By Dr. Siddhant Bhargava,
Co-Founder, Fitness & Nutritional Scientist – FOOD DARZEE
Have you ever contemplated on what would happen if you include beet in your diet every single day? The answer is you would get nothing but healthier day by day. Considered to be one of the healthiest and nutrition-high veggies, beetroot is the taproot portion of the beet plant. Apart from being utilized as an edible, beetroot is also popularly known and utilized as a healing plant and as a food colorant. It is needless to know that right from the middle ages, beetroot has been used not just as food, but also as a cure for several health conditions and since long has also been used a treatment for anaemia. Prevalently known as a beet, blood turnips or Chukandar, the vegetable is a common sight in the kitchens of Indian households.
We often wonder where the vegetable gets its red colour from, this can mainly be credited to betalain, a pigment that beets typically contain. Apart from this, another variety of beets are the white beets which are cooked the similar way as their red cousins, but without the issues with the colour. In golden beets, which is firm, healthy and sweet, the root is pale orange in colour, while the flesh is of the same colour. These are low in their calorie content and are tremendously rich in fibres. They also are an extremely good source of potassium and calcium. Beets can also be consumed in the form of crystals – wherein the juice of beets is concentrated into soluble crystals, which can be amalgamated with another drink and taken.
But are beets really good for you?
Beets are low in sodium and fat content which is a clear example of the many wonders of beetroot. This miracle vegetable is a good source of folate and hence helps in supporting psychological and emotional health and well-being of a person. Beets contain a bag full of vital nutrients like iron, copper, potassium, manganese, and magnesium, all of which have their individual health advantages. Consumption of beets in their raw form also showers one with terrific benefits due to its ability to avert cancer. Apart from the vegetable, even its leaves have something to offer. Beet greens, as they are generally called, are power-packed with essential minerals like fibre and protein. They also encompass vitamin K which is known for its blood clotting properties and calcium which is very essential for the strengthening of bones and teeth.
Drinking beet juice or soup can prove to be extremely healthy for your health. Just 200 ml of the juice per day is more than enough to procure its benefits. Even though beet juice is a more concentrated source of betalains, beet in its cooked form will contain more fibre. So, the questions that immediately pop our mind is what’s the point of juicing the vegetable. Well, an important point to consider here is that beet juice encompasses all those vital nutrients that might otherwise be lost in the cooking process. The juice is also lighter and easier to digest.
Beets Nourishment Facts
- Energy – 45 cal
- Carbohydrates – 9.56 g
- Protein – 1.4 g
- Total Fats – 0.17 g
- Cholesterol – 0 mg
- Dietary Fibre – 2.80 g
- Folates – 109 mg
- Niacin – 0.334 mg
- Zinc – 0.35 mg
- Betaine – 128.7 mg
- Iron – 0.80 mg
- Manganese – 0.329 mg
- Magnesium – 23 mg
Health Benefits of Beetroot
1. Extremely beneficial for the Heart: The nitrate content in beets helps to lower the blood pressure and condense the peril of heart ailments and strokes. It has been researched that just one week of regular drinking of beetroot juice can recover stamina and blood pressure in elderly individuals who are at a danger of heart failure. Consumption of beet juice averts myocardial infarction (obstruction of supply of blood to a tissue in the heart). The vegetable also recovers the distribution of oxygen to the functional skeletal muscles.
2. Averts Cancer: Beetroot extract has a major ability to avoid breast and prostate cancers. This can be accredited to the presence of betanin in beetroot. It can also help to prevent skin and lung cancers. Moreover, beetroot juice, when consumed along with carrot extract, has a possibility to aid in the treatment of leukaemia. Beets are majorly supported by anticancer and chemopreventive properties and betanin has a unique ability to considerably reduce cancer cell production.
3. Extremely beneficial for liver: Beets are considered to be among the best foods to fortify a healthy liver, thanks to the presence of calcium, betaine, B vitamins, iron, and antioxidants. Beets are also known to thin the bile, letting it to effortlessly flow through the liver and small intestine. This nothing but improves liver health. Betaine in beets also facilitates the liver to eradicate unwanted toxins while the fibre content clears the toxins that have been detached from the liver ensuring they don’t re-enter the body.
4. Good for Pregnant women: The nitrate supplementation in beet is very helpful for expecting mothers. Beets are very rich in folic acid, which is one very good reason for pregnant mothers to incorporate them in their daily diet.
Apart from these various health advantages the beetroot also aids in the process of digestions, keeps blood sugar under control, promotes brain health, helps prevent osteoporosis, recovers skin health, upsurges the level of anti-oxidant and helps in weight loss to name a few. Beetroot is becoming increasingly popular among athletes as it has been shown to lessen the level of blood pressure and improve stamina. This is because it comprises of augmented nitrite levels, which are transformed to nitric oxide in the body. Whether you are a sportsperson or not, this superfood definitely helps to unwind blood vessels thus refining blood flow and circulation.