Benefits of Beetroot: Boost Your Workout + Your Wellness
Yes, we're talking beets. Hopefully this doesn't give you any flashbacks of your childhood dinner table. On a serious note, beetroot (while a popular root vegetable) is a superfood that's packed with healthy vitamins and nutrients for your general well-being and overall health. Some of the plant compounds found in this vegetable even have medicinal properties.
But maybe the idea of cutting up some beets as a side dish for dinner isn't all that appealing - we get it. Luckily, beetroot comes in both a powder and a juice form that is super easy to incorporate into your diet - as well as being more palatable. What's more, there are studies showing beetroot as a valuable ingredient to support your active or fitness routine.
Beetroot Benefits and Nutrition
Beetroot is a great source of folate, fiber, Vitamin C, potassium and iron. One of the most common benefits associated with beetroot intake is improved blood flow, which can support lowering blood pressure as well as a health circulatory system.
Beetroot can also help facilitate liver function. It keeps your liver healthy and functioning by helping it detox foreign toxins and chemicals in your digestive tract more efficiently. While all of this activity is happening, your liver is simultaneously secreting bile (yuck) and pushing it back up into your digestive system. Lucky for us, beetroot can help to thin out bile, making it pass through your system more easily.
Thirdly, beetroot supports a healthy immune response. The amino acid contained it beetroot, called betaine, works to reduce chronic inflammation in the body. This amino acid, in addition to phytonutrients, found in beetroot actually help to inhibit the enzymes that signal our cells "flare up" response.
Beetroot to Boost Your Workout
In addition to boosting your heart health with circulatory benefits, beetroot can boost your workout in a similar vein (no pun intended!)
For one, early studies have shown that when athletes incorporated beetroot into their diet prior to exercise, they experienced an increase in endurance vs. the participants in the study that did not have any beetroot intake. This seemingly stems from the nitrates found in beetroot, and their ability to increase the flow of oxygen to the muscles (which will increase your time-to-exhaustion.)
These same nitrates in beetroot can also contribute to helping you power through more high-intensity workouts, or the famous HIIT class.
Not so much a runner or fitness-class goer, but enjoy the occasional hike? Studies have shown beetroot to help with cardiovascular performance at high altitudes and can help you adjust to unfamiliar elevations.
Beetroot Benefits for Skin
There's more?! Yes. Beetroot and skincare can go hand in hand! Because beetroot is high in Vitamin C, it can support anti-aging, acne treatment, and bright, healthy skin.
Both applying Vitamin C as well as ingesting it have shown to be effective in reaping the benefits on your skin cells. This is because Vitamin C occurs naturally in both layers of your skin, and helping to enhance it's presence can protect against dryness and damage.
Beetroot Powder Recipe Ideas
So what are some easy ways to integrate this powerhouse of a superfood into your diet if you're not a fan of the taste?
Beetroot powder is a great add to smoothies or beverages to obtain a nutrient dense helping of the superfood. Our Superfood Energy Blend contains beetroot powder with a natural matcha flavor, which is easily mixable in water, made into a latte with milk, or added to a smoothie for a clean energy boost and cardiovascular support.
If you're consuming beetroot powder on it's own, simply mix it with some lemon or even blueberry juice to enhance the taste. Beetroot powder is often naturally sweet, so no need to add anything else!
Resources:
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0204-9
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23231777/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5976740/
https://healthfully.com/beet-juice-liver-detoxification-5167922.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5295087/#__ffn_sectitle
https://www.healthline.com/health/beetroot-benefits-for-skin#anti-aging
