Should You Be Rooting For Beetroot? Here Are Some Beetroot Juice Benefits You Should Know About

Beetroot packs a mighty punch. Rich in potassium, vitamin C, iron and fibre, the veggie also contains betalains, the pigment behind beetroot's rosy hue, with antioxidants & anti-inflammatory that protect your cells.

The headline ingredient, though, is nitrate.

Your body converts it into nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood vessels relax. Juicing concentrates it.

Concentration cuts both ways. A cup of beetroot juice runs to around 100 kcal and 25 g of carbohydrate, much of it natural sugar, and straining removes most of the fibre.

• Lowers Blood Pressure: The nitrate in beetroot relaxes blood vessels, improves blood circulation and promotes healthier blood pressure levels.
• Boosts Endurance & Performance: Nitric oxide enhances blood flow & oxygen delivery to your muscles, enabling you to exercise for longer, recover faster and experience less fatigue.
• Promotes Brain Function: With improved blood circulation, the oxygen delivery to your brain is enhanced, reducing 'brain fog' & improving functions like focus, memory recall and decision making.
• Supports Digestion & Immunity: Rich in fibre & anti-inflammatory, beetroot is a great way to promote healthy gut bacteria & relieve digestive discomfort, while the Vitamin C offers a boost to your immunity! To maximise on fibre benefits, skip the juice & consume beetroot as is.
• Anti-Inflammatory Glow: Improved blood circulation enhances oxygen delivery to your skin and speeds up cellular renewal, revealing improved texture & a youthful glow. The betalins offer an anti-inflammatory boost, which can reduce redness, swelling & help with concerns like acne, eczema and psoriasis.

Making beetroot juice at home takes upto ten minutes and sometimes an apron you don't mind ruining.

1. Wash and peel one or two fresh beetroots.
2. Chop them into small pieces.
3. Blend with a splash of water until smooth.
4. Strain through a sieve or muslin if you want it silky, or skip this step entirely to keep the fibre.
5. Drink it fresh, with a squeeze of lemon or a little ginger to cut through the earthiness.

Use the beetroot raw. Cooking reduces its nitrate content, and nitrate is rather the whole point.

For most healthy adults, one glass a day is ideal. Start with half a glass and build up from there. Dilute it with water, or mix it with carrot or apple juice as per taste, and skip any added sugar while you're at it.

The best time to consume depends on what you're actually after. To improve your athletic performance, Exeter's research found the nitrate effect peaks two to three hours after drinking. For everything else, there's no strong evidence that one time of day genuinely beats another, so I drink mine whenever it happens to fit into my day.

Most beetroot juice side effects are genuinely mild, but a few deserve your attention:

• Pink urine or stools — Known as beeturia, affects roughly one in ten people and is completely harmless.
• Kidney stones — Beetroot is high in oxalates, which can contribute to calcium oxalate stones in people already prone to them.
• Digestive discomfort — Too much at once can bring on bloating, cramps or diarrhoea.
• Low blood pressure —Those with low blood pressure may feel faint or dizzy after consuming beetroot.
• Gout — The oxalates in beetroot may aggravate gout in some individuals.
• Allergies — Allergic reactions are rare, but itching, rashes or swelling are possible.
• Liver — Extremely high intakes over long periods have been linked to a build-up of metals in the liver, though this is genuinely rare.

Speak to your doctor first if you have low blood pressure, a history of kidney stones, a sensitive stomach, or if you're on blood pressure or heart medication.

So, is it worth the stained chopping board?

For blood pressure and endurance, the research is better than for most things sold as wellness. A glass a day won't replace the basics. But as habits go, it's one of the few with the data to back it up!