Beets are also known as beetroots, garden beet, table beet, or red beet. Aside from being cooked, beets can also be used as a salad, a side dish, a soup, or even as a pickle. Although beet is a seasonal vegetable, one can get this vegetable throughout the year.
Our main concern is with beets iron: Is beet rich in iron?
Beet is not high in iron. But a considerable amount of iron is present in beets. One cup of beet offers 1.1 mg of iron. This amount covers about 6 percent of your iron needs. A beet’s taste isn’t very appealing; it has a mild, earthy taste. Besides their taste, beets are rich in minerals and vitamins.
Read on to learn more.
Table of Content
Beets Iron: High or Low?
Beets are not a very rich source of iron. But you can’t say that beets are poor in iron. It provides a considerable amount of iron needed by a person per day. You can get almost 1.1 mg of iron from one cup of raw beets. This value can cover at least 6 percent of your daily iron requirement. If you want to learn this value in grams, then 100 grams of beet can provide about 0.8 mg of iron. As 100 grams of beet is less than one cup of beet, the iron content will decrease accordingly.
Although beets are a healthy source of iron, there is an additional point to be noted. Vegetables are usually not rich in iron. The vegetables high in iron also contain some iron absorption inhibitors in them. You can say that iron from iron-rich vegetables cannot be absorbed in the body by itself. Some vegetables which are high in iron also have vitamin C in them.
Vitamin C helps to increase the absorption of iron in the blood. Nevertheless, beets do not contain much vitamin C, so iron is difficult to absorb from them. One should have some other source of vitamin C with beet to maximize the absorption of iron.
Is Beet Juice High in Iron?
Beet juice is rich in iron. How much iron is in beet juice? One cup of beet juice can provide you with 1.44 mg of iron. This amount can cover at least 8 percent of daily iron needs. Beet juice has a pH that ranges from 5.3 to 6.6, making it slightly to moderately acidic. Beet juice is acidic, but that does not mean that it is harmful to health.
This juice is effective for maintaining blood pressure and weight loss. Can a patient suffering from gastric acid reflex consume beet juice? Beets are acidic but can produce alkalinity in the body, so a patient with acid reflux can drink beet juice. How to make beet juice? To get a delicious taste, you can simply grind some beets and add some spices to them.
Is Canned Beet High In Iron?
You might have heard that canned beets contain nearly the same amount of nutrients as fresh ones. But slight differences can occur in their nutritional value. Canned beets contain slightly less amount of iron as compared to fresh ones. But still, they are a healthy source of iron, covering some portion of the daily value of iron.
Is Cooked Beet High In Iron?
Beets are mostly consumed after cooking. The cooking procedure can increase the cooked beet iron content as compared to raw beets. About two cooked beets can provide you with almost 0.8 mg of iron. This amount provides you with 4.4 percent of your daily required value of iron.
Is Pickled Beet High In Iron?
Beets in the form of pickles are not a nutritious source of iron. The pickled beet iron content is negligible as compared to iron provided by raw beet. If you are thinking of getting enough iron from beet pickles, then this idea is not designed to work. You should replace your iron source with a healthier one.
Iron In Beet Green:
Beet greens are the leaves on top of beetroots that we throw away as waste, but they contain more iron than beetroots. Iron in beet greens is almost 3 times more than the iron in beetroot. From 3.5 oz of green beets, a female can get about 14 percent of her daily iron requirements and a male can get 32 percent.
You can add beet greens to your diet as a salad or as a starter. You can also consume beet greens after cooking. Cooking increases the iron content up to 2.7 mg per one cup of beet greens.
Are Beets Healthy?
Being rich in minerals and several vitamins, beets can offer many health benefits. Some benefits of eating beets are listed below:
Reduce Blood Pressure:
Beets can reduce blood pressure in our bodies because of their nitrates and folates. Nitrates after entering our body are converted into nitrate oxide. These oxides can relax the walls of blood vessels, thus reducing blood pressure. Nitrate oxides affect systolic pressure much more than diastolic pressure. Folates present in beets also lower the blood pressure in our bodies.
Increase Athlete’s Efficiency:
Research suggests nutritional nitrates, such as those in beets, may boost athletic performance. As discussed earlier, nitrates are present in beets. Along with maintaining blood pressure, these nitrates can also increase the working capacity of mitochondria, thus producing more energy. More energy will increase the working ability of an athlete.
Beetroot juice may benefit athletes by improving their endurance, improving their cardiorespiratory performance, and improving their efficiency
Gut Health:
Fibers contain no nutrition in them. But they help to increase the efficiency of the gut in the digestion of food. The fiber content of beets is 3.4 grams per cup, making them a nutritious fiber source. Fibers can reduce the risk of constipation by making the stool softer, thus maintaining gut health.
Prevent Cancer:
Several other ingredients in beetroot are cancer-fighting, such as betaine, ferulic acid, rutin, and kaempferol. These anti-cancer compounds work mostly by inhibiting the growth of cancerous cells.
Prevent Anemia:
Beetroots are rich in iron. Iron is needed to form hemoglobin, a compound present in red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen molecules throughout the body. By increasing the hemoglobin molecule, iron can increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, preventing anemia.
Side Effects Of Beets
Besides causing health benefits, beets can also cause side effects as listed below:
- Beetroot consumption can cause kidney stones. A relatively high amount of oxalate is present in beetroot, which can accumulate to form kidney stones when taken in excess.
- Beetroot is high in sugar as compared to other vegetables. It can increase the blood sugar level, leading to diabetes.
- Beetroots can cause beeturia, which is a condition including the change of color of urine, mostly appearing pink-reddish. This is not a disorder, as it’s due to a specific component named betanin, present in beetroot, that is responsible for the reddish color of beets.
- Copper, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous are all present in high quantities in beets. These metals can accumulate in the liver and cause liver damage as well as pancreatic diseases when consumed in excess.
FAQs
Question: Do beets increase the absorption of iron?
Answer: Beets are a healthy source of iron. But beets cannot increase the absorption of iron in the blood due to a deficiency of vitamin C in them. Vitamin C is needed to increase the efficiency of iron absorption in the blood.
Question: Which fruits and vegetables are high in iron?
Answer: Spinach, apricots, peas, mushrooms, squash, beans, coconuts, raspberries are all rich in iron. These fruits and vegetables cover most of our daily need for iron.
Question: Are beets good for iron deficiency?
Answer: Yes, beets are good for iron deficiency. One cup of beet offers 1.1 mg of iron, fulfilling 6 percent of the daily iron need of the body. Beetroots and beet greens combine to provide a complete source of iron, covering the body’s iron needs.
Conclusion
Beet iron can fulfill a major portion of the daily required value of iron. Although beets are not very high in iron, they can serve as a healthy source of iron. Cooked beets, beet juice, and beet greens also offer a considerable amount of iron. Besides causing health benefits, beets can also cause some complications if taken in excess.
