beetroot for health
Beetroot packs a powerful nutritional punch. Google ‘beetroot health benefits’ and you’ll get over 35 million results that examine beetroot’s role in good heart health, lowering blood pressure, dietary fibre for gut health and boosting your immune system. Beetroot is low in calories, virtually fat free and a tasty source of fibre. For the key stats on this tasty root scroll down the page.
Whether you roast it whole, blend into a classic soup or drink as juice like the Olympians do, beetroot is low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals and packed with powerful antioxidants – a health-food titan.
The phytochemicals that give veg their colour are understood to be beneficial. Several of these phytochemicals are antioxidants that may protect our bodies from the presence or actions of harmful free radicals.
Beetroot is a vegetable that offers many health benefits as part of a balanced diet. We have put together a brief introduction to these benefits below. Where possible, we have provided a link to research on the subject.
The Beetroot Power Salad is designed to give you the energy and nutrients to help you get the most out of life. It provides at least 3 of your 5 a day portions of fruit and vegetables to help boost your levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
HEART DISEASE AND STROKE
Betacyanin, the pigment that gives beetroot its colour, is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are believed to help reduce the oxidation of LDL Cholesterol (often called ‘bad’ Cholesterol). This protects artery walls can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Beetroot is rich in nitrates. When eaten these nitrates mix with saliva and convert to nitrite. Nitrite causes blood vessels to dilate which can help to reduce blood pressure. Beetroot alongside radishes, purple lettuce leaves, spinach and carrots are high in nitrates. Eating 100g of cooked beetroot (1 -2 medium beetroot) or drinking 250ml of beetroot juice can help to reduce blood pressure. Enjoying the fruit and veg rainbow can also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. For information on eating a rainbow visit the British Heart Foundation’s website.
Here is the British Heart Foundation’s recipe for Beetroot Hummus using cooked beetroot.
The sugars in beetroot are almost entirely in the form of sucrose. These sugars are released slowly into the body through digestion rather than the sudden sugar rush from eating sweets.
Beetroot has a medium GI (Glycaemic Index) of 64 and a low GL (Glycaemic Load) of 2.9 which means it is converted into sugars slowly. More information on GI.
Other possible health benefits
A study by Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA showed that the high content of nitrates in beetroot may help fight the progression of dementia. Nitric oxide in the blood (produced from nitrates in beetroot and other veg) dilates blood vessels and can contribute to increased blood flow to the brain.
Beetroot contains between 90 (cooked) and 150 (raw) microgrammes of Folate. Folate is Vitamin B9 and it is important in the formation of read blood cells and in the formation of a baby’s spinal cord. Read more about B Vitamins and what they do on the NHS web site.
|Per 100g||Protein||Fat||Carb||kcal||Sugars||Fibre||Potassium||Folate B9|
|Per 100g||Cooked Beetroot||Raw Beetroot|
Vitamin and nutrient data from McCance and Widdowson Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, 2019.