Eat a beet!!! Oh, the wonders of the beet. webmd.boots/healthy-eating/guide/beetroot-benefits Perhaps you could careless for the earthy taste or texture. Maybe you’ve never had them in a salad or juice. But beets, now considered a superfood, are packed with fiber, beta-carotene, along with vitamins A, B and C. Here are some ways this root vegetable, which the Romans considered an aphrodisiac, can help you lead a healthy life Beetroots are reddish purple coloured taproots that are edible and go by different names like table beet, red beet or garden beet. They are rich in potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamin B6, A, C, nitrate, etc. It can be eaten raw as a salad or cooked without peeling its skin to retain all the nutrients in it. Consuming it regularly can give you a lot of health benefits. Some of the beetroot benefits are listed below. 1. Can reduce stroke, heart attack and blood pressure: Beetroots, being rich in nitrates can reduce stroke, heart related diseases and blood pressure. This is because nitrate gets oxidized when mixed with blood forming nitric oxide that enlarges blood vessels and increases the oxygen content in blood. Consuming beetroot on a regular basis is important to have a healthy heart. 2. Best antioxidant: Antioxidants are essential to support the immune system. Colourful fruits and vegetables are said to contain antioxidant properties, beetroot being red in colour contains beta cyanine, a very good antioxidant and can reduce LDL, also known as bad cholesterol. 3. The brain factor: Decline in mental power is very common among aged people. As they get older, they tend to lose memory power. Consuming beetroot is the best solution for this problem. Beetroot when consumed can increase the blood flow to the brain which in turn reduces the effect of dementia. 4. The skeletal health provider: As beetroots contain natural minerals like silica, it helps the body to utilize the calcium consumed in a proper way providing strength to bones and makes the bones stronger. It also contains nutrients like magnesium, vitamin C, folate that are the best supplements to strengthen bones. 5. Controls the cholesterol: Adding beetroots to your regular diet can help lowering the cholesterol level. This is because beetroots are rich in soluble fibers that can reduce and control bad cholesterol or LDL. 6. Best nutrients supplier: Beetroots are rich in nutrients that help to boost your immune system and can produce new blood cells. A raw beetroot contains folic acid, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, fiber, vitamin C and carbohydrates. Folic acid otherwise known as folate is essential during pregnancy as it can prevent spina bifida (lack in the development of spinal cord) in fetus. Folic acid also enhances the tissue growth. Beetroots were also used in earlier days to treat improper digestion. Iron content in beetroot can prevent anaemia. 7. Best energy provider: Researchers have proven that drinking about 250 ml of beetroot juice before any exercise or physical activity can boost up your performance as beetroot stimulates your blood vessels and is a very good energy provider. 8. Controls blood sugar: Beetroot can stabilize the glucose level in blood, so when beetroot juice is consumed regularly by diabetic patients at least thrice a week, it can bring a lot of changes in the blood sugar level. This is due of the soluble fibers in beetroot. Every healthy diet consumed must contain soluble fiber. 9. Weight management: Beetroots are high in fibers and low in calories. It is popularly used in weight loss diet due to the soluble fibers present in it that helps to fight against fat. Beetroot also helps to cleanse the toxic and excess water from the body. Thus we can say that beetroot nutrition helps skin glow. 10. Can treat cancer: Beetroot has also been used for its medicinal value since ages. Terrible diseases like colon cancer and liver cancer can be prevented if beetroot juice is consumed regularly. This is due to the detoxifying property of beetroot and it can also be rightly called as the ’liver’s best friend’ The Good Compounds found in Beetroot Carbohydrates 9.56 g Protein 1.61 g Total Fat 0.17 g Cholesterol 0 mg Dietary Fiber 2.80 g Vitamins Folates 109 µg Niacin 0.334 mg Pantothenic acid 0.155 mg Pyridoxine 0.067 mg Riboflavin 0.057 mg Thiamin 0.031 mg Vitamin A 33 IU Vitamin C 4.9 mg Vitamin E 0.04 mg Vitamin K 0.2 µg Electrolytes Sodium 78 mg Potassium 325 mg Minerals Calcium 16 mg Copper 0.075 mg Iron 0.80 mg Magnesium 23 mg Manganese 0.329 mg Zinc 0.35 mg Phyto-nutrients Carotene-ß 20 µg Betaine 128.7 mg Lutein-zeaxanthin 0 µg
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:47:40 +0000
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