Beetroots, commonly referred to as beets, are a popular root vegetable used in many cuisines worldwide. The star in today’s popular smoothies and juices, and were eaten for a long time for their vitamin and mineral bounty. Read on to learn more about their benefits — such as whether they can actually “detox” your body — and whether this root vegetable can pose any side effects on your individual health.

Beet greens may be used like any green salad, but be careful to clean thoroughly before serving. Use raw in smoothies, salads, or as a garnish. Beet greens may be served in stir-fries or soups.

Beets nutrition facts:

Beets are a low-calorie, nutrient-packed food. The following US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient estimates are based on a 1⁄2-cup serving of sliced beets:

• Calories: 35 Calories
• Protein: 1 gram (g) (2 percent a day, or DV)
• Fat: 0 Grams
• Carbohydrates: 8 g
• Fiber: 1 g (4% DV),
• Sugar: 6 g
• Iron: 0.4 mg (2.22 percent VD)
• Sodium (5): 250 mg

Beets are also a source of betaine, an antioxidant type that can be seen in its rich, red-colored roots.

Some Health Benefits of Beets:

The health benefits of beets are broad in scope. As with most other foods based on plants, beets are high in nutrients but low in calories. Our antioxidants can have other advantages, such as reducing the likelihood of cell injury.

In general, beets are among the group of vegetables and fruits that can help to reduce your risk of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and dementia.

Antioxidants give their bright, vibrant colors to vegetables like beets and in the case of this food, that color is bright red. As a common rule of thumb, the lighter you have plant products in your diet, the more antioxidants you can eat.

How to prepare beets?

The most frequently asked question is: how to cook beets? And here we are going to answer it for you.

Now that we know everything about the incredible benefits of eating beets and they taste pretty unbelievable. Let’s learn how to use two easy to follow methods to cook them.

• First, you need to prepare your beets for the cooking before using any tool.
• If you have bought beets with the greens still attached, remove the leafy greens and reserve for use or discard later. Do not slice through the beetroot; instead, chop off the beet greens, leaving the green intact about 1-inch.
• Scrub the beets.

Boiled Beets:

Boiling beets is a quick way of cooking beets, and extracting the skins is very fast! The beets are best cooked with the skins attached, as the skins help the beet preserve its nutrients and prevent the beet color from leaking. What makes the beet so attractive in foods is the red natural hues.

When cooking, adding lemon juice or vinegar to the pot also preserves the color. Place the beets in a big saucepan. Add water to cover the beet top. Bring water to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer to about 45 minutes, until tender. Take the saucepan off the stove.

Steamed Beets:

Steam beets (with skins) to clean beets comfortably and rapidly. Steaming beets preserves nutrients, and if you have a steamer on hand, it is a simple process. Steamed beets are delicious in smoothies or salads (especially when you don’t own a high-speed blender). Fill a steamer’s bottom with 2-3 “water.

As the water heats, wash the beets, leaving 2 inches of taproot on the beets and 1 inch of the base. Cut the beets in half or quarters. Never peel. Steam beets covered 15-20 minutes or so. Beets are cooked when a fork or the tip of a paring knife is easy to insert into the beet.