The best health benefits of Beetroot in 2024

Beetroot is on the up! Red beetroot used to be a neglected vegetable, but is now increasingly popular and in high demand, and for very good reasons.

Here are seven good reasons to make beetroot one of our vegetable priorities!

It’s great for the immune system!

Beetroot is an excellent source of vitamin C, one of the most important nutrients for ensuring strong immunity in the body. However, it’s the plant pigment betacyanin, which gives beetroot its beautiful, rich, crimson-purple colour, that really contains all the power; it’s an excellent source of antioxidants that also support the immune system.

It improves physical performance

Just ask the athletes! Beetroot is widely consumed by sportspeople because of its well-documented ability to improve exercise performance, particularly endurance exercise. Once again, this is due to the effect of nitric oxide. Numerous studies have confirmed this; one in particular followed strength athletes and found that their performance increased after drinking beetroot juice.

It’s useful for the heart!

Beetroot is interesting from a nutritional point of view, but it is a particularly rich source of folic acid, fibre, vitamin C and potassium, all of which are beneficial for the heart. What’s more, drinking beetroot juice can have a rapid effect on reducing systolic blood pressure. This is partly because the nitrates it contains result in nitric oxide, which encourages blood vessels to dilate, thereby reducing blood pressure.

It’s good for the eyes

This is essentially due to beetroot’s high beta-carotene content. This is an important nutrient in helping to slow down macular degeneration, which is a fairly common condition, particularly with age, and is associated with damage caused by free radicals. Beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in the body, which has the ability to defend the eyes against the damaging effects of these free radicals.

It’s rich in fibre

Beetroot is rich in fibre, which means it’s well-requested by the intestines and keeps them regular. Don’t forget green vegetables, also rich in iron, which can be cooked like spinach, but very lightly steamed to retain all the nutrients.