What Is Beet Juice? Is It Good for You?
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Key Takeaways
- Beets are packed with all sorts of essential vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fiber and nitrates.
- Drinking beet juice is an easy way to improve overall nutrition on a daily basis.
- You can buy beet juice at the store, make your own or use a beetroot juice powder.
Did you know that beet juice is a super food?
Super foods are those foods that provide the body with maximum nutritional benefits while keeping calories to a minimum. Accordingly, consuming super foods is an excellent way to maintain a healthy weight and ward off many of the most common ailments and diseases that afflict adults.
Beet juice is scientifically proven to provide significant health benefits that may include lowered blood pressure, improved blood sugar levels, weight loss, less inflammation and more.
- Key Takeaways
- Nutrition in Beet Juice
- Where to Get Beet Juice
- The Health Benefits of Beet Juice
- FAQs
Nutrition in Beet Juice
A cup of raw beets contains 13 grams of carbohydrates and 58 calories. By comparison, a cup of beet juice has 25 grams of carbohydrates and approximately 100 calories thanks to processing. Of course, these values may vary considerably based on the brand of juice and whether or not you make it yourself.
In addition to containing helpful nitrates, beets are excellent sources of antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, potassium and folate. Antioxidants are vital to reducing oxidative stress, which has been linked by scientists to heart disease, a variety of inflammatory conditions and the development of cancer.
Beet juice is fat free, and it can add to your daily intake of protein.
Further, beet juice contains iron, which assists with the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen, as well as magnesium, an essential mineral that is excellent for the health of the nerves, muscles, heart and immune system.
When you drink beet juice on a regular basis, you’re also taking in a dose of copper. This is imperative for making collagen, which is excellent for your skin, in addition to supporting the maintenance of your blood vessels and bones.
Where to Get Beet Juice
Most grocery stores sell beet juice, which means that you can just pick it up off the shelf or order it online. Make certain to read the nutrition label with care as some of these options contain extra ingredients that subtract from the potential health benefits. For this reason, some people prefer to make their own beet juice, perhaps blending it with carrot juice, apple juice, orange juice or other ingredients for added health benefits. This can be a time-consuming endeavor, but if you want to be absolutely certain that there’s nothing unwanted in your beet juice, this is a great way to do it.
You also might consider buying a beetroot powder that you can mix with water or other liquids. This option may have fewer extra ingredients than are contained in store-bought beet juice. Still, it’s sensible to read the label to make certain what you’re getting in each glass.
The Health Benefits of Beet Juice
Reduces Blood Sugar
Some studies have demonstrated that beet juice can be beneficial for blood sugar.
This is thought to be because of the presence of phytochemical compounds, which are recognized as supporting the healthy regulation of blood glucose levels. As little as one-half cup of beet juice may lower the sugar levels in the blood after consuming a meal.
Improves Cardiovascular Health
Thanks to high concentrations of nitrates, beet juice is thought to have a beneficial effect on the health of your heart. Nitrates become nitric oxide in the blood, and this compound is a known vasodilator. This effectively means that nitric oxide tells the blood vessels to widen and relax. This increases blood flow so that nutrients and oxygen can be more efficiently delivered to cells throughout the body.
Eases Digestion
Have you ever been told by a healthcare professional that you need more fiber in your diet? If so, you’re not alone. Many people struggle to take in an adequate amount of fiber on a daily basis.
This can cause digestive issues. Fortunately, beets have a high concentration of dietary fiber. When you consume fiber, it moves immediately to the large intestine where it provides essential fuel to cells. Fiber can keep stools regular and soft, ensuring proper functioning of the entire digestive tract. Accordingly, consuming fiber can help you avoid inflammatory bowel disease, hemorrhoids, constipation and diverticulitis.
Lowers Blood Pressure
High blood pressure numbers put people at risk for heart attack or stroke. It’s also considered a primary risk factor for developing heart disease.
Scientists are increasingly finding that drinking beet juice may improve blood pressure. This is likely because of the nitrate content in beets.
In fact, large amounts of nitrates naturally occur in beets. Nitrates are converted into nitric oxide in the human body. Nitric oxide helps to dilate blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
It’s worth bearing in mind that one study indicated that people who are taking medication to lower their blood pressure are not likely to see their numbers dip even lower when drinking beet juice on a regular basis. Still, making beet juice a part of your daily routine may have additional health benefits.
Fights Inflammation
Inflammation can be part of a healthy immune system response, but it becomes problematic when it turns into chronic inflammation. This state is thought to have connections to obesity, heart disease, liver disease and cancer.
According to research, beets naturally are rich in betalains, which is a pigment. One study involving the consumption of betalain capsules that were made using beet extract helped to reduce the discomfort and pain caused by osteoarthritis.
Assists with Weight Loss
Many people struggle with weight loss, but beet juice can help to support the effort to maintain a healthy weight. The extra nitric oxide production that comes from drinking beet juice has beneficial effects on the heart and other muscles throughout the body. This may lead to improved stamina during exercise and enhanced recovery, both of which may help people to shed extra pounds.
Additionally, the anti-inflammatory quality in beets may help with weight loss if the extra pounds are related to inflammation. Even the amount of fiber in beet juice assists with weight loss efforts as fiber helps you feel satisfied sooner when eating.
Enhances Athletic Performance
Beet juice can improve the circulation of blood through your body. Thanks to the enhanced efficiency of delivery of nutrients, oxygen and blood throughout your body, you may notice that your athletic performance is improved. Some people find that they have better energy levels as well as improved stamina and endurance.
To take full advantage of these benefits, be sure that you drink beet juice approximately 90 minutes before a workout.
Fights Disease with Antioxidants
Have you ever noticed the vivid, bright color of the humble beet? That coloration provides a signal that beets are incredibly rich in antioxidants. It’s those betalain pigments that prove to be so helpful at fighting inflammation. They even have antioxidant properties.
Accordingly, beets lessen the damage that free radicals can cause to your cells. Free radicals are unstable atoms that scientists believe may put people more at risk for developing arthritis, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s.
The more antioxidants you consume, the better protected you are against the ravages of time. You’ll look and feel younger for many more years, and you’ll be less likely to develop many common diseases.
Clears Up Skin Issues
Thanks to components like folate and vitamin C, beet juice can be exceptionally good for your skin. Vitamin C is imperative for fighting damage caused by free radicals, and that includes damage to the skin. While many people use vitamin C topically, it’s also crucial to support the health of the skin from the inside out by consuming plentiful vitamin C.
Don’t forget that folate has tons of antioxidants that are great for skin health. These and other antioxidants in beets assist with the liver’s detoxification function. The liver is responsible for ridding the body of excess or old hormones, so a healthy liver is essential to good skin health.
FAQs
In one study, researchers discovered that blood pressure readings were lowered just six hours after beet juice was ingested. Additional research is needed on this subject, but making beet juice part of a overall healthy diet will definitely help to lower blood pressure as well as having other positive health benefits.
Either form of beets will have significant health benefits when consumed on a regular basis. The possible advantage of beetroot juice powder is that it provides you with a higher concentration of beets in a smaller dose.
If you opt for beet juice over powder, you will probably get bigger doses of vitamin C and antioxidants. That’s mainly because vitamin C may dissipate with exposure to oxygen.
Perhaps the most common side effect is that regular consumption of beet juice may give urine and stools a faintly red color. This is a harmless change, but it can be shocking if you aren’t prepared for it.
It is possible that certain sensitive individuals may experience a spike in blood sugar through drinking beet juice. That’s mainly owed to the fact that beets have more natural sugar than the majority of other vegetables.
People who are prone to kidney stones may want to moderate their intake of beet juice. Beets are high in oxalates, which are known to contribute to forming stones. If you have had kidney stones in the past, it may be wise to consult with a physician about the proper amount of beet juice to introduce into your diet.
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