Beet is a unique healing root vegetable

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is a root plant of the Chenopodiaceae family – one of the oldest and most important vegetable crops in the human diet.

Of the fifteen species of plants in the genus Beet, only two are cultivated: leaf beet (chard) and common root beet. They were grown even before our era in ancient Assyria and Babylon.

Common root beet is divided into three groups, which many consider to be varieties of beet: fodder, sugar and table. We will talk about table beet – the very one without which you cannot cook borscht or make vinaigrette…

Chemical composition and beneficial properties of beets

The chemical composition of beets is extremely rich. First of all, these are sugars (sucrose, glucose and fructose) and mineral salts (magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, cobalt, phosphorus, but most of all potassium - about 3.3%). Organic acids are represented by malic, citric, tartaric and oxalic acids. Beets contain 1.7% proteins; 10.8% carbohydrates; 0.7% fiber; 1.2% pectin substances. Among the vitamins present in these root crops are vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, U, P, PP and carotene (provitamin A).

The characteristics of beets are improved by the presence of iodine, pantothenic, folic and oleanolic acids, as well as at least ten different amino acids, including lysine, valine, arginine and histidine.

Now that we have an idea of what is included in the chemical composition of beets, we can give a more detailed answer to the frequently asked question: what are the benefits of beets? The use of beets, even in ancient times, was not limited to eating. Since ancient times, healers treated poorly healing wounds with beet juice or beet leaves. The famous ancient Greek physician Hippocrates healed the sick with beets and left his descendants over a dozen "beet" recipes for treating various diseases.

Pickled beets were considered an effective remedy for scurvy. And when they had a cold or anemia, village grandmothers gave their grandchildren beet juice to drink.

The beneficial properties of beets are the "merit" of the substances they contain. With vitamins and mineral salts, everything is more or less clear. But the amino acid arsenal of beets is truly unique and helps with many pathologies. Thus, valine is necessary to maintain normal nitrogen metabolism in the body, regulate nervous processes, and stabilize hormonal levels. Lysine promotes the absorption of calcium, without which the formation and growth of bones are impossible. Histidine, which takes part in hematopoiesis and maintains immunity, protects the human body from the effects of radiation. Arginine is not only necessary for metabolism in muscle tissue, it also stimulates immunity and slows the growth of tumors.

The chemical composition of beets even contains vitamin U (methylmethionine sulfonium), which is involved in the production of histamine. This helps to normalize the acidity of gastric juice, as well as reduce allergic reactions in the body. And oleanolic acid is known to specialists for its hepatoprotective activity (helps cleanse the liver of toxins), the ability to stimulate the heart muscle, resist atherosclerotic processes and increase the intensity of lipid metabolism (the disruption of which threatens damage to the coronary vessels of the heart and leads to a heart attack).

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Beetroot Juice Treatment: Affordable and Effective

The simplest thing that beet juice can cope with is rhinitis due to a cold. Beetroot for a runny nose is used in the form of drops, for the preparation of which you need to grate raw peeled beets on a fine grater and strain the juice through a sieve. It should be instilled into the nose up to four times a day: 3 drops for children, 5-6 drops for adults. To enhance the bactericidal effect of this folk remedy, you can add honey to the juice.

If you have a sore throat, gargling with raw beet juice helps, but to do this you need to dilute it with boiled water and add a teaspoon of 9% vinegar.

Beetroot for constipation is a tried and tested remedy. Thanks to fiber and organic acids, boiled beetroot activates intestinal peristalsis. To forget about constipation and get rid of intestinal atony, it is recommended to eat 100-150 g of boiled beetroot daily. Beetroot is especially useful for pancreatitis - to eliminate the same constipation, as well as to enrich the body with potassium, which reduces the permeability of vascular walls and helps reduce pathological sensitivity of the body (desensitization).

As shown by studies by Hungarian pharmacologists, common table beetroot is quite effective in oncology. Such patients are recommended to take up to 600 ml of fresh beetroot juice per day - 100-200 ml at equal intervals, 10-15 minutes before meals. The juice should be drunk warm, in small sips. At the same time, it is contraindicated to eat yeast bread or drink sour juices. Experts note that beetroot juice for oncological diseases should be drunk without interruption, and it is especially recommended for patients who have undergone radiation therapy. After a month of treatment with beetroot juice, the general condition of many cancer patients improves.

In traditional Chinese medicine, beets are used to treat benign tumors in women (fibroids, fibroadenomas, and mastopathy). According to a popular recipe, it is not the juice that is used, but the pulp of raw root vegetables, grated together with the peel (for which the beets are soaked in running water for three hours). The juice is removed, and a compress of crushed pulp is applied to the chest and lower abdomen overnight. The treatment lasts 20 days according to the following scheme: two nights - compress, one night - break. Then the treatment is interrupted for a month, and after this period the course is repeated.

Beetroot treatment does not lose its popularity for a variety of diseases. Due to the content of potassium and magnesium compounds, beetroot is recommended for the prevention and treatment of hypertension, atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular pathologies. In this case, raw beetroot juice is mixed with honey in a 1:1 ratio and taken 7 times a day - one tablespoon per dose. The same composition is recommended for drinking during menopause - to relieve hot flashes (you need to take a third of a glass 2 times a day). And for hepatitis, beetroot juice (100 ml), diluted with water (100 ml) - twice a day, after meals, helps well.

Beet juice treatment is used for high cholesterol, thrombophlebitis, and hemorrhoids. The content of the biologically active substance betaine in beets promotes the synthesis of choline ("vitamin B4") in the body. This allows beet juice to regulate the process of protein absorption in the body, prevent fatty degeneration of the liver, activate its work, and protect against various acute and chronic lesions. Betaine is included in a number of medications to improve liver function.

Iron, copper and manganese, which are present in sufficient quantities in the chemical composition of beets, are the main participants in the process of hematopoiesis. Therefore, beets and hemoglobin are inseparable concepts, because eating beets is the most accessible and effective way to combat anemia.

And thanks to the presence of zinc in beets, which helps regulate metabolism and can increase the duration of action of the pancreatic hormone - insulin, beets are simply irreplaceable for diabetes. Systematic consumption of its juice - 50 g three times a day - helps diabetics reduce blood sugar levels.

By the way, urine after beets, meaning its color after some time after drinking beet juice, can serve as an indicator of the state of the human immune system. If urine is pink, then, as doctors say, this means that the intestines lack healthy microflora. And without it, the intestinal mucosa is defenseless against pathogenic and putrefactive microbes. And when, 7-10 days after the start of "beet therapy", the natural color of urine is restored, you can rest assured: the intestines, bile ducts and kidneys have become cleaner.

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So that the medicinal properties of beets bring only benefits

The unique properties of beet juice strengthen the body and thus help fight infection. However, it should be borne in mind that the harm of beet juice is in its overdose. The maximum daily dose of pure (i.e. undiluted) beet juice is only 0.5 glass, and it should be drunk not at once, but in 3-4 doses.

In addition, it should be emphasized that the harm of beets is in freshly squeezed juice, which contains some harmful volatile compounds. But when exposed to air, they are naturally destroyed. It is for this reason that before drinking raw beet juice, it must be kept for at least three hours - in an open container in the refrigerator.

Beetroot also has contraindications: for some, its juice causes nausea, vomiting, dizziness, increased heart rate and general weakness.

Beetroot is contraindicated for osteoporosis, as its consumption reduces the body's ability to absorb calcium. Due to the content of oxalic acid, beetroot should not be overused in gastritis with high acidity, urolithiasis, and also if you are prone to diarrhea.

Beetroot on your table: a “waste-free” dietary vegetable

The beneficial properties of boiled beets are almost the same as those of raw beets. For example, boiled beets contain the same necessary fiber and vitamin U, which activate the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract, and also help rid the body of waste and toxins.

But not everyone likes the raw root vegetable because of its peculiar taste. Therefore, boiled beets are used as food, and most often they are one of the ingredients in various dishes.

The answer to the question of how to cook beets correctly is unambiguous - only whole, without cutting into pieces. So, when buying this vegetable for a future vinaigrette or herring "under a fur coat", choose smaller root vegetables: they will cook faster. After thoroughly washing the raw beets, without cutting off the "tail", put them in a saucepan, fill with cold water (so that it covers the vegetables by 1-2 cm) and bring to a boil. After this, drain the boiling water and fill it with cold water again. After boiling again, it is enough to cook the beets for 20-25 minutes (instead of 45 minutes according to the traditional technology of our grandmothers). We remind you that you do not need to salt the water! It is also good to bake beets in the oven, wrapping each one in cling film. This method of cooking preserves more nutrients.

Recipes with beets are used in the cuisines of different nations. The simplest and fastest beet salad is familiar in every home. To prepare it, you will need: 2 pcs. boiled beets, 2 cloves of garlic, 5 peeled and crushed walnuts, mayonnaise, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Beets are grated on a coarse grater, mixed with chopped garlic and nuts, salted and peppered and seasoned with mayonnaise (which can be replaced with any vegetable oil).

Here is a recipe for making a Chinese beet salad: boiled beets (1 piece), potatoes boiled in their skins (2 pieces), pickles (2 pieces), sour apples (2 pieces), sunflower oil (3 tablespoons), sesame oil (3 tablespoons), cumin. Cut everything into small cubes, mix and pour in the oil mixture, to which add ground cumin. This salad should be left to sit for 1 hour before serving.

Borscht with beets does not need any recommendations. According to the proverb, "Without borscht, lunch is not lunch, and without beets, there is no borscht." By the way, before tomatoes appeared in Rus', borscht was cooked only with beets. This type of borscht is still cooked today. To prepare it, you need to peel the beets, cut them into thin strips and put them in a frying pan with fat, sprinkle the beets with vinegar and simmer (heat well), stirring constantly. Then add a little broth or water (if the borscht is lean) and simmer until the beets are soft. Chop the onion and lightly fry it in another frying pan, add the carrots cut into strips. Put the shredded cabbage, stewed beets, fried carrots, spices and diluted flour sauté into the boiling broth or water. Cook for 15-20 minutes, at the end of cooking add crushed pork fat with garlic.

You can make beetroot soup using this recipe. You will need: meat broth, beets, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, pickles, vegetable oil, spices (black peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme), herbs, salt, sugar.

Fry the onion in sunflower oil until golden brown, add peeled and chopped tomatoes and grated raw beetroot. Stew everything. Put the potatoes cut into small cubes into the boiling broth, add bay leaf and pepper. After 5 minutes of cooking, add the onion-tomato-beetroot mixture to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes after boiling. Then add the salted cucumber, grated on a coarse grater, and cook for 5 minutes after boiling. Add salt, sugar, salt and thyme. When serving, sprinkle with herbs.

Cabbage with beets - a recipe from the Caucasus, where it is called "Gurian Cabbage". For 2 kg of white cabbage you need: beets (1 pc.), garlic (3-4 cloves), red hot pepper (1 pc.). For the marinade: for 1 glass of water - 1 tbsp. salt, 3 tbsp. granulated sugar and 0.5 glass of 6% vinegar (vinegar is added at the very end of cooking the marinade).

The cabbage is not shredded, but cut into 2 cm thick slices. The raw beets are cut into medium strips, the garlic is crushed, the pepper is cleaned of seeds and cut into long strips. Everything is mixed, placed in a jar or enamel bowl and filled with hot marinade. Until the container cools down, it is left without a lid, and then closed. Over the course of two days, the lid should be removed several times, and then closed again. On the third day, the cabbage and beets can be put in the refrigerator. And, of course, eaten.

It is not for nothing that we called beets a "zero-waste" vegetable. According to research, young beet tops (i.e. leaves) contain a lot of carotene and folic acid. Therefore, when buying the first young beets in the spring, do not neglect their "tops". Experienced housewives know very well what to cook from beet leaves, adding tops to borscht, soups, okroshka and salads.

The recipe for a beetroot tops salad is very simple. You need to sort and wash 500 g of tops well, chop them and stew for 5 minutes with a small amount of salted water. Drain the water, cool the tops and add 1 onion cut into half rings, half a teaspoon of granulated sugar and salt to taste. Season with vegetable oil (2 tablespoons).

Boiled beetroot is almost 100% carbohydrate, and the caloric content of beetroot – based on a 100 g serving – is only 44 calories. So beetroot is recommended for weight loss by many nutritionists. Boiled beetroot is usually grated or cut into strips. It is better not to add salt, but it will not hurt to sprinkle with vegetable oil. If you want to diversify this dietary salad, add boiled carrots, fresh apple and greens.

On the benefits of beets for children, pregnant women and nursing mothers

Nutritionists advise including beets in the diet of pregnant women and small children. And for good reason, because beets are a real storehouse of vitamins and many other valuable substances for the body.

In addition, beets are especially useful during pregnancy, since the betaine contained in this root vegetable maintains an optimal level of blood pressure and prevents its surges. This substance also actively participates in the regulation of fat metabolism and prevents the appearance of excess deposits in the liver.

The ban on "red vegetables" does not apply to beets during breastfeeding. But a nursing mother should eat beets wisely: little by little and constantly observe how the child reacts to this product. And to be absolutely sure that the baby will not develop an allergy after the beet salad eaten by the mother, it is recommended to gradually include beets in the diet (and only boiled ones). The same recommendations apply to the question: when can a child eat beets. Everything is individual, and especially when introducing a new product into baby food.

And finally, one more answer. This time to a rather unexpected question: why do you dream of beets? So, the dream book beets: to see beets growing in a garden bed in a dream means a good harvest and peace. If you dream that you are eating beets with other people, then this is considered an omen of good news. A dream in which you see cooked beets lying on a dirty plate is considered unfavorable and foretells troubles and worries. But a dream about cutting beets - alas, to separation...