We either love beets or we hate them, and people are usually quite well-divided over this subject. Some people use it as a natural food colorant and a good addition to the salad table, while others think it is too hard to work with. If you’ve hated beets all your life, it is time to perhaps rethink your decision and make it a part of your diet. Here are 7 health benefits of beets that will make you want to eat them more often.
1. Excellent Source Of Folic Acid
Folic acid is an essential nutrient that plays a role in the maintenance of brain health. In the first trimester of pregnancy, folic acid is essential to prevent neural tube defects in the growing infant. Luckily for us, beets are an extraordinary source of folic acid.1
2. Highly Antioxidant In Nature
Anthocyanins, the purple pigments that give beets their characteristic color, are some of the most potent antioxidant compounds around. They can fight off free radical damage and slow down aging as well as the development of cancer.2
3. Builds Immunity
Not many would guess correctly that beets contain vitamin C! This uncharacteristically sweet root veggie is actually abundant in vitamin C and thus helps us build immunity. Besides, vitamin C is an antioxidant by itself, so beets offer double the punch.3
4. Contains High Levels Of Vitamin A
That’s one more vitamin added to the repertoire. Vitamin A is essential for preventing night blindness, maintaining the health of the retina, and preventing age and environmental damage to the eye. Beets, you guessed it, are also good sources of vitamin A.4
5. Works As An Aphrodisiac
If the deep red color was no indicator, you’ll be surprised to know that beets have been used as an aphrodisiac since Roman times. Aphrodisiac foods often have components that get the hormones raging, and beets are one among them. Color your Valentine’s red velvet cake with beets and watch as they work their magic.5
6. Improves Running Performance
If the reasons so far haven’t been enough, let’s give you more. Beets are great for runners. It has been shown that nitrate ingestion can improve sports performance. However, nitrate intake from most sources such as supplements is dangerous to health over time. Taking nitrates through vegetables, though, does not have similar side effects. So, go ahead and make raw beets your perfect pre-run snack.6
7. Reduces Inflammation
While inflammation is actually an essential process in the body to ward off pathogens, chronic inflammation can be detrimental to health. Betalains are extracts of beetroot that have shown excellent anti-inflammatory activity, almost comparable to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Needless to say, eating beets over a period is always better than popping a pain pill ever so often.7
So how will you use beets in your food today? Stay healthy, experiment, and let us know how beets have fit into your life.
References
| ↑1, ↑2 | Jiratanan, Thudnatkorn, and Rui Hai Liu. “Antioxidant activity of processed table beets (Beta vulgaris var, conditiva) and green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.).” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52, no. 9 (2004): 2659-2670. |
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| ↑3 | Ismail, Amin, Zamaliah M. Marjan, and Chin W. Foong. “Total antioxidant activity and phenolic content in selected vegetables.” Food Chemistry 87, no. 4 (2004): 581-586. |
| ↑4 | Tressler, Donald K., James C. Moyer, and Katherine A. Wheeler. “Losses of vitamins which may occur during the storage of dehydrated vegetables.” American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health 33, no. 8 (1943): 975-979. |
| ↑5 | Attokaran, Mathew. “Beet Root.” Natural Food Flavors and Colorants: 79-81. |
| ↑6 | Murphy, Margaret, Katie Eliot, Rita M. Heuertz, and Edward Weiss. “Whole beetroot consumption acutely improves running performance.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 112, no. 4 (2012): 548-552. |
| ↑7 | Clifford, Tom, Glyn Howatson, Daniel J. West, and Emma J. Stevenson. “The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease.” Nutrients 7, no. 4 (2015): 2801-2822. |