Goodness Of Beetroot
Beetroot
By Dr. Harold Gunatillake
Beetroot is a root vegetable. What we eat is the root and the leaves belong to the Goosefoot family. Beetroot is grown in the hills of Sri Lanka
It is a good vegetable to eat even in excess, as it contains no fat, very low calories and has high fiber.
Beetroot is considered beneficial to the heart and digestive system. It is also taken as a laxative, for bad breath and coughs. Beetroot is well known for its blood purifying properties.
Heart Healthy
Beetroot is heart healthy as it contains soluble fibre which can help to reduce high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It also contains carotenoids and flavenoids, which help to stop LDL or bad cholesterol from oxidizing and being deposited in the arteries. Beetroot increases the uptake of oxygen in the body up to 400 percent. Chinese medicine suggests that consumption of beetroot strengthens the heart, sedates the body and purifies the blood. They recommend beetroot juice for menopausal women. Beetroot contains high folate content and is effective in reducing the risk of heart disease. Adequate folate intake decreases the level of homocysteine in the blood, which can cause heart disease.
Cancer treatment: Beetroot has been used as a treatment for cancer in Europe. Specific anti-carcinogens are bound to the red colouring matter which supposedly helps fight cancer. Beetroot also helps in the uptake of oxygen by as much as 400 percent. The green leafy part of the beetroot is also of nutritional value containing beta-carotene and other carotenoids that function as antioxidants. The leaf also contains folate, iron, potassium, and vitamin C. The leaves and the roots are given to pregnant women due to its valuable nutrients.
Boosts immune system: Beetroot is generally considered to prevent illness by boosting the immune system. In the booklet Positive Health by David Orr and his partner David Patient recommends beetroot as part of the diet to boost the immune system of those people in Africa suffering from HIV.
The nutritionists generally recommend fruits and vegetables of different colours to eat as your daily portions. The beetroot gives the red colour, carrots give the amber colour, and spinach the green colour. They can be mixed and served like a salad.
It has no cholesterol, or fat. It contains high soluble fiber. One small beet root (40g) provides around 1-6g of dietary fibre and 75 kcal of energy, according to The Oxford Dictionary Of Food And Nutrition.
In the analysis presented in McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition Of Foods, 100g of raw beetroot (peeled, but not grated) contain 87.1g of water, 7-6g of carbohydrate, 1-7g fat. It provides 154 kL (36 kcal) of energy. On boiling the beetroot for 45 minutes increases the carbohydrate level to 9-5g. It is observed that boiling beetroot increases its carbohydrate and protein content compared to raw beetroot.
Hippocrates advocates the use of beet leaves as a bandage after treatment of fistulae with ointments. The leaves are supposed to have healing qualities.
In the Talmud, a book containing the civil and canonical Jewish laws, written in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, the rabbis recommend, “eating beetroot, drinking mead and bathing in the Euphrates”, as part of a prescription for a long and healthy life.
Cure for cancer
In his book Plants Used Against Cancer, Jonathan Hartwell notes many instances of Beta vulgaris being used to treat various cancerous conditions throughout history. Beetroot has mainly been prepared as a decoction, with the root juice being drunk, although poultices are occasionally specified. The conditions treated have included tumours of the intestines, head, leg, genitals and rectum, lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and leukemia. Many of the reports, however, have either been anecdotal or from studies with small numbers of patients.
