Raw beets

There are vegetables that are so firmly included in our diet that we almost do not think about the impact - positive or negative, which they have on the human body. One of such controversial issues is the benefit and harm of raw beets. Let's get acquainted with our old friend closer!

Corners and roots

The beets were cultivated in 2000 BC, and even then the Assyrians and Persians knew about the miraculous property of vegetables to improve digestion. Only now they did not eat the root vegetable, but the tops. Centuries passed, and, as is often the case, absolutely by chance a person tried the sweet root. From this moment a new round in the history of the vegetable began. Beet was used not only as a food product, but also in cosmetology: young girls rubbed cheeks with a piece of root crop to give a face a blush. But as a medicine beet was considered an effective tool for:

• awakening of appetite;
• improving mood;
• bowel cleansing.

Useful properties of the root

Modern scientists, considering issues related to the benefits and harms of raw beets for the body, note that the first in it, of course, more. Sweet root has a beneficial effect on:

• Gastrointestinal, removing toxins;
• vessels, making them more elastic;
• blood cells, enriching them with oxygen and increasing hemoglobin levels;
• the urogenital system, increasing sexual desire in men and relieving pain during menstruation in women;
• the nervous system receiving with the vegetable the amount of magnesium necessary for its normal functioning;
• immunity, increasing the level of body resistance to infections and viruses.

These truly miraculous properties of the root are explained by a unique set of trace elements and minerals:

• vitamins C, A, PP, group B;
• iodine - for proper functioning of the thyroid gland;
• iron - to prevent anemia;
• boron, copper, potassium, zinc, which help reduce blood pressure and normalize the work of the heart;
• calcium and potassium in the right concentration - to remove heavy metal salts from the cells of the body;
• pectins - to remove toxins;
• Cellulose - to cleanse the intestines.

In addition, recent studies have shown that raw beet dishes included in the regular menu can protect against certain types of cancer.

And, of course, we must not forget that, despite the presence of natural sugar, burgundy vegetable is a dietary product. The calorie content of raw beets is only 40 calories. Therefore, nutritionists recommend mandatory to introduce dishes from the root in the diet of people suffering from excess weight.

When does beetroot become an enemy?

The worldly wisdom "Better is less, but better" is very well suited to describe the negative effects of root vegetables on human health. The fact is that all the unpleasant consequences of its use are directly related to the exorbitant amount of vegetable eaten. Especially you should be careful if you have:

• tendency to colitis, heartburn and internal bleeding (fresh vegetable acts like a brush and can damage the mucous surface of the digestive tract);
• allergy (due to the high content of active nutrients, nasopharyngeal edema, urticaria, lymph nodes may occur);
• heart disease (cardiologists insist that beets in large quantities, and even more so in combination with garlic gives a greater load on the vascular system);
• kidney stones (salt weights and increases these formations);
• diabetes, obesity (even the minimum sugar content can cause complications in the course of such diseases).

And yet: keep in mind that beets can, like a sponge, absorb all the harmful substances from the surrounding space. Therefore, you should not buy vegetables grown in environmentally polluted areas.

Raw vs cooked

The dispute as to which beet is more useful - raw or boiled, in principle, has no basis and, rather, concerns gastronomic preferences. And all because the burgundy root crop is a unique vegetable that retains all the vitamins and useful trace elements after heat treatment. True, in its raw form it contains more nitrates and fruit acids, which can irritate the digestive tract. In the cooked product, these substances are transferred to the broth. Therefore, in case of problems with the gastrointestinal tract or for feeding children it is better to boil the beets.

How to eat?

With all the benefits of a bright root, not everyone can eat it in its pure form. Therefore, nutritionists recommend cooking:

• the drinks;
• salads;
• beetroot soup.

Fresh juice can be mixed with cranberry, apple, lemon, carrot juice and honey as a sweetener. Just keep in mind that beetroot drink should be defended before eating a couple of hours. And even in this case, it is better to dilute it with water 1: 1. As for salads, garlic is considered the traditional partner of beets in these dishes. You can also add cheese (hard, cheese), boiled eggs, meat (for example, chicken fillet) and greens to an aperitif. The peculiarity of the beetroot soup is that the decoction in which the root vegetable was boiled is used as the liquid base. As in the case of juice, the product is very concentrated, so it is recommended to dilute it with water.

The benefits and harms of raw beets have a lot of aspects that need to be considered before introducing a root vegetable into your diet. But if you decide to eat it regularly, then pay attention to the options for combining vegetables with other products. They open up the inexhaustible possibilities of cooking delicious and healthy culinary delights.