Beets - useful properties and contraindications

Beetroot is a well-known vegetable that has been eaten for many centuries. Beets are eaten as a separate dish, seasoned with mayonnaise, added to salads and soups, juices are prepared from it. Not only root crops are suitable for use, but also leaves, which are also added to salads. Without beets it is impossible to cook your favorite dishes of Eastern Europeans: vinaigrette, herring under a fur coat and borsch. Is there any benefit from eating this vegetable?

General information

Beetroot is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the Amaranth family. Of the plants used in food, spinach is attributed to the same family. It is noteworthy that in some regions of Eastern Europe beets are called “beetroot”. In the same regions it is used as a root crop and only occasionally use leaves for food.

Beetroot was known several thousand years before our era. At first, wild beets were eaten, and after that they cultivated this plant. Beet growing originates in the 2nd millennium BC. Then only the leaves of the plant were eaten, his root was small, not like the one we see now. The edible root crop appeared about 400 BC They began to cultivate it with the beginning of our era. It was after the beginning of the use of root vegetables, beets quickly spread around the world. The most valuable and delicious is sugar beet, bred in the USSR.

At the moment, beets grow on all continents. On the territory of Eastern Europe, the most suitable lands for its cultivation are located on the territory of Western Ukraine at the foot of the Carpathians. It is there that sugar beets are grown, from which sugar is then really made. Beets love a moderately warm and humid climate.

In addition to sugar beets, there are other species of this plant. Most often they eat beetroot. It is ubiquitous, has a pleasant taste and aroma, and is rich in useful vitamins and minerals. This species grows usually of medium size and has a mass of up to 1 kg. The third type - beet fodder is not consumed. It usually reaches a large size, can weigh about 10 kg. Due to the not very pleasant taste, this plant is not eaten, but it is grown in many countries. Beetroot feed serves as feed for various animals.

Beetroot Composition

The ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates in beets looks like: 8: 1: 48. Indeed, even table beets have a large amount of carbohydrates, which reduces its attractiveness to dieters. However, it is worth remembering that part of the carbohydrates from beets is not absorbed by the body at all, and, therefore, is not stored as fat.

Beets are rich in vitamins. It contains a large amount of vitamin A and ascorbic acid. Of the B vitamins, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and pantothenic acid predominate in beets. Most of them are in fresh root crops, because freshly squeezed beetroot juice is most useful. In addition to vitamins, there are a lot of microelements in beets. She is the record holder for calcium among other vegetables.In addition to calcium, beets have a lot of iron, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. The content of nutrients decreases slightly during heat treatment of beets.

Useful properties of beets

The advantage of this vegetable is that the vitamins and microelements included in its composition do not act separately, but in tandem. In beets, all elements are arranged in such a way as to potentiate the properties of each other. Beet root vegetable has the following useful properties:

1. It treats and prevents the development of iron deficiency anemia. As already mentioned, in beets a large amount of iron, which is simply necessary for people with anemia. In addition, this vegetable is useful for pregnant women to prevent the development of anemia. The ascorbic acid contained in beets increases the digestibility of iron by the body several times.
2. Prevents the development of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease of bone tissue that develops due to insufficient calcium in it. Beetroot contains not only calcium, which is necessary for bone formation, but also phosphorus. Phosphorus is also necessary for bones.
3. Prevents the development of dental diseases. First of all, we are talking about caries and scurvy. Caries develops if tooth enamel is damaged. To strengthen it, you need to use calcium and phosphorus. Scurvy develops when vitamin C is not consumed enough. Beets contain enough calcium, phosphorus and ascorbic acid to prevent the development of these diseases.
4. Is the prevention of cancer. Beets contain antioxidant substances that help the body get rid of tumor cells. However, no proven studies of this property have been conducted.
5. The fight against constipation. Beets contain a large amount of fiber, which is not absorbed by the body, but irritates the intestinal wall and enhances its motility. This helps fight constipation.

Contraindications

In addition to the beneficial properties, beets are also harmful. Contraindications to its use are as follows:

1. Urolithiasis disease. Due to the high content of calcium and phosphorus, beets can increase the formation of kidney stones.
2. Diabetes. Beets contain a lot of light carbohydrates, so people with this disease can not eat it.
3. Diarrhea. This vegetable stimulates peristalsis, which can aggravate diarrhea.
4. Gastritis and gastric ulcer. Beetroot has an acid reaction, therefore, with diseases of the stomach, it is better to refuse it.

Thus, we can conclude that beets are the oldest vegetable, the taste and beneficial properties of which have been known for many millennia. Beetroot helps fight many diseases and prevent their development. However, there are a number of diseases in which the use of this root crop is strictly contraindicated.

Video: the beneficial properties of beet juice