There’s a reason why beets are featured at the website for the Worlds Healthiest Foods: they pack a huge punch of goodness for the body! In this blog post I want to cover some of the reasons that beetroot juice is so good for you.
Antioxidants
Beets are famous for their antioxidant properties, although the antioxidants in questions are not nearly as well known as others. They are called lutein and zeaxanthin. Research is still developing on this specific antioxidants but the researchers expect to see promising connections between these two items and their benefits when it comes to eye health.
Vitamins
Beets contain large amounts of the following nutrients:
- folate
- manganese
- potassium
- fiber
- vitamin C
- magnesium
- iron
In fact, if you were to eat about 200 calories worth of beets, or roughly 3 cups, you would end up taking in 100% of your daily recommended value of folate and manganese, more than half the recommended value for potassium and fiber, and about 30% of the recommended value for Vitamin C, iron, and magnesium.
Clearly, beets provide a lot of return for a very small amount of calories – in this case, all of the above for approximately 200 calories is amazing.
Anti Inflammatory Properties
Beets most famous property of all though isn’t their concentrated vitamins or powerful antioxidants – it’s their anti inflammatory properties that many eat them for. The photonutrients responsible for this in beets are known as betanin, isobetanin, and vulgaxanthin.
Suggestions for Adding Beets into the Diet
One of the easiest ways to add large amount of beets into your diet is to buy a juicer and simply juice and drink them. A glass of beet root juice in the morning every day is an amazing way to start your day and ensure you will get optimal amounts of beets into the diet.
Other recommendations include making simple beet root salad, keeping the beets raw – and thus, optimally nutritious. Adding spices and other healthy items such an seaweed, couscous, quinoa make for an excellent salad.
