Top 10 reasons you need to eat beet

July 9, 2014

Beetroot is a vegetable widely used in salad dressings. Apart from adding some colour to your meal, beetroot can go a long way to keep you healthy. From maintaining sexual health to preventing a range of ailments including fever, wounds and skin problems, beetroot helps is a number of ways to prevent and treat some common illnesses. Here are some health benefits of beetroots you didn’t know about.

Helps lower blood pressure

If you have high BP then you should eat beetroot regularly. It is a rich source of nitrates. These nitrates are converted to nitrites and nitric oxides after consumption. As a result, the arteries widen and blood pressure lowers significantly. A study showed that having just about 500 grams of beetroot daily reduces a person’s blood pressure in about six hours.

Lowers LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol levels

Beetroot contains a large amount of betacyanin, a compound that acts as a powerful antioxidant. It prevents oxidation of bad cholesterol or LDL thereby protecting the heart against heart attack and stroke.

Great during pregnancy

Beetroot offers an abundant supply of folic acid, making it an amazing food for pregnant women. Folic acid plays an extremely important role in fetal development. It is required for the formation of spinal cord and protects the child from congenital disorders.

Keeps your bones strong

Your body needs the mineral silica to absorb calcium efficiently, and beetroot can help you meet that requirement easily. Having just a glass of beetroot juice daily can help you prevent conditions like osteoporosis.

Helps control diabetes

Beetroot is a great food for diabetics because it has low sugar content, low calories and a medium glycaemic index. This means that it breaks down sugar at a slow rate, preventing a rapid increase in blood glucose levels.

Increases hemoglobin levels

Beetroot is loaded with iron, a mineral that is important for the formation of hemoglobin that transports oxygen to various parts of the body. With regular intake of beets, you can easily treat as well as prevent iron deficiency anemia.

Enhances sexual stamina

Beetroot is the natural Viagra. It has nitrates that release nitric oxide into the body, increasing blood flow to the penis. It also has boron, a mineral that is important for the production of the male sex hormone testosterone.

May prevent cancer

Betacyanin, the pigment that gives beetroot its unique colour, is also found to play a crucial role in preventing cancer progression. A study carried out at Howard University, Washington DC showed that betacyanin reduced that rate of tumour growth by 12.5 percent in breast cancer and prostate cancer patients.

Treats constipation

Because of its rich stores of soluble fibre, beetroot acts a natural laxative. It sweeps the colon and helps regulation of bowel movement.

Keeps your brain healthy

The conversion of nitrites to nitrates boosts signal transmission from the brain to different parts of the body. A study carried out by the University of Exeter, UK, showed that drinking beetroot juice could help proper functioning of the brain and beat the onset of dementia.

Source: The Health Site
Published: 08 July 2014

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