Health Benefits of Beetroot

Beetroot is a super vegetable

The health benefits of beetroot places it among the class of super vegetables.  Many research studies have found that beetroot is good for the health.  Its medicinal properties and availability throughout the year are key reasons that would encourage you to make beetroot as a part of your regular diet. Let us find out more about the health benefits of beetroot.

A Brief Overview of Beetroot Health Benefits

Blood Pressure: A research study has found that beetroot juice reduced the blood pressure (BP) in people with high BP who drank one cup of this vegetable’s juice everyday.¹

What element of the beetroot lowers the blood pressure? According to the same study, the inorganic nitrate in beetroot helps lower the BP.  The nitrate may relax the blood vessel walls and improve the flow of the blood. 

Dementia: Beetroot may reduce the risk of dementia. It is a brain disease that affects certain brain functions, like thinking and remembering, in old people. A diet rich in nitrate, which is found in beetroot, may stop the progression of dementia.

Bacteria in the mouth convert the nitrate into nitrite.

What does the nitrite do?  A research study found that it improves the blood flow to areas of the brain responsible for analytical and memory functions and that high nitrate diet may fight dementia.² 

Diabetic Neuropathy: It is the damage of the nerves, most likely caused by diabetes. Vegetables like beetroot that have an antioxidant known as alpha-lipoic acid may be a remedy for diabetic neuropathy.

A research study found that pain, numbness and burning or tickling sensation, in neuropathic diabetic patients, reduced with alpha-lipoic acid treatment.³ 

Fatty Acids in Liver: Beetroot has bioactive agents, betaine and polyphenols. These agents are said to have properties that protect the liver. A research, conducted on rats found, among others, that beetroot diet decreased fatty acids.⁴ 

Chronic Diseases: Beetroot may prevent chronic diseases. Thanks again to betaine, a compound found in this vegetable. A research study says that “betaine is an important nutrient for the prevention of chronic disease.”⁵ 

Beetroot in South Indian Vegetarian Cuisines

Want to increase the nutritional value of a dish? Add beetroot to it!

Here are some of the cuisines and links to their recipes, at southindianvegrecipes.com, with beetroot as a main or secondary ingredient:

Beetroot Palya: It is also known as beetroot curry and is a side dish that has a best fit with items like chapati and rice. Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and a few drops of lemon juice. These should take the taste of the food to a new level.

Recipe of Beetroot Palya

http://southindianvegrecipes.com/curry_recipes/beetroot_palya.html


Beetroot Chutney: It is a side dish, which has a good match with items like dosa, idli and chapati.

Recipe of Beetroot Chutney

http://southindianvegrecipes.com/chutney_recipes/how_to_make_beetroot_chutney.html

Here are some of the other cuisines with beetroot as an item:

Sambars: Add beetroot to sambars to give it a special taste dimension.

Salads: How can you use beetroots in salads? Add its gratings to a salad to give it a visual appeal.

Because of the many health benefits of beetroot, make it a regular component of your diet.

References:

¹Nitrite & Hypertension, Hypertension, a Journal of American Heart Association, hyper.ahajournals.org 

² Acute effect of a high nitrate diet on brain perfusion in older adults, Nitric Oxide, sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1089860310004246

³Alpha-Lipoic Acid and Diabetic Neuropathy, The Review of Diabetic Studies, soc-bdr.org

⁴Liver-protecting effects of table beet (Beta vulgaris var. rubra) during ischemia-reperfusion, Nutrition accessed through the US National Library of Medicine, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17234508

⁵Betaine in human nutrition, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/3/539.full