This Vegetable Will Fix Everything Wrong In Your Body

Written by Chandrama Deshmukh  • 

Beetroot, with its lovely Bordeaux wine color, can be a polarising vegetable. Those who love it, love. Those who don’t, are repelled, disgusted, and will do anything to get away from it and everything it stains. It’s hard to imagine not falling in love with its color though. And it’s even harder to imagine not wanting to eat when we reveal to you its miraculous properties.

While in India we are only used to seeing the lovely, purple beetroot, globally there are multiple varieties of beet which come in many different colors. There are many varieties of beets, such as the Italian striped variety, golden – named for their color, and and green tops. The beet, a root vegetable, originally a native of the Mediterranean region stems from the Chenopodiaceae family same as chard and quinoa (1).

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Beets are definitely a miracle vegetable. They have a stunning variety of properties that appear to be an antidote or a cure to almost every ailment known to mankind. There appears to be a multitude of medical conditions and diseases that beet can help cure (2). You would have often heard of a doctor or a person knowledgeable in medicine telling you to consume beetroot to help with anemia (3). This is because beetroots are rich in the necessary minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper, potassium, iodine, and vitamins B1, B2, B12, and C.

This stunning range of essential nutrients, coupled with a sweet and earthy flavor, also makes beets a critical food staple for athletes, helping recharge their bodies with energy and improving endurance during long periods of training. If you have browsed websites for recipes of smoothies, then it’s highly probable that beetroot has been recommended as the key active ingredient. This is because of the high pectin and cellulose content, which not only aid in eliminating toxins from the body but also work to improve digestion.

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Apparently, every doctor across anatomical fieldsrecommends beets in some form or the other. For overall health, beets help improve cholesterol levels, the flow of blood, and support enhanced liver function. A general physician or a cardiologist may recommend beets to people vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases. Betaine, which is an amino acid, is found in strong compositions in beets, and work to improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Betaine also has anti-inflammatory properties. While betaine is also found in foods like Spinach, at 175 mg for just one cup beets are one of the highest sources for Betaine (4). Even anthocyanins, the pigment which gives beets their color, possess formidable anti-cancer properties, especially for breast, colon, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. By boosting blood flow, they also help decelerate aging and help towards curing fatty liver disease. Beets help boost blood flow through the presence of nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide for relaxation of blood vessels to carry essential nutrients throughout the body. Because of this presence of nitrates, beets have also been lauded for their properties in helping lower risk of Alzheimer’s and boosting brain activity, particularly in older people. By decelerating aging, beets may also be helpful in improving symptoms of macular degeneration.

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In India, we primarily serve it as a curry and perhaps raw as part of salads in some households, but there are some really interesting recipes one can try to mix it up as well. Beets can be eaten raw, steamed, baked, or even juiced as a smoothie. If you are buying the green tops variety or organic beets, make sure you do not discard the leaves. The greens from the beets fall in the same category as chard, kale, and other leafy vegetables as essential dark greens in your diet. The leaves are a rich source of potassium, especially when cooked. Or you can add the leaves as part of greens in your salad, too. Potassium is a critical electrolyte in maintaining healthy functioning of the body. In addition to a low-sodium diet, potassium-rich diets help in the calming of nerves and lowering the risk of strokes and heart diseases. The leafy parts of beets also contain zinc, protein, phosphorus, manganese, copper, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and more iron than spinach.  According to USDA, a serving of 100 grams of uncooked beets amounts to around 43 calories, 1.6 grams of protein, nominal fat levels, and 9.56 grams of carbohydrates, which can be further broken down into almost 3 grams are fiber and 6.8 grams of naturally occurring sugars (5). The high content of fiber works in easing constipation and improving digestion while making you feel lighter overall. Talk about a wholesome vegetable!

Don’t be worried about reddish stools once you start including beets regularly in your diet; this is completely normal. On a lighter note, this superfood has also been used as an aphrodisiac in ancient times, but there would be no harm in finding out if it still works! If you’re an avid home gardener, look no further than the humble beet for your next project.

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