Beetroot is not a very popular vegetable.
We would say it is not often on our table.
Although many avoid this powerful vegetable, it’s time to dispel your prejudices and present its numerous health benefits.
Beetroot has very little fat. But on the other hand, it is rich in antioxidants and vitamins.
These are just some of the many benefits of beets.
We hope that after our text, you will change your opinion about this vegetable of an unusual color and include it in your daily diet.
So let’s start.
Something about beets
Beetroot is an old vegetable plant. It comes from the Loboda family. It has a characteristic red color, and since ancient times it has been used in food as well as medicine.
Although beetroot is primarily cultivated in Eastern and Central Europe today, it actually originates from the Mediterranean coasts.
In addition, it has a long tradition of cultivation worldwide, from China to America.
It is fascinating that the remains of beets were found in the pyramids in Egypt.
It was written about Mesopotamia almost 3000 years ago. Roman sources say it was mainly cultivated for its leaves in ancient times.
In Ancient Greece and among the Romans, the healing properties of beets were known.
The Greeks used it to lower body temperature. In the Middle Ages, it was recommended for those who could not consume solid food.
The Romans used it as a laxative in case of frequent constipation.
Besides using it for treatment, it was believed that if a man and a woman shared a beetroot, it would bring them closer emotionally.
Why beetroot is powerful
It is claimed that beets fix almost everything that is not good in the body. Synonyms or epithets for beet are a red treasure, queen of vegetables, etc. It is full of minerals and vitamins with very little fat and calories.
There is almost no mineral that beets do not contain: iron, potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iodine, copper, fluorine, sulfur, bromine, lithium and strontium.
The most common vitamins are vitamin C, B1 and B2, and vitamin B12, which are rarely found in plant products.
All of the above contributed to the fact that beetroot found effective use in folk and modern medicine.
Beetroot in the kitchen
In Russia, Ukraine and Poland, a traditional dish is the famous borscht or beetroot soup, with or without meat, with cabbage and other vegetables.
The favorite dish in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries is burgers or meatballs with grated beets and minced meat.
While Australians have their favorite burger, the Aussie burger, made with beef patty, spices and pickled beets.
Wine is even made from beets.
We should remember that beetroot leaves are also edible. They are tastiest when they are young, no longer than 15 centimeters, and are prepared in the same way as spinach and Swiss chard, which they resemble a lot.
It is also used as a fresh salad, alone or in combination with other salad vegetables.
Boiled and then sterilized is a mandatory part of pickles.
Of course, there is also beetroot juice, which gives strength, regulates metabolism, and strengthens the whole organism, which is why athletes often use it.
Different studies and research recommend different amounts of beet juice.
However, it would be best to start with small doses. Say 50 ml twice a day and increase them slightly so that the body gets used to the taste and benefits of this miraculous vegetable.
Beetroot juice in the morning
Beetroot juice is very healthy. Depending on the benefits for the body, you can use it at any time of the day.
It plays an essential role in cleaning blood vessels and thus increases oxygen flow through the body. Because of this, you will feel more energetic. For these reasons, it is recommended to drink beetroot juice in the morning because it will wake up all your sleepy organs.
Beetroot on an empty stomach
Drinking beetroot juice on an empty stomach helps better absorption of nutrients. Thus, it detoxifies and speeds up our metabolism.
Detoxification of the body improves the digestive system, relieves constipation and controls blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Beetroot juice at night
You can drink beetroot juice in the evening, but you should drink it for 2-3 hours before bed.
This is because beetroot contains sugar, which can increase the body. It is also believed that beetroot juice is excellent for detoxification and cleanses your body while you sleep.
Beetroot juice before bed
Beetroot contains vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron and lycopene, which are ideal for a good night’s sleep.
Beetroot is rich in nitrates that produce nitric oxide in the body.
It widens blood vessels, improves blood circulation and thus improves brain functions. It reduces brain diseases such as dementia and helps you sleep peacefully without interruption.
Beetroot Juice Immediately After Extraction
It is best to drink freshly squeezed juice immediately after pressing. Freshly squeezed beet juice is always better than store-bought or frozen juice.
Purchased juices are not necessarily unhealthy, but they may contain more sugar or additives and, therefore, may be less healthy.
However, if you freeze beet juice for an extended period, it may lose its flavor, texture and color. Most importantly, it can lose some of the nutrients that it otherwise has.
Our advice is to use a juicer with slow blending when juicing beets.
With speed and centrifugation, fast juicers reduce and degrade the value of their nutrients.
Beetroot Juice For Weight Loss
Beetroot juice has almost no fat and very few calories.
In addition, the salt of this juice contains only 25 g of carbohydrates and only 100 calories. Therefore, it is elementary to include it in your daily diet plan.
Beets contain essential nutrients like fiber, nitrates, folate, breanin, and vitamin C.
All of them are very beneficial for weight loss.
Nitrates contribute the most to weight loss.
We have already mentioned it contains nitric oxide that increases blood flow through our body and thus helps the body to get rid of fat deposits quickly.
Before heavy sports activities
Beetroot juice is a super drink that helps increase professional athletes’ performance.
For example, if you like to participate in a marathon or a bicycle race, you should drink a glass of beetroot juice before the start of the race.
This juice will keep you hydrated for a long time.
Moreover, beetroot juice increases the level of nitric oxide. It thus helps our body with blood flow, gas exchange, muscle efficiency and strengthening of contraction.
Beetroot juice increases the endurance and performance of athletes by delaying the time until muscle exhaustion.
In addition, it improves heart and blood vessel health and thus increases athletes’ long-term endurance.
Before workout
Taking beetroot juice before training increases endurance and exercise performance. Nitrates, abundant in beets, increase blood flow and reduce the need for a large flow of oxygen in the body.
It helps delay the breakdown of glycogen in the muscles and thus enables you to exercise for a long time without getting too tired.
After workout
Consuming beetroot juice after training helps improve muscle recovery and reduces inflammation.
It makes you rested and hydrated.
Health benefits
Beetroot juice has numerous benefits for the health of your body. We will show you some of the most important ones.
It reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack
Thanks to its chemical composition, beets can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of brain and heart disease.
The natural nitrates in beets oxidize when they mix with the blood to create nitric oxide, dilating blood vessels and increasing blood oxygen levels.
It rejuvenates the body
This fantastic vegetable contains betaines and betaines. They reduce the activity of substances that contribute to premature aging, oxidation and the formation of cancer cells. Thanks to these elements, vegetables have a purple-red color.
If you include beets in your daily menu, you can prevent cell aging and the appearance of malignant tumors.
In addition, you will look more beautiful – your face will get a healthier color, and the bags under the eyes will disappear. Regular consumption of beetroot juice will get rid of acne and pimples caused by the presence of toxins in the blood.
It stabilizes the work of the digestive tract
Numerous nutrients in beets positively affect the functioning of the stomach and intestines and have a medicinal effect.
Eating beets will allow you to leave your medication and gradually return your digestive tract to normal.
Natural sugar, which this vegetable is rich in, nourishes the intestinal flora and gives it additional strength in the fight against harmful substances.
In addition, fibers absorb all waste and toxins from the body, thus cleaning the intestines.
Beetroot juice improves eyesight
Beetroot is known for its high nitrate content, which positively affects the whole body, improving the functioning of internal organs.
In addition, these substances strengthen the cells of the cornea, thereby improving vision.
Moreover, doctors claim that beetroot has more benefits for eyesight than any other recommended food.y fat if you go to bed immediately after eating it.
Beetroot juice improves cognitive functions, which otherwise decrease significantly when we age, thus helping us to have a deep and restful sleep in old age.
Against depression
Beet lovers claim that when stressed or in a bad mood, beet salad can lift our mood and make us feel better. This effect is compared to the feeling when a person eats sweets, with the fact that beets are, of course, a healthier option for your body.
Also, thanks to the magnesium it contains, beets improve the functioning of the central nervous system.
Beet juice during pregnancy
Did you know that even 20% of pregnant women suffer from anemia?
That’s what the statistics of the World Health Organization say.
This is because the fetus “takes away” from the mother a certain amount of iron, which it needs for growth and development.
That is precisely why pregnant women should prevent the occurrence of anemia, react in time and consume beets daily.
In addition, beets are a good choice for babies because they contain a significant amount of potassium, calcium, and even vitamin A.
And calcium and vitamin A are very important for a child’s healthy development.
Strengthens bones
Even if your diet contains a lot of calcium-rich foods, the fact is that the body can absorb this mineral. In addition, beetroot is rich in silicon dioxide, which helps the body “bind” calcium. As a result, it will make our bones stronger.
Beets also contain magnesium, vitamin C and folic acid, which benefit bone tissue.
Helps with flu
Beetroot should also be eaten during the flu and other viruses because it has a fatal effect on the viruses in your body.
In the research conducted, it was concluded that beetroots contain antioxidants that lower glucose levels and increase insulin sensitivity, thereby preventing complications in diabetics.
Improves blood count
Generally speaking, its role in improving blood count is known and scientifically proven.
The reason for this is the extremely high content of anthocyanin. Anthocyanin causes the beet to be red.
In addition, anthocyanin protects erythrocytes and makes blood vessels more elastic, thus influencing the heart to pump blood better. In addition, Adenine, which is also contained in beets, ensures a high concentration of leukocytes.
It fights cancer
Beetroot juice significantly helps and fights against cancer cells.
In addition, beetroot contains betalains, which are antioxidants with chemo-preventive abilities.
In this way, it fights against some types of cancer.
Boosts Liver Health
Beetroot juice is known for its ability to improve the condition of the liver significantly. Otherwise, exposure to toxicity, alcohol consumption, and inadequate diet cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Betaine is an antioxidant that helps reduce fatty deposits in the liver and protects the liver from various types of toxins.
Can I drink beetroot every day?
You can consume every day, but up to 2 cups per day.
However, daily consumption is recommended for a permanent reduction in blood pressure.
How to prepare beetroot juice
You can prepare beetroot juice in several ways. First, prepare it in less than five minutes and have a fresh and healthy drink. Then, all you need is beets and a blender.
Beets should be cleaned and washed, cut into pieces and put in a blender. Blend, if necessary, add a little water and your magical drink is ready.
If you are not delighted with the taste or smell of beetroot, its earthy flavor can be soothing.
You can make your drink tastier if you add apples, turnips, berries or cinnamon. The choice is yours.
You can use the same preparation procedure and then put all the ingredients in the juicer, which will extract all the ingredients in a few minutes.
In the end, if you wish, you can add squeezed lemon or orange juice. This way, you will have a handful of vitamins in one glass, improving the taste of this drink.
Beetroot is good for health and is safe for consumption. Still, due to the high content of oxalates it contains, it can cause the formation of kidney stones, so you should be careful.
More beetroot recipes
You can also add milk to your beetroot juice. It can be regular, almond, or coconut milk if you want a healthier version of this drink.
You only need to prepare the drink in a juicer or blender and then add milk as desired at the end.
You can also make a beetroot mix. Adding other delicious ingredients to the beetroot juice
In this case, the beets should be boiled and cooled first. Blend the cooled mixture in a blender and then add honey, maple syrup or any other sweetener as desired. Next, add cinnamon and crushed ice and blend again.
In the end, add vanilla ice cream. You can blend it with all the ingredients or add it later to the cup with a drink.
Of course, you can change the ingredients as you wish and adapt them to your taste.
Beetroot smoothie
In addition to juice, you can also make a smoothie from beetroot, which is just as healthy and tasty as beetroot juice.
It is even better for combining because you can add banana, mango, avocado, papaya or other exotic fruit if you wish.
Of course, you can also add apple, turnip, lemon or orange to it, as we have already mentioned in the preparation of beetroot juice.
How long does it take beetroot to work
If you drink it to lower your blood pressure, this juice can lower your blood pressure already after an hour.
After a few hours, the blood pressure will reach its lowest point and maintain a stable level for up to 24 hours after taking this juice.
Regarding performance training, the time required for beetroot juice to work is between one and three hours.
It takes about two weeks of regular consumption for visible results on the skin. After that, you will notice that your skin is shiny and bright.
You can add carrot juice and orange juice for a better taste and even more vitamins and minerals.
This juice is excellent for detoxification because it helps to expel toxins from the body and thus purify the blood. In addition, the iron in beets cleans the cells from the inside, revives the skin and gives it a radiant glow.
Cooked or raw beetroot juice
You can prepare beet juice from fresh or cooked beets. Both are very healthy, but we still prefer fresh beet juice.
By cooking, beets can lose some healthy nutrients, while fresh beets retain all the healthy ingredients beneficial for your body.
Does beetroot have side effects?
In addition to this powerful vegetable’s many health benefits, it can also lead to some adverse effects in people prone to certain diseases or conditions.
- Pink urine – Regular consumption of beets can cause your urine to be pink or reddish. This is nothing to worry about, but the body needs to process the beet juice.
- Low calcium – there is a risk that beetroot can cause low calcium levels in some people and damage the kidneys. However, this claim is not conclusive in humans
- Lowers blood pressure – It is common knowledge that regular consumption of beets helps lower blood pressure in people who otherwise suffer from high blood pressure. However, lowering blood pressure does not work well for all people.
Those who otherwise have low blood pressure should take it into account because they are already hypotensive and this can cause dizziness or falls caused by dizziness.
- Allergies – Although an allergic reaction to beets has not been proven, some mild reactions, such as hives or rashes, may occur. Although 1-2 cups per day are relatively safe, the amounts may vary depending on factors such as age, height and weight.
- Upset stomach- Although beets positively affect gut health, people with sensitive stomachs may experience digestive disturbances such as bloating and gas.
The cause of this may be the fiber content in beets. It can be especially pronounced in people whose fiber intake was already low before consuming beets.
- Interactions with drugs – Due to the nitrates abundant in this juice, drinking it can negatively affect certain medications to lower blood pressure.
Final thoughts
We hope that we have managed to show you all the advantages of this not very popular vegetable. Now that you know all about it, we believe you will find your favorite recipe.
Enjoy!
Read also: Best Time to Drink Cabbage Juice / Best Time to Drink Tomato Juice
