Colorful Beets: Good As The Other Coloreds?

Discussion in 'Health & Wellness' started by Frank Sanoica, Apr 22, 2016.

  1. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    I love beets! Especially pickled beets, already cooked, leaning toward the sweet side of "sweet-sour", which was the term used in our household. My Dad would have eaten everything sweet-sour, if he could. Knowing the deeply-colored fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, I got to wondering about beets. Looked at a jar of cooked beets, and the label indicated almost no Fiber! How could that be, I wondered. So I started nosing around a bit.
    (Can anyone tell me why this thing suddenly decided to use smaller size type?) (bolded below)
    Turns out, beets are indeed very good for us! Especially when eaten raw (UGH!). Never ate one raw. Testing done on some hundreds of folks eating beets under controlled conditions showed they lower the blood pressure, for one thing. Here are a few quoted facts:

    Packed with essential nutrients, beetroots are a great source of fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron and vitamin C.
    Beetroots and beetroot juice have been associated with numerous health benefits, including improved blood flow, lower blood pressure and increased exercise performance.
    Many of these health benefits are due by their high content of inorganic nitrates."

    "Raw or cooked beetroots contain about 8-10% carbohydrates.
    Simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose, make up 70% of the carbs in raw beetroots, and 80% in cooked beetroots.
    Beetroots are also a source of fructans, short-chain carbs which are classified as FODMAPs.
    Some people cannot digest these FODMAPs, causing unpleasant digestive symptoms.
    Beetroots have a glycemic index score of 61, which is considered to be in the medium range (2).
    The glycemic index is a measure of how fast blood sugar levels rise after a meal.
    On the other hand, the glycemic load of beetroots is only 5, which is very low.
    Beetroots are high in fiber, providing about 2-3 grams in each 100 gram serving."

    Quotes are from: https://authoritynutrition.com/foods/beetroot/


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  2. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    I like beets that are cool.:cool:
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  3. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    I like beets, We grow them. The whole beet, greens and all, are good when they are small. The rest are usually pickled. The pickled beets are good cold right out of the jar or warmed as a side dish with a meal.
     
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  4. Krissttina Isobe

    Krissttina Isobe Veteran Member
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    I'm so glad you posted about beets. I made me research it and found it's exactly what we need to add in our weekly diet! It's a super food too so we'll benefit greatly from consuming beets. Thanks so much!
     
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  5. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Beets seem to be one of those awesome foods that most people are not aware of the benefits of. I really like beets, especially pickled beets; but when we picked a veggie to go with our meal, we usually chose beans, carrot, or some other more typical vegetable.
    After reading about how healthy beets are, I have been adding more of them into my diet. I am also learning more about pickling foods, because that seems to be a very healthy way of eating them.
    As far as eating raw beets, the only way that i have done that is to put them in my smoothies. They have a very different taste when used raw, and it turns the smoothie into a gorgeous deep crimson pink color.
    There are a lot of health benefits from beets, and I want to start growing my own beets, too.

    http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-beet-benefits-aphrodisiac-brain-booster-more.html
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I have never tasted a beet that I didn't want to throw up.
     
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  7. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Yvonne Smith I looked at the care2.com site before I posted, but lost it. I was originally seeking the chemical names of the antioxidants in beets. One of them I've seen began with "cyan---", which is a greenish-blue color, made no sense, veggies ain't blue, so it must be related to the chemistry:
    CN = CYANide. So, connection with the color is still awaiting interpretation. Such fun.
     
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  8. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I think that the word you are looking for is "anthocyanins", @Frank Sanoica . I was pretty sure that I had also read about it somewhere along the line, just didn't remember exactly what I read.
    One of the interesting things to me is how the different colored and shaped fruits and vegetables are supposed to help part of our body that look similar to that fruit or veggie.
    Beetroot has long been known as a blood purifier, and the color certainly is reminiscent of the color of blood.
    Kidney beans, which look like tiny kidneys, are supposed to be beneficial to our kidneys.
    Walnuts, which look more like the brain are actually good for our brain. Of course, not all plants look like part of our body; but still it is interesting how that turns out to be true when they do benefit the part that they resemble.

    It is also important to get food from all of the color spectrum when we are choosing what we eat.
    Each color has it own phytochemicals, and they each have a different value for our bodies. So, if you don't like beets, then there are other blue/purple foods that have the same phytochemicals, such as purple plums or grapes, just as an example.

    http://gentleworld.org/phytochemicals-eating-from-the-rainbow/
     
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  9. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    I like beet pickles. I can eat a quart of them without even trying. :D I never knew you could eat the beet greens, though.
     
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  10. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Shirley Martin I would think the only thing to watch out for is if not prepared by you, lots of added sugar may be present in commercial product. It's theorized that the American Public has become accustomed to preferring things sweet more than in the past. Chinese lady who worked with my wife claimed the "Chinese" food served here was unlike true Chinese food, as it is all made to taste sweet.
     
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  11. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    :eek:
     
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  12. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    Beets are closely related to Swiss Chard ant the greens taste the same. When I thin the beets in the garden the beets I pull have the start of a small beetroot. We wash them then cook the whole thing,
     
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  13. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I had a friend in Idaho who did that thinnning and cooking, too, @Sheldon Scott . The tiny beets added to the flavor of the greens, and they were the very best greens that I have ever eaten !
    The ones I started earlier didn't do well, but i am going to start some again, and hopefully, it is not too late for them by now. What time do you start beets and fall greens to have the crops of these after the heat of summer is past, Sheldon ?
    The beets that you buy fresh in the store with the tops are expensive for such a small amount, so I think that if a person wants to really be able to enjoy eating beets, you have to grow them yourself. I don't even always see fresh beets in the store, and when I do find them, they are over $3 for just one little bunch of beets and greens.
     
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  14. Andie Nuckels

    Andie Nuckels Veteran Member
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    My husband and I are both big fans of beets, but I have to confess I have never eaten the greens, nor pickled them. I like to roast them and eat the in salads. And I think all of the colors are delicious, particularly the golden beets. Try them with some blue cheese. Yum.
     
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  15. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    I have always liked beets and tops as well the old sweet and sour taste of Harvard beets love them. I introduced them in this country and I could not make enough.
    As a health food it is up there on the list great for the liver.
     
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