Red Beet and Its Greens Highly Nutritious Food to Include in Diet

Also known as beetroot, the beet is a form of the maritime sea beet. Its typical red coloration comes from its cell sap, but there are other beet varieties in other colors. Beets have been grown since the Assyrian times and were highly esteemed by ancient Greeks and used in offerings to Apollo. Many Roman recipes used beets which they esteemed more highly than the greatly revered cabbage.

Beets first appeared in English recipes in the 14^th century and were first described as the beet we know in 1558 in Germany, though it was a rarity at that time in northern Europe.

The beet vegetable is a good source of folate, fiber and potassium. Its greens are rich in potassium, calcium, iron, beta carotene and vitamin C. Beets are also rich in phytochemicals such as anthrocyanins and saponins which may bind cholesterol in the digestive tract, lowering risk of heart disease.

The primary negative of beets is that they turn urine and stools red, which people often mistaken for blood. Beets are also high in oxalates which may affect people prone to kidney stones or gout.

Beets have been used in folk medicine as a blood tonic for gastritis, piles and constipation. Recent research suggests that drinking one glass of raw beet juice a day helps control cancer.