If you’re adding more healthy food to your diet, that means more trips to the produce section of the grocery store or organic food market. While you are there, you shouldn’t overlook beets. They’re not often found at the top of a shopping list, but these red root vegetables offer a lot of health benefits and actually make for quite versatile ingredients. Beets are:

A Good Source of Fiber

One cup of beets contains more than three grams of fiber. This extra fiber can help the digestive process and keep you regular. If you need more fiber in your diet, adding some beets to your meals is a great idea.

Full of Antioxidants

Beets are chock full of antioxidants, which can have a variety of beneficial health effects. These can help improve the appearance of your skin, fight back against inflammation, and just feel better in general. If you’re looking for a pick me up, beets and beet juice may be just what you need.

Good for Blood Pressure

Beets are rich in nitrates. Your body turns these nitrates into nitric oxide, which affects your blood vessels and can improve circulations. In some cases, this can mean a drop in blood pressure. If you’re struggling with high blood pressure, beets might be able to help.

Stamina Boosting

This root vegetable might also be able to improve your physical endurance. In one study, cyclists were able to peddle longer in a time trial after consuming beet juice. The nutrients in beets can help you feel better and make even more efforts to be healthy.

Good for Your Brain

The improved oxygen flow in your blood can help your muscles and help bring down your blood pressure, but that’s not all. This benefit can also extend to your brain and improve cognitive function, reaction time, and the ability to stay focused. Instead of trying to clear up your cloudy mind with coffee, maybe try reaching for some beet juice.

A Great Source of Vitamins and Minerals

Beets contain vitamin B9, manganese, iron, vitamin C, potassium, and a variety of other vitamins and minerals that you need to stay healthy. Eating more beets can improve your heart health and your immune system while making you feel better in general.

Easy to Add to Your Diet

A great thing about beets is that they aren’t hard to add to your diet. They can be added to salads for a bit of extra flavor. They can be roasted with other vegetables to make a delicious side dish. They can be juiced if you want a healthy drink on the go. These root vegetables can even be “spiralized” and made into noodles that can be used in healthy, low carbohydrate “pasta” meals. With so many ways to add beets to your diet, there’s no excuse to not take advantage of all that they have to offer.

For More Healthy Food Suggestions

If you want to learn more about healthy food options and local produce, visit the Organic Restaurants website. We’ll show you how easy it can be to improve your diet and add more delicious vegetables to your meals.