Preparing beetroots can lead to quite a kitchen nightmare. From stained hands to a ruined shirt, handling beetroots often leads to a mess. Plus, their characteristic red-purple pigments can stain teeth, too!

That said, beetroot is one incredible superfood. Besides its high amounts of essential nutrients, such as iron, potassium and folate, beetroot contains little calories and has no cholesterol at all.

Studies also find that juiced beetroot boasts incredible benefits for heart health because of its concentrated nutrient content. In particular, one such research published in the journal Nutrients found that beetroot juice helps reduce blood pressure in older adults.

Beetroot juice supports heart health

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) is a reddish root crop endemic to countries across Central and Eastern Europe. It can be an acquired taste for some people because of its distinct bitterness. That said, its smooth, butter-like flesh can also be quite a delight for the taste buds.

Traditional preparation methods for beetroot include boiling, baking and pickling. It can also be added to soup, such as in Russian borscht. Beetroot greens are also edible, often being tossed into salads.

There are also lots of commercial beetroot products in the market, including beetroot juice, ground beetroot, beetroot supplements and beetroot coloring agents in food. Of these products, beetroot juice is perhaps one of the most popular among health enthusiasts.

In fact, beetroot juice is a popular post-exercise drink because of its reported effects on blood circulation, and science backs this up. Scientists from Bangor University in the UK and the University of Queensland in Australia found that beetroot juice can reduce blood pressure.

This effect is attributed to beetroot’s high amounts of nitrate, a compound that supports blood circulation. Nitrate has been found to dilate constricted blood vessels, an indicator of high blood pressure and a risk factor for heart disease and its complications.

For this recent research, the scientists gathered 20 participants for a randomized controlled trial. Each participant had been assigned beetroot juice or placebo at random for 28 days and asked to visit the lab thrice throughout the trial for their blood pressure measurements.

At the end of the trial, the scientists found that those in the beetroot juice group had greater reductions in their systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to those in the placebo group.

The team noted that these effects can be attributed to higher concentrations of nitric oxide in the bloodstream that cause blood vessels to dilate for better blood circulation. Nitric oxide is the form that nitrate takes upon entering the gut.

All things considered, these findings suggest that beetroot juice can help regulate blood pressure and, in doing so, protect the heart from chronic conditions and health complications related to high blood pressure.

Older adults benefit more from drinking beetroot juice

Another team of researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial using beetroot juice and found that its benefits for heart health are more significant in older adults.

In particular, participants aged 50 to 70 years had greater reductions in blood pressure and had a higher increase in nitric oxide concentrations in the blood compared to those aged 18 to 30 years.

These results, also published in Nutrients, suggest that beetroot juice can be used as a safe and natural treatment for high blood pressure, heart disease and its related complications in older adults that face a greater risk of these health issues in later life.

Beetroot juice recipes

Beetroot juice doesn’t take more than five minutes to make. Just trim and chop up the beetroot itself, toss it into a juicer and drink up.

But there are lots of different recipes featuring beetroot that also make use of other superfoods to complement and further enhance the root’s health benefits.

Here are three quick and simple recipes for nutritious, filling and delicious beetroot drinks:

Beetroot, ginger and lemon detox juice recipe

Combined, beetroot, ginger and lemon make for a nourishing juice cleanse. The antioxidants and potent plant chemicals in ginger and lemon help flush out toxins on top of beetroot’s long list of health benefits.

This detox juice is also great for boosting immune health and loading up on a couple of essential nutrients for optimal health, including iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, folate, fiber and vitamin C.

Total time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 beetroot
• 50 g fresh ginger root
• 1 lemon

Preparation:

1. Rinse the beetroot and ginger to get rid of soil bits and potential bacteria.
2. Peel and cut the beetroot into smaller chunks for easier juicing.
3. Skip peeling the ginger if it’s organic, and cut it into smaller chunks, too.
4. Toss the beetroot and ginger chunks into the juicer.
5. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the mixture or pass the lemon through the juicer, too.
6. Stir and serve.

If the juice tastes a little too strong, add small amounts of apple juice until it tastes better. Apple juice helps cut through the spice of the ginger and bitterness of the beetroot.

You can also use orange juice instead of lemon juice for a milder tang.

Beetroot smoothie recipe

Beetroot also makes for a nutritious and delicious smoothie. Just toss a bunch of other fruits into the mix to keep beetroot’s natural bitterness at a minimum. This smoothie is also perfect for introducing kids to beetroot.

Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 beetroot, trimmed and chopped
• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach
• 1 banana
• 1 piece fresh ginger
• 3–4 oz almond milk
• 1 Tbsp linseed oil

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender. Don’t use a juicer, as this separates the fiber from the rest of the ingredients. You’ll need that fiber to make the smoothie nice and thick.
2. Pour the mixture into a glass and add ice cubes.

Breakfast beetroot juice recipe

This delicious cleansing juice is great for starting the morning on the right foot. Made from fresh beetroot, lemons, carrots and apples, this breakfast juice is chock-full of fiber for jumpstarting digestion and carotenoids for maintaining radiant skin.

Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons, peeled and quartered
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 apples, quartered
• 2 beetroots, trimmed and chopped

Preparation:

1. Toss all the prepared ingredients into the juicer.
2. Pour the mixture into a glass and add ice cubes.

You can also skip peeling the carrots and apples and just toss them into the juicer as-is. Most of their antioxidants and nutrients can be found in the skin, and the peels also help add fiber to the juice.

Drinking beetroot juice can lead to better heart health and a reduced risk of heart disease. Eat beetroots as part of a balanced diet or toss them into the juicer for a nutritious and refreshing drink perfect for loading up on nutrients and flushing out toxins.

Sources:

NutraIngredients-LatAm.com

CMS.HerbalGram.org

MDPI.com

AlphaFoodie.com

GreenKitchenStories.com

AllRecipes.co.uk