Beetroot is a nutritional powerhouse and contains high amounts of antioxidant compounds known as anthocyanins. Anthocyanins give fruit and vegetables their deep red, purple or blue colouring and can also be found in blueberries, pomegranate, purple sweet potato and purple carrots. This compound is known for its anti-ageing and cancer prevention attributes thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Beetroot is also a great source of vitamins and minerals including folate, iron, vitamin C, manganese and potassium and magnesium. One cup of beetroot contains 37% of the recommended daily intake of folate. It is also high in fibre so great for improving the health of your microbiome and keeping you healthy over the winter months and beyond.
Another thing that makes beetroot special is that it's rich in nitrate, giving it the ability to improve vasodilation and blood flow throughout the body. This results in increased blood flow to the brain making it useful for dementia patients. Recent animal studies show that it may also be beneficial for patients suffering from anxiety and depression. It's vasodilatory effects also enable it to reduce systolic blood pressure in patients suffering from hypertension and helps improve athletic performance. It is therefore regularly consumed by elite athletes to improve their results.
So move over kale, beetroot is going to take the superfood title today. Whether you boil, pickle, bake, roast or simply eat it raw, adding beetroot to your diet is a great step towards improving your health and wellbeing.
Today I've put together a recipe for you to help you incorporate more beetroot into your repertoire I'm a big fan of dips, as it's an easy way to get a big serve of vegetables into your diet, and beetroot hummus dip is particularly delicious. Give it a go and let me know what you think on our Facebook page or instagram.
Click recipe below to download & print this recipe ->
Here's to nourishing and flourishing, Rose xx
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