The Health Benefits Of Beets

Beets are a root vegetable that are unfortunately often forgotten and neglected in the modern diet.

They have been eaten around the world for hundreds of years in various forms and have tremendous health benefits.

With today’s busy schedules, it’s difficult to find time to eat healthy and take proper care of your body.

However, a sure-fire way to boost your overall health is to introduce beets into your diet.

Beets can help maintain your mental and physical energy, provide your immune system with the valuable vitamins and minerals it needs, and even reduce your blood pressure.

As a naturopathic doctor, I’m often asked for some healthy diet tips from my patients, which is why I put together this article.

Nutrition is the core backbone of a healthy diet and has even all but eradicated many illnesses.

It’s worth spending some time to understand what a balanced nutritional diet looks like, and how you can change your current eating habits to benefit your health.

Nutrition is also closely connected to your gut health, which is important for your body’s digestive system, immune system, and even the regulation of your brain health.

RELATED ARTICLE: 3 Ways To Improve The Health Of Your Gut

Keep reading this article to find out more about why beets are so helpful for your diet, as well as a few tasty and healthy ways to prepare them.

Health Benefits of Eating Beets

Beets are a wealth of essential nutrients, including protein, zinc, fiber, B vitamins, and potassium.

Each of these play a critical role in helping your body develop new cells and maintain the health of existing cells.

One of the most profound effects of beets comes from their high level of healthy nitrates, which are converted into nitric oxide by your body.

Nitric oxide causes your blood vessels to dilate, allowing for lower blood pressure and overall better blood flow.

RELATED ARTICLE: What Causes High Blood Pressure And How To Reduce It

This allows your blood to more readily provide your muscles and brain with oxygen, which leads to improved mental and physical strength.

The benefits of improved physical strength will be seen in many of your daily physical activities or hobbies.

You could also see cardiovascular improvements in your running ability, which offers many other health benefits too.

Beets can really help with all this.

Plus, they contain a multitude of antioxidants, the most powerful of which is called betalain.

While all antioxidants have major health benefits, such as aiding in detoxification, betalain stands above the rest because it has been proven to help decrease the risk of cancer .

Beet greens (the leaves that sprout from the red beetroot we generally eat) are equally as nutritious, so don’t toss them away.

There is promising research that indicates that the flavonoids found in beet greens may help to reduce liver damage caused by a high fat diet.

However, further research is required.

Beets are also among the best plant-based sources of iron, more than even spinach.

Beets also grow locally here in Ontario and can often be found at farmers’ markets.

So if you’re working on eating more locally, beets are a great addition to your diet.

Ways to prepare beets

Now that you know that you’d like to begin bettering your body with beets, let’s address how to prepare them!

If you’re dealing with a picky eater, there are strategies that can help.

There’s really no wrong way to enjoy beets, but here are some popular options.

Beet Chips

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.

2. Clean your beets under warm water to remove any dirt or other contaminants.

3. Using a mandolin, carefully slide the beets into even chips.
The more consistent the thickness, the more evenly they will cook.

4. Place the beets onto a cooking pan and drizzle or coat them with your choice of seasoning. For a savoury chip, use pepper, salt, and olive oil. For something sweeter, use local honey and brown sugar.

Beet Juice

1. Ensure that your beets are clean by rinsing them with warm water.

2. Run them through your favourite juicer.

3. Combine the juice with juice from other tasty and healthy ingredients; apples, carrots, celery, ginger, and lemon all combine great with the flavour of beets.

Pickled Beets

1. Rinse your beets and place them in a large stock pot, allowing them to be covered with water.

2. Allow the beets to boil for 15 to 20 minutes, and then discard the water, retaining 2 cups to be used later.

3. Add your beets, along with several whole cloves to sterilized jars.

4. In a pot, combine your remaining beet water with vinegar, sugar, and pickling salt, and bring it to a boil.

5. Pour the mixture into the jars with the beets, and seal tight.

6. Carefully place the jars in a large stockpot filled with boiling water and allow the jars to remain for 10 to 15 minutes.

7. Once removed, your beets will be ready to enjoy.

Eat To The Beet

It’s important to note that beets have among the highest sugar content of any vegetable.

They’re also fairly high in carbohydrates.

As a result, they should be eaten in moderation.

However, you’re safe to eat them a few times a week.

And don’t worry if you find yourself craving them more.

It’s totally natural to crave sugar, but the good news is that there are ways you can manage your sugar cravings, if this is something you need.

Eat beets any more often than a few times a week and you might get sick of them anyway!

This only applies to the root though.

Beet greens don’t have these concerns, so you can eat as much as you like.

Book Your Appointment With The Mindful Healing Clinic Today

Now that you understand the benefit of eating beets, and are armed with a few healthy and easy recipes, it’s time to better your life with the benefits of beets.

If you have any questions, or would like to find any additional information, contact me, Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, Naturopathic Doctor to book your FREE 15-minute introductory health consultation.

You’ll get a chance to sit down with me to talk about your health concerns.

I’ll answer all your questions, and from there we can talk about how naturopathic medicine can help you.

Book your appointment with The Mindful Healing Clinic today.