• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

VegKitchen logo

  • Vegan Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baking and Sweets
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes
    • Pasta and Noodles
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Wraps
    • Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups, Stews, and Chilis
    • Snacks and Dips
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Canning and Preserving
    • Cheese-y Delights
    • Global Recipes
    • Raw Vegan
    • Slow-Cooker
  • Vegan Living
    • Vegan Substitutions Guide
    • Green Kitchen
    • Healthy Eating Tips
    • Food and Produce Guides
    • Vegan Food Hacks
    • Kid Friendly
    • Vegan Product Reviews
    • More Vegan Living
  • About
  • Shop Cookbooks
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Vegan Living
  • Cookbooks
  • About Us
  • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegan Living
    • Cookbooks
    • About Us
    • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Healthy Eating Tips

    5 Health Benefits of Beets

    Published: Jul 31, 2017 · Updated: Apr 7, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    The most vibrant of vegetables are beets. Here are a few health benefits of beets that will inspire you to enjoy them in your diet more often. Their rich hue comes from a pigment called betalain that imparts a bright pinkish shade to anything. But that’s not all! Beets (called beetroot in English-speaking cultures outside the U.S.) have a deep earthy flavor that enhances salads and other dishes.

    Beets have been touted as one of the healthiest veggies out there. Aside from classic red beets, there are also golden and striped beets to explore, which have similar benefits — and even sweeter flavors.

    Apart from being used as food and colorants, beets are also used for medicinal purposes, being so rich in nutrients. They're rich in vitamins and minerals, and are a particularly good source of folate, manganese, potassium, and copper. Beets have been used to treat numerous health conditions since ancient times. For ways to use them, see How to Cook Beets (or Use them Raw) and our complete listing of beet recipes.

    1. Fight Cancerous Cells
    Beets are rich in antioxidants. The pigment that gives beet its rich color, betanin, is a potent antioxidant. It also contains betaines, which have chemopreventive properties and the ability to fight against cancerous cells. They are water-soluble antioxidants that help the body find and destroy any unstable cells. While there is never any guarantee that any food can prevent cancer, beets have substances shown to have preventative properties.

    Multicolored Beets - detox veggies

    2. Reduce Cholesterol
    Beets are known to lower cholesterol levels. You should consider adding beet juice to your diet if you have high cholesterol. The fiber present in it is capable of simultaneously improving HDL and lowering LDL concentrations in the body. High in fiber, beets are great for digestive function, which also has a positive impact on cholesterol levels.

    3. Detoxify
    Like most vegetables, beets are considered to be a great purifier. It cleanses the body by eliminating harmful toxins through the colon and flushes them out of the system. When the body is clean from within, it functions more efficiently. The juice of beets can be used to cleanse and restore the system. It helps purify the cells in the body and keep the liver healthy. It keeps you feeling hydrated and refreshed like never before.

    beet varieties — red, golden, chiogga

    4. Reduce Risk Of Heart Disease
    These brightly colored vegetables contains nitrate, which significantly lowers blood pressure. Lower blood pressure, in turn, reduces the risk of heart disease or strokes. Beets contain chemical nitrate that cuts the risk of potential heart-related issues. These nitrates produce nitric oxide in the blood, which plays a key role in lowering blood pressure by widening the blood vessels and arteries. Hence, beets are very helpful to maintain a healthy heart.

    5. Boost Stamina
    Did you know that eating beets can boost your performance in athletics? Simply consuming beets could extend your endurance and improve your stamina. In other words, beets have the capability to make the muscles more fuel efficient. By improving the plasma nitrate levels, beets can boost the speed and quality of any exercise. Drinking beet juice is something that some athletes do for these purposes.

    Beets are the complete package. They not only enable your body to function better, but also add flavor to many kinds of dishes. Start slowly by adding beet juice to your diet and slices to your salads, and gradually, you may start seeing a positive impact on your health. Now that you know how beets can make a difference, start adding them to your diet, and enjoy right away.

    References:
    http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/beetroot-juice-benefits
    http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/top-10-health-benefits-of-beetroot/
    http://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/benefits-of-beetroot-in-the-pink-of-health-1237538
    http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-eating/guide/beetroot-benefits

    Vineetha Reddy is a regular practitioner and adviser of everything related to nutrition, fitness, health and wellness. She contributes to this knowledge ecosystem on sites like LifeHacker.co.in, StyleCraze.com and ElephantJournal.com. She strongly believes that the ingredients you find in your pantry provide the best benefits for good health. Follow her on Twitter for her best ideas.

    More recipes you may enjoy

    • Vegan Apple Honey
    • Chipotle Black Bean Burgers (Vegan)
    • Vegan Walnut Taco Meat
    • Fudgy Avocado Brownies (Vegan!)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Provident Kenworth says

      October 20, 2017 at 2:55 am

      Thanks for sharing the information!!

    2. Francis says

      December 01, 2017 at 8:15 pm

      Nice article, i only thought beet is use in making sugar before.

    3. Julio Riofrio says

      January 15, 2018 at 10:05 am

      Good information but there's no info about eating raw vs pickled benefits And okay to drink pickled beets juice?

    4. Nava says

      January 15, 2018 at 12:28 pm

      Great questions! As long as the pickled beets or beet juice are naturally fermented and not loaded with salt and sugar, then very likely it's an excellent addition to the diet.

    5. Patti Disch says

      January 29, 2018 at 10:24 am

      After seeing the post about the benefits of beets I got some Gold Beets (I had never heard of them) I made a pork roast and added the beets instead of carrots and it was wonderful. The only complaint I have is that the beets make the pot liquor sweeter than carrots!

    6. Fidha says

      April 19, 2018 at 12:39 am

      Wow! we see loads of green veggie benefits! I suppose beets are heavily underrated in healthy veggies niche.
      Nice article.

    7. jjj says

      July 10, 2018 at 7:03 am

      nice

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    nicole malik from vegkithen.com

    Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm the creator behind VegKitchen, and the author of the popular cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. Learn more about me here.

    More about me →

    vegan substitution chart

    Featured Recipes

    • 25+ Vegan Valentine’s Day Desserts
    • 11 Best Vegan “Cheese” Recipes
    • Vegan Christmas Cookies
    • Vegan Jalapeno Poppers
    • Vegan Vodka Pasta
    • Vegan Banana Cake

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Shop Cookbooks
    • Free Vegan Cheat Sheet
    • About Us
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Still hungry? Check out our delicious family of blogs.


    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Hook & Porter Media

    347 shares