding digestion, detoxification, vitamin production, keeping harmful bacteria in check, immune support, and balancing our mood. So we should try our best to keep them happy!

A 2021 study from the University of Exeter found that healthy people who drank 70 ml of beetroot juice twice a day had higher and lower levels of oral bacteria associated with good brain health than those who did not. Don't do this. Bacteria associated with inflammation.

10. They are versatile

Beets can be juiced, boiled, roasted (with goat cheese, and yams), grated raw into salads, pickled, fermented, or added to soups. Can be mixed. They can also be used to increase nutrient density and add texture to deserts like beetroot brownies.

To preserve their nutrients, the best way to prepare beetroot is to eat them raw or lightly steamed. Adding extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon enhances their taste. It aids the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients such as carotenoids and vitamins E and K, as well as the iron they contain.

Anything else I should know?

Beets, and especially beet leaves, which can be cooked like spinach, are high in the naturally occurring compound oxalate. High doses of oxalate may trigger kidney stone formation in sensitive individuals, so avoid it if you have a history of this condition.

Oxalates can be a problem for people who have digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome and malabsorption problems such as celiac disease and Crohn's. Beets are high in fructans, so if you know this particular FODMAP is causing problems for you, don't eat more than the equivalent of 2 slices at any one time.

Finally, beets can turn your urine red! This harmless condition, officially known as petunia, affects only 15% of the population.

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