The humble beet, steamed, boiled, roasted, pickled, borscht’ed—but especially served raw—is nutritious and offers many health benefits.

Why Beets Are Healthy

If you’ve never considered beets for breakfast, snacks, or potluck food, these facts may spark your imagination:

Research has demonstrated that eating beets, especially raw, or drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure, and improve both exercise performance and blood flow to the brain—probably because of the high concentration of nitrates in beets.

Our bodies eventually convert nitrates to nitric oxide, a compound that relaxes and opens blood vessels.

Research suggests that the red and yellow pigments found in beets (betalains) may help fight arthritis, several cancers, neurogenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, and liver disease.

Beet greens are highly nutritious and also contain the carotenoid pigments beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, important for eye health.

How to Prepare Beets

Heat destroys betalain pigments. To preserve the maximum health benefits, grate raw beets into salads, process them into smoothies, or steam/roast beets just long enough to tenderize them.

Beet greens are delicious raw in salads or lightly steamed.

Growing Beets

If you have even a little space, beets are easy to grow, even in containers. They attract few pests or diseases, grow quickly, and come in many shades of red, pink, striped, and yellow.

by Almanac