1. Lowers Blood Pressure
Studies have found that blood pressure can be lowered by 4-10 mmHg a few hours after eating beetroot; beetroot has a greater effect on lowering systolic blood pressure than diastolic blood pressure; and raw beetroot has a higher blood pressure lowering effect than cooked beetroot. Beetroot is rich in nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, which help lower cholesterol and fat levels in the blood, thereby improving cardiovascular function and reducing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
2. Improves Athletic Performance
A study found that after taking 500 ml of beetroot juice every day for 6 consecutive days, the time participants could persist in high-intensity exercise until exhaustion was extended by 15%-25%. Other studies have found that continuous consumption of beetroot juice can improve the performance of cyclists.
3. Anti-inflammatory
Experiments on rats have shown that beetroot juice and beetroot extract help reduce kidney inflammation in rats with renal injury models. Human studies have also found that taking beetroot extract capsules can help relieve pain and discomfort in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
4. Improve digestion
Beetroot is rich in dietary fiber, which has prebiotic properties and can promote the proliferation of beneficial intestinal microorganisms, enhance intestinal barrier function, promote digestive tract health, and prevent intestinal inflammation.
5. Promote toxin excretion
The liver, kidneys, and intestines are the three major detoxification organs of the human body. The bioactive ingredients in beetroot can reduce the oxidative stress of these three organs, reduce the level of inflammation, and enhance the detoxification function.
6. Promote brain health
The nitrates in beetroot help dilate blood vessels and increase blood and oxygen supply in the brain; the antioxidants in beetroot can reduce oxidative stress, thereby improving brain health and delaying brain function decline. Studies have found that beetroot can improve the blood supply to the frontal lobe of the brain, and the frontal lobe is the area in the human brain responsible for higher neural activity. The function of humans to remember the current situation and make corresponding decisions based on it is responsible for this brain area. Other studies have found that after diabetic patients drank 250 ml of beetroot juice or placebo every day for 2 weeks, the reaction time of the beetroot juice group to specific cognitive tasks was 4% shorter than that of the placebo group, suggesting that beetroot juice has an improving effect on cognitive function.
7. Anti-cancer
Animal experiments have found that beetroot extract can inhibit the differentiation and proliferation of cancer cells. Human cell experiments have shown that beetroot extract can inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells and breast cancer cells. However, there is currently a lack of direct research on human cancer patients.
8. Helps with weight loss
Beetroot is a low-calorie, high-nutrient-density food that can be used to control weight. The protein and dietary fiber in beetroot can also help increase or decrease satiety, which can help people control their food intake and avoid eating too much.
9. Improve diabetes
Although beetroot tastes sweet, it is a low-glycemic load index food (low GL value) and will not cause blood sugar to soar when eaten as a vegetable. And beetroot contains a special antioxidant active substance - alpha lipoic acid, which can lower blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity.
10. Improve sexual function
The antihypertensive effect of beetroot can not only improve systemic blood pressure, but also lower blood pressure in sexual organs, increase blood flow to sexual organs, improve male erectile dysfunction, and enhance female sexual function.
11. Improve anemia
Beetroot is one of the fruits and vegetables with the highest iron content. 100 grams of beetroot can meet 4% of a person's daily iron needs, which is much higher than those red fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and watermelons. It is a good choice for iron supplementation for people with iron deficiency anemia or vegetarians.
12. Good for the health of pregnant women and fetuses
The fetal spinal cord development requires sufficient folic acid, so women will increase their folic acid intake during pregnancy to meet the physical needs of mother and child. The rich folic acid content makes beetroot one of the good sources of folic acid for pregnant women.
*The content of this article is only for knowledge sharing and information exchange, for reference only, and cannot replace professional health care or medical advice. Please follow the doctor's advice for specific circumstances. The information in this article has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and cannot be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
1. 降低血压
研究发现，食用甜菜根数小时后，血压可降低4-10 mmHg；甜菜根降低收缩压的效果大于舒张压；生吃甜菜根的降压效果比熟吃甜菜根更好。甜菜根富含膳食纤维、维生素和矿物质等营养成分，有助于降低血液中的胆固醇和脂肪含量，从而改善心血管功能，降低心脑血管疾病的风险。
2. 提高运动表现
一项研究发现，连续6天每天服用500毫升甜菜根汁后，参与者坚持高强度运动直至力竭的时间延长了15%-25%。另有研究发现，持续饮用甜菜根汁可提高自行车运动员的表现。
3. 抗炎
大鼠实验表明，甜菜根汁和甜菜根提取物有助于减轻肾损伤模型大鼠的肾脏炎症。人体研究也发现，服用甜菜根提取物胶囊有助于缓解骨关节炎和类风湿性关节炎患者的疼痛和不适。
4. 改善消化
甜菜根富含膳食纤维，具有益生元特性，可促进有益肠道微生物的增殖，增强肠道屏障功能，促进消化道健康，预防肠道炎症。
5. 促进毒素排泄
肝脏、肾脏和肠道是人体三大解毒器官，甜菜根中的生物活性成分可降低这三个器官的氧化应激，降低炎症水平，增强解毒功能。
6. 促进大脑健康
甜菜根中的硝酸盐有助于扩张血管，增加大脑的血液和氧气供应；甜菜根中的抗氧化剂能降低氧化应激，从而改善大脑健康，延缓脑功能衰退。研究发现，甜菜根能改善大脑额叶的血液供应，额叶是人脑中负责较高神经活动的区域，人类记忆当前情况并据此做出相应决策的功能就是由这一脑区负责。另有研究发现，糖尿病患者连续2周每天饮用250毫升甜菜根汁或安慰剂后，甜菜根汁组对特定认知任务的反应时间比安慰剂组缩短了4%，提示甜菜根汁对认知功能有改善作用。
7.抗癌
动物实验发现，甜菜根提取物能抑制癌细胞的分化和增殖。人体细胞实验显示，甜菜根提取物能抑制前列腺癌细胞和乳腺癌细胞的生长。但目前还缺乏对人类癌症患者的直接研究。
8. 有助于减肥
甜菜根是一种低热量、高营养密度的食物，可以用来控制体重。甜菜根中的蛋白质和膳食纤维还可以帮助增加或减少饱腹感，可以帮助人们控制食物摄入量，避免暴饮暴食。
9. 改善糖尿病
甜菜根虽然味道甜，但它是低升糖负荷指数食物（低GL值），作为蔬菜食用不会导致血糖飙升。而且甜菜根含有一种特殊的抗氧化活性物质——α-硫辛酸，可以降低血糖水平，增加胰岛素敏感性。
10. 改善性功能
甜菜根的降压作用，不仅可以改善全身血压，还可以降低性器官血压，增加性器官血流量，改善男性勃起功能障碍，增强女性性功能。
11. 改善贫血
甜菜根是含铁量最高的水果和蔬菜之一。 100克甜菜根可以满足人体每日铁需求的4%，远高于番茄、西瓜等红色果蔬，是缺铁性贫血者或素食者补铁的好选择。
12.有益孕妇及胎儿健康
胎儿脊髓发育需要充足的叶酸，因此女性在怀孕期间会增加叶酸摄入量，以满足母婴的身体需求。丰富的叶酸含量使甜菜根成为孕妇补充叶酸的良好来源之一。
