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Want to reap all the benefits from beetroots, but cannot stand their earthy taste? Then try beetroot powder! This bright pink powder consists of dried and grounded beetroot. As such, it contains all the minerals and nutrients found in beetroots but in a highly concentrated dosage. One teaspoon is the equivalent of one entire beet!
Let’s take a look at why beetroot powder is a true superfood, and why it is such a great natural boost for your overall health and even for your fitness performances!
Beetroot Powder: all the benefits of this incredible superfood!
Visually appealing and packed with countless vitamins and minerals: the popularity of beetroot powder is on the rise, and this doesn’t come as a surprise.
Indeed, the benefits of this powder have been known since the Ancient Romans, when it was used for both medicinal and nutritional purposes. Besides, due to their characteristic color, beet juice was considered a love elixir, able to promote amorous feelings.
Nowadays, beetroot powder is appreciated for its manifold of health benefits, especially in the fitness space, where athletes use it as a pre-workout.
Let’s then have a look at the main ways in which beetroot powder – and beetroot for that matter – can boost our overall well-being.
1. Full of nutrients and low in calories
Beets are incredibly packed with nutrients: iron, folate, manganese, copper, and vitamin C are only a few of the many precious compounds that can be found in this superfood.
Folate is a vitamin that plays a key role in growth, development, and heart health, while manganese plays a vital role in bone formation and nutrient metabolism. Copper is a mineral essential in energy production and in the synthesis of several neurotransmitters. Last but not least, iron is excellent for helping with anemia and improving red cell count. This is why beetroots are especially recommended for women with heavy periods.
What is even greater is the fact that all of these incredible nutrients come with little to no fats and just a small amount of calories.
2. Fight inflammation in the body and boost immunity
Beetroot powder is an incredible anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting superfood. Indeed, it contains betalains, antioxidant compounds that, besides giving beets their characteristic red note, can help promote a healthy inflammatory response in the body by fighting against free radicals and oxidative stress.
This could benefit several aspects of health, as chronic inflammation has been associated with conditions like obesity, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer.
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3. Reducing blood pressure with beetroot powder and beetroot juice
Beets and beet powder have also the potential to lower blood pressure levels in subjects suffering from high pressure. This is valid for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. blood flow to the brain
Beetroot powder is rich in nitrate. When absorbed in the bloodstream, nitrates convert into nitric oxide, a molecule that dilates blood vessels to help increase and improve blood flow. Studies show that this, in turn, can help reduce blood pressure.
In addition, the dietary fiber contained in beetroot has a vital role in reducing bad cholesterol, which is fundamental for keeping your blood vessels clean and your pressure levels in check. It’s worth noting though that beetroot powder, while nutritious, is stripped of its fiber.
4. Great support for digestive health
Beets are a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, around 3.4 grams in one cup (around 136 grams) of raw product. Beet powder and juice contain less fiber, but are still very nutritious!
Fiber helps to keep the digestive tract flowing, by adding bulk to the stool and keeping bowel movements soft and regular. In addition, it feeds friendly gut bacteria, thus preventing digestive conditions like constipation, inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), and diverticulitis.
Last but not least, fiber can lower the risk of developing chronic diseases, such as colon cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
5. Beetroot powder and athletic performance: when to take it!
As hinted above, the effects of whole beets, beet juice, and powder on sports endurance and performances are attracting increasing interest, especially from the fitness community.
The merit goes, again, to dietary nitrate. These compounds found in beetroots are then metabolized into nitric oxide inside the body. Nitric oxide is a gas with numerous physiological roles, including blood vessel dilation, muscle contraction, and transmission of nerve signals.
Increased nitric oxide production is especially helpful when it comes to high-intensity, heart-pumping exercises like running, cycling, swimming, and other forms of aerobic exercise. In addition, researchers have concluded that nitrate supplementation can effectively lower the oxygen demand in endurance sports. Two cups of beetroot juice can be enough to provide a 1 to 3 percent improvement in performance. This result is significant enough to give a professional athlete a real competitive advantage.
However, you don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from the effect of beetroot powder or juice as a pre-workout. Indeed, taking 1-2 spoons of beetroot powder 1 to 3 hours before a workout helps carry oxygen more efficiently to the cells to unlock energy and make the work output easier.
6. A natural sweetener
Beetroot powder is naturally sweet. Therefore, it can easily replace sugar in cakes, biscuits smoothies, and other types of sweet recipes (you will find more recipes down below).
In addition, since beetroot powder contains far less sugar, you will also avoid the undesired glucose spikes caused by white sugar and other types of artificial, highly processed sweeteners. Plus, your desserts will have a nice, pink color, which is always a plus!
Beetroot Powder: potential side effects and recommended serving size
We have seen how beetroot powder is such a powerful superfood. But does it also have any counterindications? And how much is the recommended serving size?
The answer to the first question is yes, potentially. As with any other food, the dose makes the poison. Indeed, taking too much beetroot powder can cause digestive problems such as gas, belching, or diarrhea. The culprit is the fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides, and polyols naturally present in beets.
This is why, at least in the beginning, the recommended serving size of beet powder is one to two teaspoons. From then, you can increase the daily intake to three to five teaspoons per day, which is an excellent amount to reap all the benefits of this incredible root vegetable.
Beetroot Powder: Nutrition Facts
Beetroots are highly nutritious and packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and compounds. Among them are nitrates, great in both lowering blood pressure levels and promoting athletic endurance.
2 tsp(5gr) of beetroot powder contain:
- Calories: 20
- Protein: 1 gram
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbs: 4 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Sugars: 2 grams
- Calcium 0 grams
- Magnesium: 13mg, 4%
- Sodium 0 mg
- Iron: 0,4 mg, 2%
- Fatty Acids 0mg
- Cholesterol 0mg
Fun Facts About Beetroots
- Beetroot leaves were used in Roman times to heal wounds.
- Beets were growing in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon 800 years B.C.
- Beetroot juice makes for an excellent red dye, used since the 16th century.
- Some cultures believe that if a man and woman eat from the same beet, they will fall in love.
- Did you know that you can make beetroot powder at home? All you have to do is dry a sliced beetroot in a food dryer. Then ground the beetroot “chips” in a high-speed blender..et voilà. Your beetroot powder is now ready for consumption!
How to Choose the Perfect Beets
When choosing your beets, pay attention to their color, firmness, and overall compactness.
The color of fresh beets is distinctly dark red and the veggies have a characteristic light earthy smell. Fresh fruits are also firm to the touch, and should not have any external cracks that can cause the appearance of rot. If possible, look for beetroot with a leaf, green in color, and with red threads.
Willing to Cultivate Beets in Your Garden?
Beetroot requires a lot of light, although semi-shaded places can work as well. Seeds are planted in the spring or in the fall, at an intermediate distance of 40 to 50 cm. They thrive on deep and loose soil, rich in organic matter, and with an average pH value of around 7.
Beetroots are also quite resistant to cold temperatures, as young plants can withstand temperatures as low as -5. In the first stages of development, beets need water regularly, so that the roots do not become woody.
After 75 days from sprouting, beets can be already harvested! I’m growing beetroots in my garden this fall!
Some Easy and Delicious Recipes with Beetroots
Beetroots are such a versatile ingredient, great in both savory and sweet recipes.
Among my favorite, entrée recipes are my Lentil Beet Burger, Kale Apple Beet Coleslaw, my Roasted Sweet Potato and Beetroot Salad, as well as my Root Vegetable Gratin.
If, on the other hand, you would like to try some sweet recipes that include beet powder try my Strawberry Chia Seeds Pudding, Quick Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal, Chocolate Bulletproof Smoothie, Chocolate Berry Smoothie, and Rainbow No-Dye Pancakes.
Check the compilation down below to find out more recipes!
My Favorite Beet Supplement! 💗
Sharing is caring. So why not invite your partner to start the day with a nutrient packed smoothie? The CHOCOBERRY BLAST from Pure Clean features a powerful combination of organic beet juice powder for athletic performance and recovery, alkalinizing herbs, fruits, veggies, and botanical blends fill ALL nutrient gaps and support gut health, and potent cocoa and berry polyphenols upgrade your immunity, detoxification, and stress and anxiety resilience.
Each scoop is further packed with over 2 billion probiotics, 17 different healthy greens, and 4 servings of fruits and veggies. Incredible, right? Plus, I cannot get over its incredible dark chocolate flavor!
Before you go…
I hope you have found this article interesting and that you have learned something new about this incredible superfood. Don’t forget to tag me if you try one of my recipes (all the links are down below), and see you soon! 💗