Beetroot is certainly one of the healthiest foods in the human diet. Beets are not necessarily the main food in the diet of many people, but they probably should be. This unique root vegetable can offer a wide range of health benefits, from lowering blood pressure to improving athletic performance. It also contains various nutrients and compounds that you will not find in many other foods. Whether you eat it or drink beetroot juice, this vegetable is easy to include in your diet.
Here are some proven benefits that this powerful vegetable contributes to maintaining human health:
- Beets can lower blood pressure because they contain nitrates that the body converts into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator that relaxes and dilates blood vessels, which can lower blood pressure. One study showed that consuming 250 ml of beetroot juice daily for four weeks was enough to lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Beets can also lower blood pressure in overweight elderly people.
- If you want to lose weight, beets are one of the useful choices. When you eat beets, you feel full and do not overeat. Beets contain a lot of water and fiber. It helps you stay full longer and hydrated better, which also has a lot of effect. Beets contain relatively few calories and contain a decent amount of protein for root vegetables, which makes it a healthy choice for someone trying to lose weight.
- If you have problems with digestion, beets are a great choice. The high content of fiber and water helps digestion. Fiber helps you to empty your bowels normally, making you less likely to have constipation. Beet fiber can also help prevent digestive conditions such as colon cancer. Raw beets are a great choice.
- Beets also support brain health. Because beets can lower blood pressure, they can also reduce the risk of stroke and other brain problems. Nitrates in beets can also play a role in the health of our brain. One study of older adults found that nitrates increase blood flow to important parts of the brain, such as the frontal lobe, which is associated with attention and working memory.
- Beets can improve athletic performance. This is a very good and important fact for all active athletes. Nitrates in beets increase athletic performance due to the effect they have on mitochondria, the part of the cell that produces energy. Specifically, nitrates improve the efficiency of cellular mitochondria. Since mitochondria are needed to produce energy in cells, anything that can ensure them to function more efficiently, in this case beets, will help in sports performance. Also, beet nitrates reduce muscle fatigue. Of course, you don’t have to have beets on the menu every day, but if you eat beets before training, you will notice a difference. Nitrates peak in the blood about two to three hours after consumption, so it is best to use it three hours before training. Beets should be eaten raw or drunk from it because that is how we get the best out of it. We destroy its nutrients by cooking or baking.
Enjoy this fantastic vegetable that you can find in every store for very little money.
“There’s such a thing as ‘beeturia,’”“If you start increasing your beet intake a lot, your urine could turn pink.” But don`t worry: “It’s not blood in your urine—it’s actually just beets.” Same goes for “bigger task” : if you notice red in the toilet bowl, you’re not bleeding; it’s just the beets making their way through your digestive tract.
