Let’s get ‘beetuiful’ with beets!
In bygone days resourceful women made use of natural ingredients, such as beetroot, for red rosy cheeks and bright red lips. Such ingenuity was a popular form of doing make-up in the 19th century. Now beets are famously among the top-rated healthy foods.
Beets contain phytonutrients called betalains. This makes this root vegetable quite special, as not many vegetables contain betelains. Betalains are world renowned for possessing anti-inflammatory properties and increasing detoxification in your body. Unfortunately, the longer you cook beets; the greater the destruction of betalains.
Beeturia is a condition that develops in some people if they consume beets. Sounds serious and looks serious but it is harmless. It is basically the betelains colouring your urine or stools red. Beet powder and juice are used as food colourants in the food industry. Various cultures value beetroot as an aphrodisiac, yet the juice of beets is mainly celebrated as a healthy invigorating drink.
Not all beets are red. Depending on variety, beets can also be white, yellow or red-white. Beets are highly farmed for their high sugar content, but it is a specific type of beet that is cultivated to contribute to the global manufacture of refined sugar.
Beets are easily bought in preserved form in cans or jars. Beet leaves and stalks are also edible. In fact, the leaves of beet were eaten long before the roots. Beet chips are a yummy alternative to butternut and potato chips. This vegetable contributes to our supply of nitrate (not the same harmful type found in processed foods). Nitrate improves blood circulation; consequently, researchers have linked improved brain function and athletic performance to consumption of beets.
Although beets may be consumed raw, they are more palatable when cooked. Their earthy flavour is due to the substance called geosmin in beets.
Before the well-known variety of red beetroot were cultivated, beetroot was commonly part of medicinal remedies. Ancient Greeks and Romans originally consumed a black or white beetroot. Although no longer used as a make-up, let beets make your body beautiful from within.
Anastacia Sampson
