8 Amazing Benefits of Beets

Love them or hate them, beets offer some amazing benefits. Beets are high in vitamins and minerals, but they're also high in antioxidants, carotenoids, and nitrates, all of which promote health. They're also very flexible and may be effortlessly incorporated into any nutritional diet or plan.

Let’s explore the eight most amazing benefits of beets, so you can decide whether or not they're right for you.

1. High in Antioxidants

Antioxidants are compounds that assist in neutralizing destructive free radicals, limiting oxidative stress and cell damage. Antioxidants have been linked to the prevention of various chronic illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, in several studies.

Beets are high in disease-fighting phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and trace minerals since they are naturally occurring. In fact, beets are a great source of betalains, which have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities and provide many of the health benefits of beets.

Betalains are another component of beets that gives them their distinctive color. In vitro experiments have revealed that these powerful pigments might aid in preventing cancer and illness. Beet greens are also an excellent source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that help to maintain eye health and reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

2. Relieve Inflammation

In many situations, inflammation is a normal function of the body's immune system, protecting the body from foreign invaders and infection. Chronic inflammation has been linked to most illnesses and may be a significant factor in chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and even obesity.

Because the average person's diet is high in inflammatory compounds from ultra-processed meals, excessive quantities of sugar, and little amounts of nutrients, eating whole foods like beets is a wonderful approach to keep inflammation at bay.

In one animal experiment, beetroot consumption was found to lower oxidative stress and inflammation. According to a human study, both cooked beets and beetroot juice were able to reduce inflammatory markers in individuals with high blood pressure.

3. Promote Heart Health

It's estimated that nearly 44 percent of Americans will have some form of heart disease by the year 2030.

Beet juice can improve heart health, which is one of its primary advantages. Beets are high in nitrates, which function as vasodilators to promote blood flow and lower blood pressure. A study in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that beetroot juice helped to significantly decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people after just 24 hours.

According to a study in 2017, Beetroot juice helped lower amounts of bad LDL cholesterol in individuals with uncontrolled blood pressure.

4. Aid in Detoxification

Your body's natural detox system, which helps to keep you healthy by continuously ridding your body of pollutants, is already in place. The kidneys filter the blood and produce urine. Your lungs remove carbon dioxide, your skin scrapes particles from the surface using sweat pores and sebum, and your intestines absorb nutrients and eliminate waste through feces.

Beet juice has antioxidant and liver-function-boosting properties, allowing your body to continue to rid itself of toxins. One animal study from Poland found that beetroot supplementation prevented oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, a sign of cell damage, by 38%. Beetroot juice, too, has been shown to enhance the activity of several enzymes involved in detoxification in animal studies published in Phytotherapy Research.

5. Boost Brain Function

As you get older, it's common to experience a loss of mental and cognitive function as dementia and Parkinson's disease become more common.

However, because beetroot powder is high in dietary nitrates, there is some evidence that it may improve brain health and protect against age-related cognitive decline. In fact, a trial published in Nitric Oxide found that feeding older adults a diet rich in nitrates improved blood flow to specific areas of the brain concerned with executive function.

6. Support Digestive Health

Beets are high in fiber, with each cup providing 3.8 grams of it. Fiber passes through the intestines undigested, adding bulk to the stools and assisting with regularity and digestive health.

According to one review of five studies, increasing fiber intake was linked to an increase in bowel movements among individuals with constipation. Not only that, but additional research suggests that increasing your fiber consumption through vegetables such as beets benefits digestive health in additional ways and may help prevent diseases including diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, and GERD.

7. Enhance Athletic Performance

Whether you're a competitive athlete or a casual gym-goer, Beets have been proven to enhance performance and are one of the greatest foods for athletes. This is because nitrates have been shown in studies to improve mitochondrial function, the organelle responsible for energy production in cells.

In 2011, research found that drinking beetroot juice boosted power output and performance by 2.8 percent in cyclists. Another research study revealed that nitrate consumption improved the time it took to exhaustion and enhanced tolerance to high-intensity activity.

8. Increase Weight Loss

Beets are high in fiber but low in calories, making them a superb complement to any diet if you're trying to reduce weight. In fact, each cup of beets has just 59 calories and 3.8 grams of fiber — or up to 15% of your daily needs.

Fiber slowly travels through the digestive tract when you eat it, aiding in satisfaction and weight loss by keeping you feeling fuller longer. According to a study from Boston, increasing fiber intake by 14 grams per day reduced daily calorie intake by 10% and boosted weight reduction by four pounds over four months.

How to Get More Beets in Your Diet

Although purple beets are most often found in supermarkets, they come in a range of colors, many of which have a similar flavor, nutritional value, and usage.

Beets make wonderful additions to smoothies, salads, and other meals. They may also be used in slaws, sandwiches, paninis, and pasta dishes. Because of their natural sweetness, they are also good in certain dessert recipes. There's no shortage of options for incorporating this root vegetable to receive these excellent beet benefits.

Beet Supplements

If you find it difficult to add more beets to your meals, then adding a beet supplement may be better. We offer an organic & fermented beetroot powder, which we call Red Beet Power, that provides you with all the wonderful benefits of beetroot and provides extra probiotic support to your gut as the fermentation process creates healthy bacteria to help your gut flora thrive.