Beetroot Leaves (Beet Greens): A Wonderful Food With Many Health Benefits

These days in order to safe-guard your physical well-being, you need to rely on natural ways such as consumption of wholesome foods to promote good health. One such wonderful food having many health benefits is the beetroot leaves, also known as beetroot greens.

Nutritional composition of beetroot greens

Beet greens contain good amounts of protein, phosphorus, zinc, along with high amount of fibre. They are packed with antioxidants and high in vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, and manganese, and low in fat and cholesterol. Lutein, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin, are few of the flavonoids present in beetroot leaves and have powerful anti-cancer and antioxidant properties.The leaves consist of glycine betaine, which is a very important phytochemical compound that has the crucial role to protect the health of your cardiovascular system. Beet greens are completely free of both cholesterol and fat and low in calories. Beet greens have higher iron content than spinach, and a higher nutritional value than the beetroot itself! Thus, if your priority is to have an overall good health, you cannot afford to ignore beetroot greens. The abundance of minerals, vitamins and other vital nutrients found in the leaves will not disappoint you.

How to consume beetroot greens?

You can consume it either by grinding the leaves and drinking the juice or making the leaves an ingredient for preparing soup. You can also prepare simple and delicious roasted or sautéed beetroot greens using olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Another way to consume beetroot greens is in the form of Beet Green Crostini. Let us see how it is prepared.

All you need

Beetroot leaves- 6 cups

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Garlic cloves- 2

Black pepper- 1 tsp

Salt- ½ tsp

Let's start

Take a big skillet and heat it on the high-heat setting.

Put 2 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 garlic cloves in the skillet.

Cook both these ingredients for about 2 minutes.

Add 6 cups of beetroot leaves in the skillet and again cook for around 5 minutes.

Keep tossing them simultaneously till the leaves become dark green.

Then put 1 tsp of black pepper and ½ tsp sea salt and mix them well.

Take away the beet green mixture from the heat.

Place the cooked beetroot leaves on toasted bread slices as toppings.

The healthy dish is now ready to be consumed.

Health benefits of beetroot leaves

Safeguards your eyes

Vitamin A and other important nutrients that you get in the beetroot leaves play a key role in protecting the health



of your eyes. The juice of the greens is the exact preventive remedy for this purpose. Doctors also recommend vitamin A to patients at risk of developing night blindness.

Prevents anaemia

The abundant quantity of iron that you get in the beetroot greens makes them an excellent remedy for people suffering from anaemia.

Prevents liver disease

When you want to ensure that your liver continues to be healthy, add the leaves to your staple diet. The dietary fibre of the greens plays crucial role here.

Improves immunity

The vitamin A content in beet greens helps strengthen the immune system and stimulates production of antibodies and white blood cells. The greens come loaded with betalain, which is a strong anti-inflammatory agent that effectively removes free radicals from within your body. Daily intake of the beetroot greens thus strengthens immunity and keeps your body in a better position to prevent many illnesses.

Fights cancer and heart disease

Regular consumption of beetroot leaves significantly lowers your vulnerability to many cancers because the leaves contain betacyanin, a substance that has powerful anti-cancer effects.The beta-carotene in vitamin A is a known antioxidant that can fight the effects of free radicals in the body along with cancer and heart disease.

Boost digestive system health

To keep your digestive system healthy, include beetroot leaves in your everyday diet. The dietary fibre present in the greens, along with other key elements, will do the job for you.

Improves facial complexion

There is no necessity to go for regular cosmetics for improving your facial complexion. The ever-reliable beetroot leaves help you attain it and that too without causing any unwanted side effects.

Beneficial in pregnancy

Pregnant women will be helping themselves a lot if they make it a point to have the beetroot leaf juice daily. The folic acid seen in the greens protects the health of both the woman and also the to-be-born child.

Beneficial in old age

The vitamin K in beet greens contains blood clotting properties, helps ward off osteoporosis, works with calcium to boost bone strength, and may also play a role in fighting Alzheimer's disease. It is advisable for people approaching old age to consume the leaves regularly, to minimize their susceptibility to dementia. The greens bring about a rise in the quantity of blood supplied to your brain and, this is a vital aspect of preventing the condition.

Provide energy after workout

If you drink the juice of beetroot leaves immediately after an intense workout, you will quickly overcome the exhaustion.