Beetroot juice has been widely used for medicinal purposes in the past, but we have only recently been able to truly understand the significant health benefits of Beetroot Juice.
Beetroot is rich in fiber and also a
very good source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, Vitamins A, C, folic acid
and iron. Beetroot is known for being a bright red color which is thought to be
due to the combination of naturally occurring yellow and purple pigments, rich
in phytochemicals and antioxidants which work together to help body cells recover from
damage by free radicals.
Benefits of Beets
Supports liver function
Helps energy and stamina
Lowers blood pressure
Supporting liver function
In studies beetroot juice has been shown to
improve the function of the liver by stimulating the regeneration of liver tissue
and by stimulating the metabolism of dietary fats within the liver. When the
liver functions properly, fats are broken down efficiently, preventing fatigue,
improving memory and aiding weight loss.
Helps to maintain energy and stamina
Beetroot juice has been found to open
blood vessels allowing more oxygen to flow easily through the blood vessels.
This has been found to increase energy levels as the amount of oxygen required
by the blood vessels and muscles is reduced during physical exercise.
Nine recreational-active male subjects
supplemented their diet with beetroot juice of 500 ml and completed four separate severe
intensity exercise bouts to exhaustion. The men who consumed the beetroot juice
improved endurance during the intensity exercise, when compared to the placebo.
Results from placebo controlled and double-blind randomized study, Med Sci
Sports Excer, 2013.
Healthy Heart
Beetroot
Juice is potent in nitrate. Diets including food products rich in inorganic
nitrate are associated with lower blood pressure. Healthy volunteers, who ingested a dietary
nitrate load of beetroot juice (500 ml), found that their blood pressure had
substantially reduced within 3 hours.
This effect correlated with peak increases in plasma nitrite
concentration which researchers believe are responsible for the blood pressure
reducing effect.
Webb AJ : Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and
antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bio conversion to
nitrite.51:784-90,2008
