What is Beet Juice Good For?
Research published in 2015 described beetroot as a “powerful dietary source of health-promoting agents,” detailing how it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, while also protecting the heart.
New research on the health benefits of drinking beet juice shows its additional benefits for athletic performance, cold prevention, and more.
There is no doubt that regularly consuming beet juice can be beneficial to your health in so many ways!
Let’s review 9 of the best health benefits of beet juice.
9 Potential Beet Juice Benefits
1. Benefits cardiovascular health
Unlike most other plant foods, beets are rich in dietary nitrates.
Your body converts these nitrates to nitric oxide, an essential molecule known as a “vasodilator”. This means that it signals the blood vessels to relax and widen, thereby increasing blood flow and ensuring that oxygen, red blood cells, and nutrients are efficiently delivered to all the body’s cells.
Additional research seems to show that people who drink beet juice can experience lower blood pressure and possibly lower rates of cardiac inflammation.
In this way, drinking beet juice can benefit cardiovascular health.
2. May reduce chronic inflammation
There are several studies that suggest that beets can also help prevent chronic inflammation, although research is ongoing as much of it up to now has involved rats rather than humans.
While inflammation is a healthy immune response, chronic inflammation in the body can have serious consequences and is linked to conditions like liver disease, cancer, heart disease, and obesity.
Beets are rich in natural pigments called betalains, which have been shown to help reduce inflammation in rats.
Further researched published in 2014 was conducted on humans and demonstrated that betalain capsules made from beet extract could be useful in controlling the pain and discomfort associated with osteoarthritis.
This research suggests that drinking beet juice could help lower pain from chronic inflammation.
3. Contains antioxidants to fight disease
The vivid color of beets gives us a strong clue as to how rich in powerful antioxidants they are – and indeed, the betalain pigments that are so useful in fighting inflammation have powerful antioxidant properties too.
This means that they help reduce the damage to your cells caused by free radicals – unstable atoms that are linked to conditions like cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, and diabetes.
A diet rich in antioxidants also protects us from some of the ravages of aging, helping us look and feel younger for longer! Therefore, drinking beet juice can help prevent chronic disease by helping the immune system.
Additionally, research even shows that drinking beet juice may also help prevent infection from the common cold.
If you are working on increasing your intake of antioxidants with vegetable juice, you might also want to check out my juice recipes for celery juice, carrot juice, or my Liver Cleanse Juice.
4. Helps with blood sugar
Beet powder is an excellent source of phytochemical compounds. Some of these phytochemicals are useful in regulating our blood glucose levels (also known as blood sugar).
Research published in 2014 showed that drinking just 1/2 cup of beet juice could substantially reduce the amount of sugar in the blood after meals.
While this particular study looked at juice rather than powder, you will get comparable results from consuming beet powder which has a very similar nutritional profile.
Consider adding a glass of beetroot juice or beets to your diet to help manage your blood sugar.
What are the health benefits of beet juice?
Beet juice may boost stamina to help you exercise longer, improve blood flow, and help lower blood pressure, some research shows.
Lower blood pressure. Several studies, published in journals like Hypertension and Circulation showed that people who drank beet juice instead of water saw less blood clotting and a drop in blood pressure after three hours. A connection was also found between beet juice drinking and a 13 percent boost in muscle power among people who’ve experienced heart failure. Yet another study showed that people who drank 16 ounces of beet juice lowered their systolic blood pressure by four or five points on average. Nitrate power at its finest.
Vitamin C. Beet juice contains vitamin C, an antioxidant which helps boost immunity and helps defend cells against damage from free radicals. It also supports collagen production and helps with the absorption of iron.
Potassium. This may help with athletic performance. It’s an electrolyte that guards against muscle cramps, weakness and fatigue and helps nerves and muscles function.
Those betalains. Betalains are really good stuff: potent antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and possibly preventive against some cancers and tumor cells.
Improved fitness. There may be some legitimacy to this much-touted claim. It may well improve athletic performance and reduce muscle fatigue by improving the delivery of oxygen and blood flow to the muscles. A 2019 study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that cyclists who drank beet juice for a week showed improved performance. They also got faster, finishing a 10K course in 1.6 percent less time. This happened in both high- and low-altitude settings, compared with their non beet juice drinking colleagues. Researchers think the high levels of nitrates in the beet juice get converted into nitric oxide in the body. This improves circulation, relaxes and dilates blood vessels and boosts blood oxygen
