Beat BP with Beets

Beets, or beetroot, is a versatile vegetable. Both the tops and the roots are eaten. Because of their deep red colour, they are often used to colour food. Ukrainian Borscht, for example, is red because of the beets in the soup.

Sugar Beets

Beets have more sugar than most vegetables. One variety of beets, the sugar beet, is grown for making sugar. Sugar beets are almost 1/5 sugar, higher than even sugar cane. Most sugar in Canada is made from beets.

Beet Treat

For most people, raw or cooked beets taste better than canned or pickled ones. Small beets can be cooked in the microwave. Just cut off the tops, put them in a bowl with ¼ of a cup of water, and microwave for 10—15 minutes. They should be tender when tested with a fork. Let them stand for a few minutes and then cut off the stems and the root and remove the skin. For a less intense flavour, try boiling them for 30—45 minutes, depending on their size. Beets are a great dye for food and anything else they come in contact with. They make everything red, including hands, counters, and utensils.

Beet Powder

If you can’t handle the taste of beets, try beet powder. You can add honey or stevia and mix it in a glass of water. You can also add beet powder, or even whole beets, to a smoothy.

Nitrate**-**Packed

Beets are high in nitrates, just like other root vegetables and green leafy vegetables. Red beets have the largest amount of nitrates, and the nitrates in beets are in a form that is easy to digest, so your body can use more of them. If beets are not your thing, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and some cabbages also have the nitrate compound that makes beets healthy.

Circulating Nitrate

Nitrates relax your blood vessels, improving circulation and reducing blood pressure. Nitrates are not broken down in your stomach. Instead, your healthy gut farm in your intestines breaks it down.

Nitrate in Meat

Most cured meats have added nitrates, which preserve the meat. Ham, for example, has almost a milligram of nitrate per 100 grams. This added nitrate may work differently than nitrates in vegetables. The danger of these added nitrates is that they can be converted into cancer-causing molecules, as they aren’t paired with the vegetable compounds that prevent this conversion.

Spittle’s Role

The saliva produced when you chew food plays a part in the proper absorption of the nitrates in beets. The saliva, as well as bacteria at the back of the tongue, help convert nitrates into beneficial compounds. Beet capsules that don’t interact with the saliva in your mouth won’t work as well. This is also a reason not to use an antiseptic mouthwash. An antiseptic mouthwash kills healthy bacteria and reduces the conversion of nitrates into healthy NO (Nitric Oxide) by 90%.

Paired With C

As mentioned above, some nitrates can degrade into a form that increases cancer risk. One of the primary ways to offset this is with vitamin C. Vitamin C blocks the formation of the dangerous form of nitrates. This may be one reason natural nitrates in fruits and vegetables are beneficial but nitrates in processed meat is not. Added nitrates in processed meat are linked with colon cancer. (This risk is one reason we suggest keeping processed meats like ham, bacon, and sausages for special occasions.)

Beets for BP

Beet juice has been shown to reduce blood pressure. Drinking 250-500 mL of Beet juice daily lowered blood pressure 5—10 points. Beetroot powder can also work when mixed with water. The recommended dose is 500 to 1000 mg a day.

Improved Breathing

Beet juice has also been shown to allow athletes to use oxygen better. After drinking beet juice, divers can dive longer and climbers adapt to high altitudes quicker. This improved use of oxygen also applies to almost any athletic performance, as more efficient oxygen performance means more energy for muscle.

Side Effects

For some people, beets can turn your pee pink. This may be a cool effect, but nothing to worry about. It may also signal you are low in iron, so if this happens to you when you eat beets, it may be worth checking your iron levels. It can do the same thing to stools.

Beet Health

If you are prone to kidney stones, you may want to go easy on beets, as they can promote kidney stones. Otherwise, if you want more energy and lower blood pressure, try adding beets or beet juice to your diet. Beet powder works, but beet capsules may not work as well. Taking vitamin C with your beets helps prevent some potential adverse effects of beets. Beat high blood pressure with beets.