Love Your Beets!
Friday, January 28, 2011 at 11:42AM When I tell people how much I love beets I usually get a few raised eyebrows and questioning looks. I don't think the main issue is that people don't like beets, it's that they don't understand beets. Mother Nature didn't exactly make it easy for beets to win our favor; they are a weird looking, hard, root vegetable that looks to be covered in a light layer of dirt. You may have seen them in the grocery store and thought to yourselve: Does anyone actually buy these things? And what on Earth would I do with them even if I did bring them home? What does it even taste like? I don't I like beets or I don't think I would like beets. Well, today I am going to erase any fear or hesitation you have about beets. It's time to get excited about, and love, this nutrient packed, cancer fighting super vegetable.
Beets carry a high amount of many important nutrients including: phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamins A and C, niacin, biotin and folic acid- which is essential for pregnant women as it helps protect and develop the nervous system and brain function of the unborn. Folic acid is also crutial to mental function and hormone balance. Beets are also high in antioxidants.
Ok, so beets have all these important nutrients, but what do they actually do for our health? Beets build our blood, which is great for anemia. They also oxygenate and pull toxins out of the blood. This being said, when starting to incorperate beets into the diet some people may experience a slight lightheadedness because of the detoxifying and oxygenating effects beets have on our blood. Don't worry, it's very slight, keep eating your beets and your body will get used to having amply oxygen in the blood and less toxins and you will feel better than ever. Resent studies show the betalain, betaine, a phytonutrient, in beets prevents coronary and cerebral artery dieases. (Dr. H.C.A. Vogel, in The Nature Doctor) If you are suffering from any type of cardiovascular condition (artheroscerosis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, etc) beets are for you! Eat at least 1 per week, raw is preferable.
Beets are great at getting rid of unneccessary inflammation in any and all areas of the body. This is why if you have any kind of inflammatory condition such as arthritis, gallbladder issues, psoriasis, digestive issues, thyroid conditions, diabetes, etc beets are for you! Try eating at least half a beet a day.
One of the biggest benefits of beets is their ability to detoxify the liver extremely well and quickly. The liver does over 500 different functions every day, and one of it's main functions is to make sure that toxins don't build up in the body and wreck havoc on our health. In today's toxic world it's getting to be a harder and harder job for the liver to do. Think about the Standard American Diet (or SAD as it is now known- and it is sad) just eating a typical American diet alone is enough to make the liver stressed, but then you factor in environmental toxins and stress too and that's when we start to see the multitude of disease and illness that is so prevalent in our society. Beets improve and balance liver and bile duct function. Juice carrots and beets together for a tasty treat and liver cleaning power that can't be beat!
Dr Ferenczi of Csoma Hospital in Hungary has been using raw beets to cure cancer, and nothing else since the late 1950s. Beets also help to prevent cancer because of their detoxifying ablilities. Beets also help to alkalize the body. Most cancers can not grow in an alkaline environment.
So, your convinced, beets are good for you. Your going out right now to buy some beets. First let's go over selecting beets. Aim for small to medium sized beets, about the size of a tennis ball. Avoid beets that have spots, bruises, or are soft or wet in areas this indicates that they have spoiled. You are looking for a very firm beet. Do not wash before storing. Keep your beets in a tightly wrapped plastic bag in the refidgerator. They will keep for up to 3 weeks. If your beets came with the greens still attached cut them off and store seperately in a tightly wrapped plastic bag with no air. The greens will keep for about 4 days. Raw beets do not freeze well but cooked beets do. When you are ready to use your beets the sky is the limit, so get ready to get creative! I like my beets raw and shredded in my salads. To make sure I always have some on hand I will process a few beets with the shredding blade in my food processor and keep the extras in a glass container in the fridge. Make sure to wash your beets first before using. You can use just water or a little natural produce wash if you'd like. Cut the ends off and use with the skin on. If you would like to remove the skin use a carrot peeler. Steaming beets is an easy way to ease yourself and your family into using beets. Make sure you don't cook them to death or they will loose a lot of their nutritional value, which would defeat the purpose of eating them. Add about 2 inches of water to a steamer or pot and bring to a rolling boil, add your beets and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes or until a fork or knife pierces the beet easily. You could also try maranating your beets in a little lemon juice and sunflower or coconut oil, add herbs to make it more interesting. Add small cubes of cooked beats to any casserole or dish. Beets do not have a very strong flavor so adding them to dishes or seasoning them will mask them easily into any dish for those picky eaters. Juicing beets in a juicer is always great! Juicing helps to release enzymes and nutrients making them more readily available for use in the body. Carrot and beet juice complement each other nicely and gives off a bit of a sweet flavor. Also try beets with apples or cucumbers.
The red color of the beets can stain counter tops, clothing and hands so use a cutting board and wear an old shirt or an apron (or just be careful and don't get it on your clothes). To get the red off your hands use a little lemon juice. Some skin types absorb more of the pigment.
Don't be alarmed if your stools or urine is a little red after eating beets! There is nothing wrong with you! This is normal and happens to about 15 % of the population, after your body becomes used to eating beets it will subside.
If you try them one way and you aren't thrilled, try them again another way. Also, your palette will change as you incorperate more healthful foods into your diet. So keep eating those fruits and vegetables and soon they will become your new favorite foods. You only have one body, if you don't take care of it, who will?
Reader Comments (2)
The article is very good! I like it very much,but If you can add more video and pictures can be much better, I have never read such a lovely article and I am coming back tomorrow to continue reading.replica rolex day date watches.
-luxury Ferrari sunglasses
Thanks for your heart warming complement. That means a lot to me. And thank you for the recommendation to add more pictures and videos. I would like to do this and have thought about it greatly, however, (I am slightly embarrassed to say) I am not the best when it comes to computer skills so I need my wonderful husband to show me how to do the "fancy stuff". It's just finding the time in both our schedules to work on it together. But it is on my list of things to do!!! If you read the Coconut blog I do have video and links there- which I am very proud of learning how to link up. :) Thanks for you're comment and insight and let me know if you have an questions, etc. :) In health, Erin Palmer