Benefits of Beets & Beetroot Juice

kind2creatures

...elusive dreamer
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Apr 5, 2009
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Enjoy the Many Healthy Benefits of Beets and Beetroot Juice

by Tony Isaacs, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) When most people think about beets, they likely turn up their noses and think "yuck!" However, health-conscious people would be wise to expand their palette and discover ways to utilize and enjoy beets on a regular basis because the oft-maligned beet is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet.

Beets are rich in betaine, which stimulates liver cell function and helps keep the bile ducts healthy and flowing; this enables the body to eliminate toxins properly. Beets also protect against heart disease because another benefit of betaine is its ability to reduce homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is the toxic amino acid that increases risk of cardiovascular disease.

Betaine, also known as trimethylglycine (TMG), is a minor "mood enhancer". Through a series of events, it increases serotonin levels and can be used to help relieve many cases of depression.

Drinking just over two cups of beetroot juice daily may help keep your blood pressure in check, according to a 2008 study. Within three hours of drinking 500 milliliters (about 17 ounces) of beetroot juice, volunteers showed a significant decrease in blood pressure. What's more, that drop in blood pressure was sustained for up to 24 hours after the juice was consumed.

Beets also help protect against cancer, particularly colon cancer, and there is something called "Beet Therapy" which doctors have used to get rid of tumors and to help with blood diseases and leukemia. Even the leaves of raw beets have been eaten and useful and beneficial to one's health. The leaves have been known to counter "garlic" breath and in Roman times Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for healing wounds.

Among the other healthy uses of beets are:

*Helping cleanse the colon
*Strengthening the gall bladder
*Increasing stamina
*Treating and curing boils, abscesses and even acne.

Beets, which are low calorie and have no saturated fat, contain folic acid which is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important for pregnant woman or anyone undergoing physical healing. Beets also contain sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron and phosphorous.

Beets are usually bright red (and sometimes white or yellow) and make a colorful and healthy garnish. They also can be made into a number of cold salads. Betacyanin is the pigment that gives red beets their color and is believed to be responsible for helping fight cancer.

Borscht is a vegetable soup made of beets and is a very popular and traditionally loved dish in Poland, Russia, Germany and other Eastern European countries. There are cold and hot Borscht soups and each country varies the ingredients somewhat, but beets are the one main and common ingredient of this revered hearty soup.

Juiced beets are usually called either "beetroot juice" or "beet juice". Beetroot juice has a strong flavor; thus, it is best blended with other juices (such as carrot, apple, and lemon) for better taste. Since juiced beets can be combined with other healthy ingredients for both taste and health benefits, many people prefer to consume beets in juiced form.

Here is a healthy and simple juiced beets recipe:

Beet Juice with Carrots and Celery

Ingredients:

*1 small organic beetroot (the small ones are sweeter!)
*2 large organic carrots
*1 stalk of organic celery

Directions:

1. Wash the vegetables using water and a vegetable brush.
2. Remove the carrot and beetroot tops. Peel the beetroot if the skin is tough. Otherwise, just cut off the top.
3. Slice up the vegetables to fit your juicer.
4. Juice and serve.

For a sweeter drink, add an apple, or use 2 apples instead of the carrots.
 

jfh

perpetual student
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Location
Texas, USA
You can get certified organic beet root powder from MountainRose. This would be good, if you want to use beets for a daily therapy.

Beets are loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. The greens have a higher content of iron compared to spinach. They are also an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium and iron.


While the sweet beet root has some of the minerals in its greens to a lesser degree, it is also a remarkable source of choline, folic acid, iodine, manganese, organic sodium, potassium, fiber and carbohydrates in the form of natural digestible sugars.


Its iron content, though not high, is of the highest and finest quality that makes excellent food that is blood building. This renders it highly effective in treating many ailments caused by our toxic environment and surrounding.


Acidosis: Its alkalinity is essential and effective in combating acidosis.
Anemia: The high content of iron in beets regenerates and reactivates the red blood cells and supplies fresh oxygen to the body. The copper content in beets help make the iron more available to the body. A great blood builder.
Atherosclerosis: This wonderful crimson juice is a powerful solvent for inorganic calcium deposits that cause the arteries to harden.
Blood pressure: All its healing and medicinal values effectively normalizes blood pressure, lowering high blood pressure or elevating low blood pressure.
Cancer: Betaine, an amino acid in beet root, has significant anti-cancer properties. Studies show that beets juice inhibits formation of cancer-causing compounds and is protective against colon or stomach cancer.
Constipation: The cellulose content helps to ease bowel movements. Drinking beets juice regularly will help relieve chronic constipation.
Dandruff: Mix a little vinegar to a small cup of beets juice. Massage it into the scalp with your fingertips and leave on for about an hour, then rinse. Do this daily till dandruff clears up. Warning: you will smell awful during this hour!
Detoxification: The choline from this wonderful juice detoxifies not only the liver, but also the entire system of excessive alcohol abuse, provided consumption is ceased.
Gastric ulcer: Mix honey with your beets juice and drink two or three times a week on an empty stomach (more frequently if your body is familiar with beets juice). It helps speed up the healing process.
Gall bladder and kidney ailments: Coupled with carrot juice, the superb cleansing virtues are exceptional for curing ailments relating to these two organs.
Gout: Another ailment that can be greatly helped by the cleansing that beets have to offer.
Liver or bile: The cleansing virtues in beets juice is very healing for liver toxicity or bile ailments, like jaundice, hepatitis, food poisoning, diarrhea or vomiting. A squeeze of lime with beets juice heightens the efficacy in treating these ailments.
Varicose veins: In similar ways that it helps to keep the elasticity of arteries, regular consumption of beets juice also helps prevent varicose veins.


https://www.juicing-for-health.com/beets.html
 

jfh

perpetual student
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Location
Texas, USA
More great info on beets.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Drinking beet juice—a rich source of nitrates—increased blood flow to the brain in older adults, which could help keep the brain healthy and fight the onset or progression of dementia. Wake Forest University researchers noted the nitrates found in beets and other foods such as leafy greens are transformed in the body into nitrite, a compound that can help with blood vessel dilation, increasing blood flow in the body.
“There have been several very high-profile studies showing that drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure, but we wanted to show that drinking beet juice also increases perfusion, or blood flow, to the brain," said Daniel Kim-Shapiro, director of Wake Forest’s Translational Science Center; Fostering Independence in Aging. “There are areas in the brain that become poorly perfused as you age, and that’s believed to be associated with dementia and poor cognition."


Researchers recruited 14 adults age 70 and older for the four-day study. The subjects were randomized to consume a standard breakfast with or without 16-oz. of beet juice for two days, with blood flow to the brain and nitrite levels in the body assessed; they were then crossed over to the other protocol. After eating the high-nitrate diet, the subjects had increased blood flow to the white matter of the frontal lobes, areas of the brain associated with cognitive dysfunction and dementia.


The study was published online Oct. 15, 2010, in Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry (DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2010.10.002).
 

AllisOne

New member
Joined
Oct 19, 2010
Location
Miami, FL
Love this post on the power of the beet. Beet is a most powerful blood cleanser.

The one suggestion is to try whole food blending versus juicing. The sugar content of the beet is very high, and has a very high glycemic count when removed from the natural fiber. Plus, the phytonutrients are located in the fiber, not the juice, so you miss out on a lot by juicing.
 

jfh

perpetual student
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Location
Texas, USA
I wonder if organic beet root powder would supply the same benefits with less hassle. Not that eating is a such a hassle. But mixing beet root powder in water seems convenient.
 


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