The health value of eating beets is nothing short of remarkable. Let’s delve in immediately, because you may need good reason to want to eat beets. They don’t necessarily have a flavor that appeals to everyone! That’s why they’ve come up with beet gummies, beet powders, beet crystals, etc., as ways to get the nutritional value of beets into you, even though you may not like the taste. And – I’ll be honest – the only form of beets that I really do strongly like is pickled beets! But if you like them in other forms, more power to you, you’ll benefit from them more easily than the rest of us.
Why Are Beets So Good for You?
- Beets are packed with essential nutrients. Beets contain a variety of essential vitamins and minerals. One of their standout features is their rich vitamin C content, a potent antioxidant that strengthens the immune system and promotes healthy skin. Beets are also a great source of folate, a B vitamin that plays a crucial role in cell division and is particularly important for pregnant women to support fetal development. The potassium in beets supports healthy blood pressure
levels and proper nerve and muscle function. Beets also contain manganese, which contributes to bone health and aids in metabolism. - Beets are high in dietary fiber. Beets are very high in fiber! We probably don’t really have to go into why fiber is good for you, but in case you don’t remember why fiber is good for you for some reason, you need fiber for proper digestion and bowel regularity, and it helps prevent constipation. If you’re trying to lose weight, fiber helps you feel full longer! So beets are great in the fiber department.
- Beets are heart-healthy. Beets are great as well in the heart health department! They have naturally occurring nitrates that are converted into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide relaxes and widens your blood vessels, helping to improve your blood flow and reduce blood pressure! So that means beets can potentially reduce your risk of heart disease and assist your cardiovascular health.
- Beets are full of antioxidants. Do you know what gives beets such an unusual dark red hue? It comes from the powerful antioxidants that reside in beets called betalains. These antioxidants do a bang-up job scouring your body for free radicals – those troublemakers that can damage and inflame cells and cause oxidative stress in your body. By performing their antioxidant function, betalains can potentially reduce the risk of chronic diseases including cancer.
- Beets are great for the brain.The same naturally-occurring nitrates that improve blood flow and lower blood pressure for the heart, also have positive effects on your brain! If the blood flow to your brain is increased, your thinking ability may be enhanced, potentially benefitting your memory and overall brain performance. This has not been thoroughly studied to the nth degree at this point, but hey – eating beets certainly can’t hurt!
- Beets for athletic performance and fitness. Back again to those nitrates…it seems that the nitrates in beets can enhance your exercise performance. They improve oxygen utilization and increase blood flow to the muscles, thus they can boost stamina and endurance! This makes them a natural performance enhancer. The last I heard, beets are not on the banned list of “drugs” for official sports bodies worldwide, so if you are an athletic performer, maybe here’s your secret weapon to give you just the right edge! It’s the same if you’re into fitness, you can use all the blood flow to your muscles you can get! Once again, beets certainly can’t hurt.
- Beets help detoxify your body. Beets contain betaine, which is a compound that supports liver function. The liver removes toxins from the body’s blood supply, maintains healthy blood sugar levels, regulates blood clotting, and has many other vital functions. Regularly eating beets can be a boost for these vital liver activities.
How to Eat Beets
You can enjoy beets roasted, boiled, pickled, or grated in salads and smoothies! Or they can be eaten in gummies, powders, and pill form.
My favorite form of beets is pickled! As a boy growing up, I loved pickled beets – couldn’t get enough. Occasionally we had cooked beets, with salt and butter. I didn’t care for that version so much then – I like it better now. And Harvard Beets? Ugh. I truly couldn’t down them! But maybe it’s just as well since Harvard Beets have a lot of diverse ingredients that might make them less healthy than in other forms.
Just an anecdotal note here: When my dad was in college, he had very little money for food – as is not unusual. A friend gave him a large sack of beets – and beets became his main diet over the following weeks. He related that he learned all different kinds of ways to eat beets! As they say, beggars can’t be choosers!
Are Beets Expensive?
Beets are cheap! You won’t need to take out a payday loan to buy them – at least I hope not. You can buy them either raw or canned – or pickled – or as previously mentioned, as gummies or powders or in other ways.
Just a Note…
Beets are high in sugar. You’ve heard of sugar beets, right?! Much of our table sugar comes from sugar beets, which are beets that are exceptionally high in sugar content. But all beets have some. The good news is that if you eat beets – sugar made from beets doesn’t count – the glycemic index is less affected than if you eat processed sugar. In other words, the blood sugar is not raised as much as if you eat processed sugar.
In Conclusion
The health value of eating beets is undeniable. Low cost, and packed with nutrition, with potential for enhancing brain function, heart health, and athletic performance, they are definitely worth consideration as part of a very simple and healthy eating plan!
If you have any experience with eating beets – or maybe some unique and flavorful ways to eat them! – please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!
