As a child I hated borscht. My parents loved it, so it appeared on the table quite often, along with large helpings of beet puns: Mom’s cooking can’t be beet.
I wish I had eaten more beets back then. I might have become an athlete, since some research indicates that dietary nitrates found in beets, or beetroot, may enhance athletic performance.
I didn’t know then that beets were packed with essential nutrients, like folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin C, and inorganic nitrates. Beets also contain dietary fibre in which helps maintain bowel health, lowers cholesterol levels, helps control blood sugar levels, and aids in achieving a healthy weight. I really didn’t know what I was missing.
Although I grew to love all things beet, it wasn’t until a recent TOPS meeting that I realized the health benefits of eating beets. One of our members shared her research on the subject, which gave rise to a lively conversation, and to my amazement I learned that this humble root vegetable was astonishingly heath-giving. There are many good things about belonging to TOPS, but for me, it’s the variety and quality of information the members bring and share each week.
We learned that beets contribute many health benefits, including improved blood flow and increased exercise performance. Beets contain a high concentration of nitrates, which have a blood pressure-lowering effect. This may lead to a reduced risk of heart attacks, heart failure and stroke. Various forms of stress can be diminished, possibly including some stress that leads to weight gain, by having more beets in your diet. That might help these days, with our anxieties over COVID, or being tailgated by summer tourists in a hurry.
What’s in a beet? Almost all the vitamins and minerals that you need. In summary, in a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of cooked beetroot, there are only 44 calories. There are 1.7 grams of protein, only 0.2 grams of fat, 2 grams of fibre, 6% of your RDI for Vitamin C, a whopping 20% of the RDI of Folate, 3% of the RDI for Vitamin B6, 6% of the RDI for Magnesium, 9% of the RDI for Potassium, 4% of the RDI for Phosphorous,16% of the RDI for Manganese, and 4% of the RDI for Iron. Beets also contain inorganic nitrates and pigments. And you thought they were just pretty.
During our beet discussion, we learned about preparing them in several ways. There are pickled beets, Harvard beets, beet salad, roasted beets, and boiled beets, though roasting is preferred to maintain their nutritional value, as well as chilled beetroot juice! Even borscht. Like my mother, whose motto was “waste not; want not,” some of our members use the greens, which can be chopped and added to salads or soups, or steamed, as you would steam spinach.
Check out our website at www.tops.org. TOPS is about positive weight-loss support. Develop a weight management style that really works for you. Join us every Wednesday morning at the Community Centre, from 9:00 to 10:00. If you want to Take Off Pounds Sensibly with us, please call.
Submitted by Amber Harvey