11 Reasons Why You Should Consume Beetroot Every Day!

Beetroot is one of the healthiest vegetables in the world. It’s a nutrient-dense super-food packed with essential nutrients. It’s a good source of vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, potassium, manganese, fiber, copper, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. It’s also packed with powerful antioxidants like flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids, betalain, and anthocyanin.

Although available all year round, this root vegetable is sweetest and most tender during its peak season, from June to October. It should be consumed raw and uncooked as cooking might destroy most of its nutrients.

11 Reasons Why You Should Consume Beetroot Every Day:

– It may help dilate and relax your blood vessels

The naturally-occurring salt called nitrate found in beetroot is converted to nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide may help dilate and relax your blood vessels, boosting your blood flow. The amino acid called betaine found in this vegetable may help prevent the build-up of homocysteine in your blood, preventing circulation problems.

– It may help improve your skin health

Beetroot contains folate, which’s one of the B vitamins important for skin health. It may help stimulate re-pigmentation of white skin patches of vitiligo and prevent skin cancer. Beetroot is also a great source of vitamin C that may help clear your blemishes, even out your skin tone and give it a natural glow.

– It may help enhance your liver health

Beetroot is a unique source of betalains – a kind of phytonutrient, which has potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and detoxification properties. This root vegetable acts as an excellent liver cleanser and may help support proper liver function. With the help of compounds like glycine and methionine, it may help prevent fatty acids from building up in your liver and improve your liver health.

– It might help prevent cancerous tumor formation or reduce cancerous cell proliferation

The betanin (a form of betalain) found in beetroot might help prevent cancerous tumor formation and reduce cancerous cell proliferation. It might have the power to prevent the formation of prostate, skin, lung and breast cancer. Beetroot juice, when consumed along with carrot extract, might aid in the treatment of leukemia.

– It may help relieve constipation

This root vegetable is high in dietary fiber that may help stimulate the nerves in your intestines and improve your body’s ability to digest food. The high dietary fiber content may add bulk to your stool and relieve constipation.

– It may help alleviate menstrual pain and menopause symptoms

Menopause and menstruation are known to cause an influx of hormones. But, the phytochemicals found in beetroot may help balance your hormones and stimulate the production of estrogen, minimizing your monthly rollercoaster.

This super-food is also packed with iron, which may help prevent iron deficiency, reduce irritability and fatigue. Also, it is a good source of folate (vitamin B9), which may help regulate menstrual periods.

– It may help boost your mood and improve your mental health

Beetroot possesses tryptophan, an amino acid that may help promote feelings of relaxation and well-being. The betaine found in this root vegetable may help induce the metabolization of body chemical SAM-e that’s a natural anti-depressant. Beetroot may help improve blood flow to your brain, enhance cognitive function, and prevent dementia.

– It may help enhance your muscle strength and boost your endurance and stamina

Beetroot may feed your muscles with increased iron-rich blood flow, magnesium and nitrites. The nitrate content found in this vegetable turns into nitric oxide, reducing the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise while improving the stamina for high-intensity exercise. This means that drinking beet juice may help increase your muscle strength and boost your endurance during a workout.

– It may help prevent oxidative stress-induced changes, decrease your glucose levels, and elevate your insulin sensitivity

The antioxidant called alpha-lipoic acid found in beetroot may help prevent oxidative stress-induced changes, decrease your glucose levels, and elevate your insulin sensitivity. The alpha-lipoic acid may also help alleviate the symptoms of autonomic neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy.

– It may help improve your respiratory health

This vegetable is packed with vitamin C, which’s a potent antioxidant that may help boost your immune system.

Vitamin C may help support proper function of your white blood cells that are your body’s primary line of defense against foreign bodies, improving your respiratory health.

– It may help reduce your blood pressure

Beetroot juice may help reduce both your diastolic and systolic blood pressure. The nitrates found in beetroot may help dilate and relax your blood vessels, increase your blood flow, and reduce your blood pressure.

Magnesium, NOT Calcium, Is Actually The Key To Healthy Bones

The magnesium expert Dr. Guy Abraham says:

“Considering that 99% of the total body calcium is located in the bones, it is not surprising that academic proponents of high calcium intake have used as an argument the possible role of calcium deficiency in osteoporosis. There is no evidence, however, to support this view.

Osteoporosis is not more common in those parts of Asia and Africa where diets are relatively low in calcium (300-500 mg/day) than in Europe and North America where consumption of dairy products contributes to more than 1000 mg of calcium/day. Also, when patients with severe osteoporosis were given massive doses of calcium, they went into positive calcium balance, but radiographic studies revealed no changes in the osteoporotic process. So where did that calcium go? Obviously into the soft tissues where it does not belong.”

When it comes to calcium supplementation, studies have shown that it is less effective than calcium from dietary sources in postmenopausal women, and might even raise the risk of heart attacks, and studies have shown that excess calcium in the coronary artery of people who take statins can elevate this risk by 17 times.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) agrees that food is the best source of calcium:

“People who get the recommended amount of calcium from foods do not need to take a calcium supplement. These individuals still may need to take a vitamin D supplement. Getting too much calcium from supplements may increase the risk of kidney stones and other health problems.

Calcium supplements have been widely embraced by doctors and the public, on the grounds that they are a natural and therefore safe way of preventing osteoporotic fractures.

It is now becoming clear that taking this micronutrient in one or two daily [doses] is not natural, in that it does not reproduce the same metabolic effects as calcium in food.”

Most supplements on the market today contain calcium carbonate, combined with some chelating agent to boosts its absorption. Yet, the end product is inferior to other calcium supplements like calcium orotate, which can easily enter the membranes of cells.

Additionally, calcium levels cannot be increased by the consumption of pasteurized dairy products, as this process only creates calcium carbonate, that cannot penetrate the cells without a chelating agent.

In such cases, the body pulls the calcium from the bones and other tissues in order to buffer the calcium carbonate in the blood, and this can lead to osteoporosis.

On the other hand, the findings of Professor Steven Abrams and his colleagues at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston indicate that the intake and absorption of magnesium during childhood are vital for the total bone mineral content and bone density. Researchers maintain:

“Dietary magnesium intake may be an important, relatively unrecognized, factor in bone mineral accretion in children. “

Abrams says:

“Lots of nutrients are the key for children to have healthy bones. One of these appears to be magnesium. Calcium is important, but, except for those children and adolescents with very low intakes, may not be more important than magnesium.”

The increased magnesium intake has been linked to higher bone mineral density (BMD) in men and women, and it is about 2 percent increase in whole-body BMD for every 100 milligrams per day increase in magnesium.

According to Dr. Susan E. Brown:

“Since magnesium participates in an astonishing array of biochemical reactions, it’s no surprise that it’s essential for healthy bones. Most notably, adequate magnesium is essential for absorption and metabolism of calcium.”

However, she adds:

“It’s often overlooked that magnesium and calcium function together, so a deficiency of one markedly affects the metabolism of the other. In fact, increasing calcium supplementation without increasing magnesium supplementation can actually increase magnesium loss.

Similarly, the use of calcium supplements in the face of a magnesium deficiency can lead to calcium deposition in the soft tissues, such as the joints, where it can promote arthritis, or in the kidney, contributing to kidney stones.”

Since modern diets contain about 10 times more calcium than magnesium, and their optimal ratio is 1:1, it would be best if you take twice the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium, which is 350-400 mg per day.

Divide the doses throughout the day, with meals. Moreover, enjoy an Epsom salt bath a few times a week, since it is a good way for the skin to absorb magnesium.

Remember, dietary sources remain the best sources of magnesium as well. Therefore, you should increase the intake of magnesium-rich foods like green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and cacao.