Are beets part of your diet? If not, you might want to throw some on your salad or in your smoothie starting today. Beets, organic ones, that is, contain some incredible superpowers in supporting our health and wellness. The medicine is in the food, yet once again! Beets contain powerful plant constituents that support optimal circulation, antioxidant activity, digestive health, disease prevention, mental clarity and more. . .
NITRIC OXIDE:
Nitric oxide is one of the plant chemicals found in beets. It’s a substance we make intrinsically, however, our stores of nitric oxide are depleted as we age. Nitric oxide supports optimal circulation, and as a result, this means more energy, better mental clarity and cardiovascular health.
Nitric oxide is responsible for communicating with blood vessels in the body, regulating when they dilate or relax, which controls the delivery of oxygen throughout the system. A well-oxygenated system is energized and disease-free. It stays young and vital. Studies demonstrating nitric oxide’s oxygenating ability supports this. Two studies in men who were given beet juice for a week before high intensity exercise found that the beet juice increased overall performance and endurance. Another study of cyclists showed that incorporating beets into diet may increase oxygen by 20% and therefore, improved overall athletic performance.
Nitric oxide also destroys parasites and other invaders. Parasites are anaerobic, meaning that they thrive in oxygen-depleted environments. Being that nitric oxide helps deliver oxygen throughout the body, this creates a place where parasites cannot exist. Nitric oxide helps maintain a solid blood-brain barrier, as well.
FOLATE:
Beets are rich with folate, which is vital for cardiovascular and cognitive health. Remember that folate is different from folic acid, which is the synthetic form of this B vitamin. One cup of raw beets contains nearly 40% of the recommended daily intake of folate.
Folate allows your body to properly utilize nutrients as energy and detoxify down to the cellular level. Folate is vital for brain development in fetuses as well as maintaining optimal brain function throughout one’s lifetime.
Optimal levels of folate support the production of red blood cells, which bring oxygen and nutrients throughout your system. When your folate levels dip, you might experience brain fog, chronic fatigue, anemia, muscle aches and more. Consuming beets has been shown to increase blood flow to the frontal lobe of the brain, the portion instrumental in critical thinking and memory.
POLYPHENOLS:
Polyphenols are natural plant chemicals that fight free radicals and oxidative stress. These plant constituents may help with various health issues related to inflammation, such as arthritis, heart disease, neurological disorders, even cancer! Beets are high in polyphenols. In addition to their disease-fighting properties, polyphenols also help the body recover more rapidly after trauma such as injury and support the liver’s detoxification processes.
BETALAINS:
One of the antioxidants found in beets is a powerful phytonutrient called betalains. Betalains are the master executioners of systemic free radicals. They also scavenger toxins to help support multiple organs from free radical damage.
Beetroot extract has been shown to slow the growth of prostate and breast cancer cells in a human cell test tube study.
Other research demonstrates its organ-protective benefits, particularly the kidneys when exposed to toxic chemicals.
BETAINE:
Betaine is also known as TMG, and it helps decrease homocysteine levels in the blood, which are responsible for pesky inflammation that may contribute to cardiovascular risk. TMG serves as a “methyl giver” because that’s exactly what it does—it provides one of its methyl groups to assist with methylation. In doing so, it reduces homocysteine into L-methionine and/or increases S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe) levels as well as active methyl folates, further assisting the methylation process. These biproducts have some wonderful health benefits, from being cardio-protective to helping stabilize mood.
Betaine also lowers inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein, which indicates systemic inflammation. Left unchecked, inflammation can cause multiple serious health issues, from diabetes to arthritis, autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, heart disease and cancer.
There are associations with high homocysteine levels and cancer, liver disease, peripheral neuropathy and mental illness. Interestingly, high homocysteine levels also present with low levels of B vitamins, such as folate and B12. TMG works along with these vitamins to help support proper methylation and reduce homocysteine levels. Research has shown that TMG supplementation reduces normal homocysteine levels by 10% and already elevated levels were reduced by 20-40%. In addition, studies show that supplementing with TMG may increase blood levels of nitric oxide.
Betaine is also an excellent liver protector; it serves as an instrumental catalyst to activating enzymes responsible for liver detoxification. Betaine supports optimal hormone balance, maintains liver and bile duct detoxification and regulates cholesterol production.
When TMG breaks down homocysteine into methionine, it creates S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e). SAM-e naturally manages mood disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. It is also effective in helping dementia, arthritis, liver disease, demyelination diseases and other conditions.
Our Methyl B Complete contains betaine (TMG) along with methylated forms of B vitamins to help assist with proper methylation and regulation of homocysteine levels.
As you can see, beets can beat many illnesses! They are packed with plant medicine to help support your health and wellness. If you can’t stomach the taste of them or eating tons of them daily, find their benefits in quality supplements!
Sources:
https://www.humann.com/getsuperbeets-2/
https://10faq.com/health/beets-benefits/9/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-beets#TOC_TITLE_HDR_8
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20951824
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425174/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4221885/