Beetroot juice has been elevated to the status of a super-food owing to its many benefits. But, did you know that it can boost your stamina? Or remove blemishes from your skin?
Beetroot juice has some rather surprising benefits to offer for your skin, hair, and health. To know more, read on!
What You Need
What You Have To Do
How Often Do You Need To Do This
This treatment can be done once a week. It is recommended that you do it at night because beetroot juice can leave stains.
Why Does It Work
Beetroot juice is an excellent source of antioxidants, which is why its topical application has anti-aging effects (1). Although oxidation is a crucial process, it produces free radicals that can cause damage at a cellular level, which results in signs of aging. The antioxidants present in beetroot juice neutralize these free radicals, and help prevent wrinkles and fine lines.
Back To TOC
Why Does It Work
Vitamin C is very effective in reducing pigmentation and blemishes, and evening out the skin tone (2). Beetroot juice contains a significant amount of vitamin C, and helps with skin discoloration and pigmentation (3).
Back To TOC
Why Does It Work
Beetroot can make your skin smooth and supple. This is because it removes the top layer of dead cells (4). Drinking beetroot juice can also help keep your skin hydrated.
Back To TOC
Another benefit of beetroot juice is that it can help prevent hair loss.
Why Does It Work
Potassium deficiency is often linked to hair loss. It is a nutrient that is crucial for hair growth. Beetroot juice is a good source of potassium, which is why ingesting it can prevent hair loss and promote hair growth (5).
Back To TOC
Beetroot juice is often used in detox diets. This is because it helps in improving the liver function, which in turn helps in removing toxins from your body.
Why Does It Work
Beetroot juice contains an antioxidant named glutathione that protects the liver from damage (6). It also stimulates the regeneration of liver cells and improves the synthesis of fats within the liver.
Back To TOC
It is very necessary for your hemoglobin to stay at an optimum level for your body to function properly. A low hemoglobin level can cause anemia, which can be averted by regular consumption of beetroot juice.
Why Does It Work
The production of hemoglobin requires iron, folate, and vitamin B12. Beetroot is an excellent source of folate and a considerably good source of iron (7). In fact, anemic patients are often asked to include beetroot in their diet.
Back To TOC
Inflammation is usually a sign of your immune system acting up in response to trauma or infection. But the symptoms, which include redness, swelling, and pain, can cause a lot of discomfort. Ingesting beetroot juice has been shown to reduce inflammation.
Why Does It Work
Beetroot juice contains betalains that exhibit anti-inflammatory properties (8).
Back To TOC
One of the most amazing health benefits of beetroot juice is preventing cancer. Recent studies have shown that beetroot juice exhibits anti-carcinogenic properties.
Why Does It Work
Cancer cells react poorly to an elevated oxygen level and beetroot juice helps in increasing the intake of oxygen by cells (9). Beetroot juice is alkaline in nature, which helps combat acidosis. Cancer cells thrive in acidic conditions, and ingesting beetroot juice creates a hostile environment for them. Beetroot’s anti-carcinogenic properties have also been attributed to the presence of a compound named betanin (10).
Back To TOC
For your body to function optimally, it is necessary that it gets rid of toxins that might otherwise cause harm. Beetroot juice can help with your body’s detoxification process.
Why Does It Work
There are certain compounds present in beetroot juice called betalains that help your body excrete toxins (11).
Back To TOC
Beetroot juice, when used as a supplement, can help boost stamina and improve athletic performance.
Why Does It Work
Beetroot helps in better circulation of oxygen to the muscles, which results in improved stamina and better performance (12).
Back To TOC
Dementia is usually observed in the elderly. It is the loss of cognitive functions, which results in impaired memory, personality changes, and faulty reasoning. There have been a number of studies that sought to find a cure or delay the progress, and beetroot juice has been heralded as the way to prevent it.
Why Does It Work
As one ages, their cognitive abilities start to decline. One of the major reasons for that is reduced blood flow to the brain. The research undertaken to prevent cognitive disorders such as dementia functioned under the assumption that increased blood flow can prevent or delay the condition(s). To increase the blood flow to the brain, they administered nitrate-rich foods orally. Nitrates form nitrous oxide which improves the blood flow. It was seen that the oxygen supply to the brain improved considerably and that the mental ability improved with the regular consumption of beetroot juice, which is a rich source of nitrates (13).
Back To TOC
High blood pressure can have a very negative impact on your overall health. It is usually the result of constricted blood vessels that causes difficulty in blood flow. This puts more pressure on your heart to pump blood, and accelerates the process of wear and tear. Beetroot juice, considered one of the healthiest foods in the world, can help in lowering your blood pressure.
Why Does It Work
Several studies have shown that the consumption of beetroot juice significantly lowers blood pressure (14). This has been attributed to the fact that beetroot is rich in nitrates. Nitrates are important for our body because they breakdown to form nitrous oxide that is a vasodilator, which means that it helps in expanding the blood vessels to accommodate more blood flow and eases the pressure on your heart.
Back To TOC
Caution
Although beetroot juice is safe when consumed in moderate amounts, drinking excessive beetroot juice can cause low calcium levels and worsen kidney disease (15).
Beetroot juice can also result in a condition called beeturia, where the urine turns pink or red in color (16). It is not considered to be harmful, but might indicate a deficiency in iron.
Do you know how to make beetroot juice? As it is with most fresh juices, beetroot juice cannot be stored for a very long time. If you are preparing beetroot juice, immediate consumption is advised. This is because of two factors – heat generated during juicing and oxidation – which can cause the juice to degrade.
You may store the juice in the refrigerator if it is supposed to be consumed within a few days. Adding lemon or lime juice, or any other fruit containing citric acid can help prolong the shelf life of the juice since it acts as a natural preservative. Make sure that you use an airtight glass container to store the juice.
Another way to preserve the juice is by freezing it, but it may result in loss of nutrients.
Always extract the juice from fresh, raw beetroots. Cooking or steaming it can cause the beetroot to lose its nutritional value.
Beetroot juice is essentially health in a glass. So make sure that you incorporate it into your diet. Don’t forget to share your beetroot recipes with us in the comments section below.