The Benefits of Beetroot
The Benefits of Beetroot
Beetroot is indeed a superfood but is often overlooked by most of the British public in favour of more hip and trendy superfoods like wheatgrass, acai and spirulina.
However, if you knew how much of a nutritional powerhouse it is and how incredible it is for your health then you would be shovelling it down on a daily basis!
Beetroot is a root vegetable and comes from the same family as sugar beet, chard and spinach. The list of potential benefits is super long and here are some of these benefits often reported in health journals and research studies.
- Helps with heart health and lowering cholesterol and blood pressure
- Lowers blood glucose levels
- Helps promote healthy digestion
- Improves athletic performance*
- May aid cancer prevention
- Detoxifies and supports liver function
- Supports tissue growth
- Healthy muscular-skeletal system and hair skin and nails
Why is beetroot good for you?
Beetroot is a mega rich source of carbohydrates and plant proteins and a broad spectrum of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
The vivid red-purple colour means it’s rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals like ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phenolic acids and flavonoids. It contains betaines that have fantastic anti-inflammatory properties.
Beetroot contains high levels of folate as well as riboflavin, niacin and thiamine, vitamin K, calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron.
It’s also high in dietary fibre in fact a 100g of beetroot contains more than 10g of the average daily recommended intake. This helps support a healthy functioning digestive system.
Beetroot is very versatile!
There are many ways you can incorporate beetroot into your diet to benefit from all those amazing nutrients. It can be roasted, pickled, juiced and eaten raw in salads. Try dehydrating as chips, make a salsa with garlic, coriander and chillies, and slice into a coleslaw with carrots and sultanas or even just skewer with mushrooms on the BBQ.
On a Final Note
Beetroot has a low calorific value and is virtually fat free! It’s also able to support stable blood sugar as it’s a low GI food meaning the process of sugar conversion is slow.
If you’re not much of a cook or pushed for time then there is another way to incorporate beetroot and other incredible superfoods into your daily regime with Vitality Rocks Organijuice or a high beetroot content supplement such as CherryVita Activ capsules.
*Studies have revealed that beetroot can store high levels of nitrate, a nutrient that is involved in many processes that are responsible for efficient performance when exercising and that includes blood flow and oxygen use. One study by Exeter University demonstrated that cyclists had 20% more endurance when drinking beetroot juice than those drinking a placebo.
