Health Benefits of Beets
If you’re looking for highly nutritious and delicious vegetables to add to your diet, make sure you consider beets. For many, beets have been an overlooked vegetable that has not been enjoyed nearly as much as it should. Once you learn about the health
benefits of beets, you will definitely be adding it to your next grocery list. Beets are root vegetables that have many ways of being served. They can be on their own, added to salads, roasted and pickled. You can also consume them raw as well. No matter how you enjoy them, you’ll want to take a moment to learn about all the great health benefits of this wonderful vegetable.
Nutritional Information of a Beet
Beets are loaded with a broad range of essential nutrients. Understanding what the beets contain will help you add them to a properly balanced diet. So, with that in mind, let’s look at the most important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that you’ll get from beets:
- Folate (B9) – One cup contains 148 mcg of Folate, which is about 37% of your RDA.
- Vitamin C – You’ll get 6.7 mg of vitamin C or 11% of your RDA.
- Potassium – 442 mg of potassium can be in a serving, which is 13% of the RDA.
- Manganese – 22% of your RDA of manganese in a serving.
- Iron – 1.1 mg of iron, which is about 6% of your RDA.
- Protein – 2.2 grams of protein.
- Calories – Just 55.5 calories in a cup.
- Carbs – 13 g of carbs (3.8 g fiber, 9.2 g sugar).
In addition to these essential vitamins and minerals, beets also contain a variety of valuable plant compounds. Including Betaine (which gives beets the red color) and has
shown to provide health benefits and inorganic nitrate, which can be transformed into nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide
helps aid many essential functions. Now that you have a good summary of the nutritional information, let’s take a look at some of the specific known health benefits of this incredible root.
Improved Physical Endurance Studies show beetroots can improve running and cycling performance due to their high inorganic nitrate content. It has been shown to
increase stamina, allow for
improved use of oxygen and
improve your exercise performance. Eating a serving of beets before endurance activities such as a long run or extended workout session will help you to perform better. It will help improve your health because you can more easily complete your overall exercise routines.
Fights Hypertension
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can lead to many harmful health issues including heart problems and stroke.
Studies have shown that diets high in inorganic nitrates, such as beets, can help to reduce blood pressure by increasing the formation of nitric oxide in the body. There have been many different studies done on this, which found blood pressure dropped by between 3 and 10 mm/Hg within a few hours of consuming beets (study
1,
2,
3,
4). If you have hypertension or your doctor’s report that you are at risk of this condition, consider adding a serving of beets to your diet to help get it under control. As part of an overall healthy diet and exercise routine, this may be able to help improve heart health and even minimize the need for blood pressure medications.
Battle Inflammation
Inflammation is one of the biggest risk factors for many conditions. While inflammation can be a good thing after an injury (for a short time) it can be deadly when it occurs in your blood vessels and other areas of the body. The Betaine found in beets helps to protect cells, proteins, and enzymes from stresses in their environment. It also fights the inflammation that can cause so many problems.
Studies have shown that this can help to keep internal organs healthier and reduce vascular risk factors. Beets contain high levels of Betaine. In fact, they are the best source of this nutrient in any common food. Simply consuming beets on a regular basis will give you sufficient amounts of Betaine to get a variety of inflammation-fighting benefits.
Potential Cancer-Fighting Properties
Ongoing studies are still needed to confirm the cancer-fighting properties of beets, but current evidence suggests that the phytonutrients in beets can help to prevent cancer. Animals who consume beetroot extract seem to have reduced the risk of multi-organ tumors. There is also a growing amount of
evidence that suggests humans who get these nutrients will have fewer instances of pancreatic, breast and prostate cancers. While additional research certainly needs to be done, it seems clear that beets are a great addition to any cancer-fighting diet.
Warning: It’s Not Blood in Your Urine & Stool
While there are obviously many great health benefits from beets, there is one very common ‘problem’ that has sent many people to the hospital after eating beets. The dark red coloring of the beets will come through in your urine and stool. Often this is mistaken for blood, which has resulted in many people visiting the emergency room because they thought something was seriously wrong. The fact is, this change in coloring is not harmful at all, even if it can be a little startling when you first notice it. The red pigments can come through in your urine and stool for a couple of days after consuming beets, so make sure you are aware of this, so you don’t get worried at the change in color. With that in mind, start adding beets to your diet today to enjoy their great flavor and impressive overall health benefits for years to come.