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It is difficult to believe how the hardy, crunchy often rough looking exterior of raw beets can be transformed into something wonderfully soft and buttery once they are cooked. While beets are available throughout the year, their season runs from June through October when the youngest, most tender beets are easiest to find.

Edible green leaves are attached to the tapered round or oblong root portions that we know as beets. While we often think of beets having a reddish-purple hue, some varieties are white, golden-yellow or even rainbow colored. The sweet taste of beets reflects their high sugar content making them an important raw material for the production of refined sugar; they have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, yet are very low in calories

Health Benefits

Remember all those legendary Russian centenarians? Beets, frequently consumed either pickled or in borscht, the traditional Russian soup, may be one reason behind their long and healthy lives. These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.

Cancer Protection

The pigment that gives beets their rich, purple-crimson color--betacyanin--is also a powerful cancer-fighting agent. Beets' potential effectiveness against colon cancer, in particular, has been demonstrated in several studies.

In one study, animals under the double stress of chemically induced colon cancer and high cholesterol were divided into two groups. One group received a diet high in beet fiber while the other group served as a control. The beet fiber-fed animals rose to the challenge by increasing their activity of two antioxidant enzymes in the liver, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase. The liver is the body's primary detoxification organ where toxic substances are broken down and eliminated, a process that generates a lot of free radicals. Glutathione peroxidase  are the bodyguards for liver cells, protecting them from free radical attack, so they can continue to protect us.

In other animal studies, scientists have noted that animals fed beet fiber had an increase in their number of colonic CD8 cells--special immune cells responsible for detecting and eliminating abnormal cells. With the increased surveillance provided by these additional CD8 cells, the animals in one of the studies given beet fiber had fewer pre-cancerous changes.

In stomach cancer patients, when scientists compared the effects of fruit and vegetable juices on the formation of nitrosamines--cancer-causing compounds produced in the stomach from chemicals called nitrates--beet juice was found to be a potent inhibitor of the cell mutations caused by these compounds. Nitrates are commonly used as a chemical preservative in processed meats. Next time you indulge in a hot dog or bologna sandwich, safeguard your stomach by washing it down with a healthy serving of beet juice!

Protection Against Heart Disease

In the first study mentioned above, not only did protective antioxidant activity increase in the livers of beet fiber-fed animals, but also their total cholesterol dropped 30%, their triglycerides droppped 40% (elevated triglycerides, the form in which fats are transported in the blood, are a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease), and their HDL (beneficial cholesterol) level increased significantly. Protection against birth defects: Beets are particularly rich in the B vitamin folate, which is essential for normal tissue growth. Eating folate-rich foods is especially important during pregnancy since without adequate folate, the infant's spinal column does not develop properly, a condition called neural tube defect. The daily requirement for folate is 400 micrograms. Just one cup of boiled, sliced beets contains 136 micrograms of folate--34% of the daily requirement.

Description

Both beets and chard are different varieties within the same plant family--beta vulgaris--and their edible leaves share a resemblance in both taste and texture. Attached to the beet's green leaves is a round or oblong root, the part conjured up in most people's minds by the word "beet." Although typically a beautiful reddish-purple hue, beets also come in varieties that feature white or golden roots. No matter what their color, however, beet roots aren't as hardy as they look; the smallest bruise or puncture will cause their red-purple pigments, which contain beneficial flavonoids called anthycyanins, to bleed, especially during cooking.

Beets' sweet taste reflects their high sugar content, which makes beets an important source for the production of refined sugar. Raw beet roots have a crunchy texture that turns soft and buttery when they are cooked. Beet leaves have a lively, bitter taste similar to chard. The main ingredient in the traditional eastern European soup, borscht, beets are delicious eaten raw, but are more typically cooked or pickled.

History

The wild beet, the ancestor of the beet with which we are familiar today, is thought to have originated in prehistoric times in North Africa and grew wild along Asian and European seashores. In these earlier times, people exclusively ate the beet greens and not the roots. The ancient Romans were one of the first civilizations to cultivate beets to use their roots as food. The tribes that invaded Rome were responsible for spreading beets throughout northern Europe where they were first used for animal fodder and later for human consumption becoming more popular in the 16th century.

Beets' value grew in the 19th century when it was discovered that they were a concentrated source of sugar, and the first sugar factory was built in Poland. When access to sugar cane was restricted by the British, Napoleon decreed that the beet be used as the primary source of sugar, catalyzing its popularity. Around this time, beets were also first brought to the United States, where they now flourish. Today the leading commercial producers of beets include the United States, the Russian Federation, France, Poland, France and Germany.

How to Select and Store

Choose small or medium-sized beets whose roots are firm, smooth-skinned and deep in color. Smaller, younger beets may be so tender that peeling won't be needed after they are cooked.

Avoid beets that have spots, bruises or soft, wet areas, all of which indicate spoilage. Shriveled or flabby should also be avoided as these are signs that the roots are aged, tough and fibrous.

While the quality of the greens does not reflect that of the roots, if you are going to consume this very nutritious part of the plant, look for greens that appear fresh, tender, and have a lively green color.

Store beets unwashed in the refrigerator crisper where they will keep for two to four weeks. Cut the majority of the greens and their stems from the roots, so they do not pull away moisture away from the root. Leave about two inches of the stem attached to prevent the roots from "bleeding." Store the unwashed greens in a separate perforated plastic bag where they will keep fresh for about four days.

Raw beets do not freeze well since they tend to become soft upon thawing. Freezing cooked beets is fine; they'll retain their flavor and texture.

Safety

If you start to see red when you increase your consumption of beets, don't be alarmed. You're just experiencing beeturia, or a red or pink color to your urine or stool. No need to panic; the condition is harmless.

Beet greens and, to a lesser extent the roots, contain oxalic acid. Oxalates are naturally-occurring substances found in plants, animals, and human beings. When oxalates become too concentrated in body fluids, they can crystallize and cause health problems. For this reason, individuals with already existing and untreated kidney or gallbladder problems may want to avoid eating beets. Since oxalates can also interfere with the absorption of calcium, individuals trying to build their calcium status may also want to avoid these foods, or if taking calcium supplements, may want to take them several hours before or after eating beets or beet greens.

Nutritional Profile

Beets, Boiled 1.00 cup 74.80 calories Nutrient Amount DV (%) Nutrient Density World's Healthiest Foods Rating folate 136.00 mcg 34.0 8.2 excellent manganese 0.55 mg 27.5 6.6 very good sodium 484.50 mg 20.2 4.9 very good potassium 518.50 mg 14.8 3.6 very good dietary fiber 3.40 g 13.6 3.3 good vitamin C 6.12 mg 10.2 2.5 good magnesium 39.10 mg 9.8 2.4 good tryptophan 0.03 g 9.4 2.3 good iron 1.34 mg 7.4 1.8 good copper 0.13 mg 6.5 1.6 good phosphorus 64.60 mg 6.5 1.6 good World's Healthiest Foods Rating Rule excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10% very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5% good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

References

• Bobek P, Galbavy S, Mariassyova M. The effect of red beet (Beta vulgaris var. rubra) fiber on alimentary hypercholesterolemia and chemically induced colon carcinogenesis in rats. Nahrung 2000 Jun;44(3):184-7.
• Ensminger AH, Esminger M. K. J. e. al. Food for Health: A Nutrition Encyclopedia. Clovis, California: Pegus Press; 1986.
• Ilnitskii AP, Iurchenko VA. Effect of fruit and vegetable juices on the changes in the production of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds in human gastric juice. Vopr Pitan 1993 Jul-Sep;(4):44-6.
• Ishizuka S, Ito S, Onuma M, et al. Ingestion of sugar beet fiber enhances irradiation-induced aberrant crypt foci in the rat colon under an apoptosis-suppressed condition. Carcinogenesis 1999 Jun;20(6):1005-9.
• Ishizuka S, Tanaka S. Modulation of CD8+ intraepithelial lymphocyte distribution by dietary fiber in the rat large intestine. Exp Biol Med 2002 Dec;227(11):1017-21.
• Nagai T, Ishizuka S, Hara H, Aoyama Y. Dietary sugar beet fiber prevents the increase in aberrant crypt foci induced by gamma-irradiation in the colorectum of rats treated with an immunosuppressant. J Nutr 2000 Jul;130(7):1682-7.
• Wood, Rebecca. The Whole Foods Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall Press; 1988.

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Dietary supplements cannot be used to prevent or treat any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Dietary supplements are not to be used to prevent or treat any disease. The Statements on this web page have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any information provided on this website is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical practitioner. Individuals are advised not to self-medicate in the presence of significant illness. Ingredients in supplements are not drugs and may not be foods.

Garden Plus contains Beets and is marketed by J. Wood & Associates.  To order Garden Plus for your store please call 405-285-7052 or email us at info@myfreenewsletter.com