Wellness Wednesday: April 14

BEETROOT

Bright, vibrant, and deliciously earthy, beetroots really do pack a punch in terms of both flavor and nutrients! Today’s Wellness Wednesday feature is all about these striking root vegetables.

Beets are part of the root vegetable family, just like carrots and potatoes. Beets are most commonly known by their bright red color, however, they also came be found in yellow, white, pink, and purple varieties as well. The first recorded beetroot cultivation can be dated back to the sixteenth century, and although they’re typically grown in the cooler months, Ancient Romans and Grecians regarded them so highly that they developed ways to grow them in the hot summer months, too.

The beetroot is a low-calorie, high fiber vegetable, with 2-3 grams in a 3/4 cup serving. Beets get their bright red hues from the pigment betanin, which also offers numerous health benefits similar to other antioxidants, like protecting against cell and DNA damage.

Beetroots can also help your heartbeat (get it?) as well. They can help your heart by lowering blood pressure and increasing nitric oxide formation, which protects against damage to the blood vessels and heart, thus reducing risk of heart disease and stroke.

Going along with this, beetroots can also increase exercise capacity and overall endurance due to their inorganic nitrate content. More specifically, they increase the efficiency of the mitochondria, which generates energy. Because of this, beetroots are an excellent source of energy prior to cycling, running, or strenuous exercise requiring high stamina.

Beets offer a complex flavor profile while also keeping you energized and healthy. You can take advantage and enjoy beets on a perfectly toasted piece of sourdough with our house-made beet hummus, in a refreshing Sangria juice, or a frozen Red Velvet smoothie concoction. You can also add beets to a juice of your choice in a custom creation!

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Larsen, F. J., Schiffer, T. A., Borniquel, S., Sahlin, K., Ekblom, B., Lundberg, J. O., & Weitzberg, E. (2011). Dietary inorganic nitrate improves mitochondrial efficiency in humans. Cell metabolism, 13(2), 149–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2011.01.004

Murphy, M., Eliot, K., Heuertz, R. M., & Weiss, E. (2012). Whole beetroot consumption acutely improves running performance. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(4), 548–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2011.12.002

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