Raw Beets

I always thought beets had to be cooked until my daughter proved me wrong.

One day in the kitchen, my daughter handed me a slice of raw red beet and said, "Mom, try this." I was hesitant, but I ate the slice, and the beet was juicy and tasty. I was surprised.

Cooked, I prefer yellow and orange beets. But raw red beets with my sun-dried tomato dip made with garbanzo beans and macadamia nuts are incredible.

A beet is a root

A beet is the root of the beet plant. Roots store energy for the plant as carbohydrate, which is why beets can taste sweet.

Beets can also taste earthy because beets make a compound called geosmin. Geosmin is the same compound that gives soil its smell after rain. A compound is a substance made of two or more elements joined together.

The leaves growing on top of a beet are called beet greens, and beet greens can be eaten too.

Where the red comes from

The deep red of a beet comes from compounds called betalains. Few foods contain betalains. Betalains are antioxidants, which are compounds that protect your cells from damage.

Heat breaks down some of the betalains, so eating beets raw gives your body more of the betalains.

Beets and your blood vessels

Beets contain a large amount of a compound called nitrate. Your body turns nitrate into a gas called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide signals the muscle in the walls of your arteries to relax. When those walls relax, the arteries widen, and blood moves through with less force. So eating beets benefits your blood vessels.

What beets provide your body

Beets provide your body fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamin C.

You are welcome to eat beets raw.

Stacy 🌺

Information in this post comes from my learning and research.

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I share my experiences and my perspective. Eating and healing look different for everyone. If you are struggling with food or your relationship with your body, please find support. You don’t have to do this alone.