WHY NUTRITION THERAPY
The Power Of Beetroot is part of our nutrition therapy series of blogs.
The reason we are focusing on nutrition is to help people recover and maintain their health using everyday foods that offer therapeutic properties too.
Since 2020, there has been a continual rise in unusual and alarming health issues emerging world-wide, affecting all age groups.
We are also seeing more people who are not fully recovering from virus infections.
Our goal is to share foods that contain powerful nutrient properties that promote better health and are well researched.
There’s no escaping the established proof that nutrition is essential to maintain healthy function in all the systems of your body.
And you cannot separate your health from the nutrients every single cell of your body needs to function effectively.
That doesn’t mean you focus on diet alone and ignore chronic (ongoing) symptoms, especially with an observed trend of people experiencing extreme fatigue • weakness • myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) • pericarditis • chest pain and discomfort • rare blood clotting conditions (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia -TTS) and strokes • bleeding and blood clotting issues • nerve pain • joint pain • hearing changes and tinnitus • shallow breathing • shortness of breath • chronic cough • digestive disorders • hair loss • headaches • balance issues • attention disorder and brain fog.
Be aware, learn all you can, and seek medical advice for any unusual symptoms you or a member of your family may be experiencing.
And at the same time, let the food you eat be your medicine too.
BEETROOT POWER
We should never underestimate the power of nutrition to help heal and protect our health.
The humble beetroot has become a popular functional food used by professional athletes to enhance sports performance, endurance, and recovery.
Beyond sports though, studies are finding that beetroot has the potential for both treating and preventing diseases, reducing inflammation, boosting oxygenation and energy (vitality), and protecting cardiovascular (heart blood vessels) and cerebrovascular (brain blood vessels) health.
Beetroot is rich in antioxidants and naturally occurring dietary nitrates that are highly bioavailable (easily absorbed) with almost 100% absorption after digestion.
Dietary nitrates are a simple compound composed of nitrogen and oxygen and are considered to be essential.
When your body digests and breaks down dietary nitrates it creates nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas ‘messenger’ molecule.
Messenger molecules relay information and play a vital role in how cells communicate between each other, how systems coordinate different processes, how your nerves transmit signals (neurotransmission), and how your immune system responds to infection and inflammation.
Nitric oxide (NO) helps regulate the immune system by enhancing T cell function.
T cells are a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes that help your immune system fight pathogens to protect you from infections and disease.
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites are all examples of disease-causing pathogens.
Nitric oxide (NO) also mediates blood vessel relaxation, which helps regulate blood pressure and helps your blood vessels stay healthy and flexible.
NO relaxes and widens the smooth muscles inside your blood vessel walls, improving and increasing blood flow.
Better blood flow brings more oxygen and nutrients to your cells, which improves energy and endurance, reduces inflammation and fatigue, and aids repair and recovery.
BEETROOT PROPERTIES
Beetroot is a nitrate-rich, antioxidant powerhouse.
The nutrients in beetroot have powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant (protect cells from injury), anti-cancer, anti-tumour, hepatoprotective (liver), reno-protective (kidneys), vascular protective, vasodilation, and cell regulatory properties.
Beetroot phytonutrients (especially betalains) are strongly indicated for the treatment of chronic diseases including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, kidney and liver damage, hyperglycaemia, diabetes, dementia, and chronic respiratory diseases.
Beetroot also offers you a simple way to increase your body’s natural production of nitric oxide, helping to boost energy, aid exercise recovery and muscle soreness, regulate blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, and protect against lung infections.
NUTRITION THERAPY
Everything we choose to eat influences our health outcomes.
Clinical studies on beetroot supplementation have found improved outcomes for:
Allergies.
Anaemia.
Atherosclerosis.
Athletic performance.
Blood flow.
Blood glucose homeostasis (balance).
Cardiorespiratory fitness.
Cognitive function.
Dementia.
Energy.
Exercise endurance.
Gut health.
Gut microbiome dysbiosis.
Improved oxygen capacity.
Reduces inflammation.
High blood pressure.
High blood cholesterol levels.
Hyperglycaemia.
Immune cell function.
Increases haemoglobin and serum iron levels.
Mental clarity.
Metabolic syndrome.
Muscle power.
Muscle oxygen (O2) delivery.
Cancer prevention.
Heart disease prevention.
Insulin resistance.
Reduces osteoarthritic pain
Muscle recovery.
Stamina.
Type 2 diabetes.
Vascular function.
I’ve included live links to studies at the end of the blog so you can further explore the health promoting potential of adding beetroot to your everyday diet.
GUT HEALTH & OXALATES
I’m seeing more people who tell me they can’t eat certain plant foods that I recommend because they’ve read a book, or watched a video, about the danger of oxalates.
So, before I share beetroot recipes with you, I want to address the fear mongering about oxalates and ‘anti-nutrients’.
My opinion about not eating nutrient-rich plant foods because of oxalates is that it’s a misguided theory that has the potential to create malnutrition and undermine human health.
Let’s look at the science.
Oxalates (oxalic acid) are naturally occurring compounds found in plants.
Plants use oxalates to regulate their mineral content, protect against disease-causing pathogens, and use light more efficiently (photosynthesis).
A trending theory in nutrition is that oxalates cause kidney stones in people with a high risk of this condition, leading to eventual kidney disease.
Oxalates have also been classified as an ‘anti-nutrient’, meaning they interfere with the body’s ability to absorb vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
Advice that has gained fame is to avoid eating oxalates, which are found in grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, certain fruits and vegetables, tea, coffee, cacao, and soy foods.
And now there are increasingly more people who believe oxalates stop you absorbing nutrients, cause kidney stones and kidney disease, and they’ve stopped eating foods that provide essential health-promoting nutrients and dietary fibre.
Nutrient deficiencies are already rife in modern day (highly processed) diets without now adding a fear of plant foods to the mix.
But here’s what a lot of people are not aware of.
Your gut microbiome plays a critical role in the metabolism of oxalates.
People with a healthy gut microbiome are not affected by oxalates.
Studies have found that oxalate-degrading bacteria (oxalobacter) in a healthy gut microbiome break down and prevent oxalate absorption and the formation of oxalate kidney stones.
And the way to increase oxalobacter in your gut is to eat oxalate-rich foods like beetroot, leafy green vegetables, raw nuts, cacao, tea, coffee, and berries. And limit the use of antibiotics.
Pairing calcium and magnesium rich foods with oxalate rich foods in your meals also decreases oxalate absorption.
Also staying well hydrated with pure water is another simple solution to flush your kidneys of toxins and prevent kidney stones. Dehydration is a huge global health issue.
Even more importantly, it’s well-established by science that the longest living people in the world, with the least rates of cancer and chronic disease, eat diets rich in so called ‘anti-nutrients.’
Blue zone diets, and the Mediterranean diet, are perfect examples that emerged from studies on the eating habits of people living in regions known for their health and longevity.
These diets are mainly plant-based, with a large percentage of food eaten daily being vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, and limited meat and dairy foods.
Longevity diets emphasise the importance of eating whole, unprocessed foods that are low in unhealthy trans fats and processed sugar.
Lean proteins like wild caught fish and free-range poultry are included but red meat is rarely consumed, and processed meat products are not eaten.
What the longevity studies have established is that your genes dictate about twenty percent of your health and longevity, while 80 percent is influenced by lifestyle and what you eat.
From my perspective as a naturopath who has practiced since 1986, is that a lack of essential nutrients and dietary fibre weakens your immune system, increases your vulnerability to infections, and contributes to chronic diseases and cancer.
Nutrient-rich fruit and vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains, as well as herbs and spices are essential for healing and maintaining health and vitality.
I offer a free e-book on Nutrition Therapy that focuses on vegetables if you need inspiration, guidelines, tips, and dressing recipes. You can click on the link to download it.
And rather than avoiding oxalates – heal your gut microbiome, boost oxalate-degrading bacteria (oxalobacter) in your gut, and the ‘anti-nutrient’ issue gets resolved.
So that’s where we’ll start with the beetroot recipes – rebuilding your gut microbial communities and creating a healthy gut microbiome.
I’ve also included live links to the studies I’ve been sharing so you can explore what has been scientifically established over decades of diet research and clinical trials. You can find them in my references.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
BEETROOT JUICE
The recipes I’m sharing are based on using organic beetroot juice for two main reasons.
Firstly, juice offers a more concentrated dose of nitrates to boost nitric oxide, and antioxidants.
Secondly, not everyone has access to fresh organic beetroot, and it’s seasonal.
If you have access to organic beetroots, own a juicer, and have time to juice daily, fresh is always the best source of complete nutrition and provides more antioxidants and nitrates.
And if you grow your own organic beetroot, juice a few leaves as well for an extra boost of antioxidants.
If you cannot access organic beetroot juice, then use freeze dried beetroot juice powder.
Most people can eat beetroot.
But if you have low blood pressure, take blood pressure medication, or have an iron overload disorder (hemochromatosis), speak with your health practitioner before adding beetroot or beetroot juice to your daily diet.
LEMON JUICE
I use fresh lemon juice in the recipes as a natural dietary source of citric acid (citrate) to decrease the risk factors for stone formation by increasing the excretion of oxalates.
Citric acid helps neutralise high acid levels in your body and makes your urine more alkaline (less acid), which helps soothe inflammation and prevent kidney stones and gout.
Also, the vitamin C in lemon juice can increase the availability of nitric oxide (NO) by enabling a greater conversion from dietary nitrates into nitric oxide.
NOURISH PREBIOTIC POWDER
I created Nourish for my clients to encourage multiple prebiotic effects that would feed and promote the growth and activity of beneficial gut microorganisms (microflora).
There is not one cell in your body that is not affected by your gut and the trillions of microorganisms that live in your gut.
Every organ, every system, every function of your body is influenced by the abundance and diversity of microorganisms in and on your body.
Your gut microbiome is like an engine room, your main source of power, organisation, protection, and vitality.
You want to do all you can to encourage beneficial microorganisms to protect you from disease and maintain function and balance (homeostasis, health).
GUT MICROBIOME RECIPE
Many health issues stem from a decreased richness and diversity of beneficial gut bacteria that protect immune function.
Study findings have shown that beetroot juice consumption can produce changes in the diversity and abundance of beneficial gut microorganisms after only three days of consumption, with long-term alterations observed after 14 days.
To boost and replenish your gut microbiome, add 50mls of organic beetroot juice and one teaspoon of Nourish to 100mls of water.
Use a mini frother and whisk until the Nourish powder dissolves into the liquid.
My battery powered whiz stick (mini frother) by Nutra Organics is my favourite kitchen utensil for whisking powders into my morning drinks and mushroom coffee. We stock them at the clinic if you can’t find one locally.
Then stir in the juice of half a fresh lemon.
Beetroot juice has a sweet earthy flavour but if you need extra sweetener, only use raw honey or 100% pure monk fruit extract.
To help you rebuild your gut microbiome, drink this recipe twice daily for a month.
Then reduce consumption to once a day – first thing in the morning and fifteen minutes before eating food.
And if you’ve taken a course of antibiotics, this recipe will help you restore your microbiome and avoid secondary infections from opportunistic pathogens.
EXERCISE AND MUSCLE RECOVERY RECIPE
We don’t have to be athletes to know that sometimes exercise hurts, especially if we’re using muscles we haven’t used for a while.
That’s why this beetroot juice recipe is a blessing, and it’s all thanks to professional sports research.
What performance research found is that the rich nitrate levels in beetroot juice (which convert to nitric oxide) were shown to boost blood flow and increase the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to muscles during sustained exercise, as well as improved lung function, regulated blood pressure, and strengthened muscle contraction.
These beetroot benefits helped athletes perform better and more quickly boosting training and performance outcomes.
Organic beetroot juice also reduced post-exercise inflammation, which meant faster recovery with less muscle soreness.
Studies found organic beetroot juice provided significantly more nitrates and antioxidant properties than tablets or capsules, with better results if taken 6 to 15 days prior to athletic events.
But whether you’re an athlete or you exercise to stay fit and healthy, beetroot as a functional food aids both stamina and recovery.
From the time you drink beetroot juice, it takes roughly 30 minutes for nitrate to appear in your plasma (the liquid part of blood) and up to three hours for the nitric oxide benefits to peak and remain elevated for up to five hours.
So, about two hours before you exercise or play sports, add 100mls of organic beetroot juice and one teaspoon of Nourish to 100mls of pure water.
Whisk the Nourish powder into the liquid with a mini frother.
Then stir in the juice of half a lemon and drink.
And make sure you stay well hydrated during and after exercise too.
HEART HEALTH RECIPE
With the growing reports about heart issues emerging globally, I wanted more people to become aware of the benefits of nitrate rich foods for boosting nitric oxide and cardiovascular health.
But beetroot offers more benefits than just heart health because your brain also relies on healthy blood flow to deliver nutrients and oxygen.
Beetroot shows promising research results for memory, brain fog, dementia, as well as inflammation and anaemia too.
Organic beetroot juice is a cost-effective wellness elixir in a bottle you can drink every day.
This recipe is the same as the recipe for rebuilding your gut microbiome.
Add 50mls of organic beetroot juice and one teaspoon of Nourish and whisk the ingredients into 100mls of pure water.
Then stir in the fresh juice of half a lemon.
Drink this recipe twice daily for a month.
Then reduce consumption to once a day – first thing in the morning, about fifteen minutes before eating food, to maintain optimum balance.
ORGANIC BEETROOT BRANDS
Please don’t buy sweetened or reconstituted beetroot juice. You need a pure, organic, unsweetened, cold pressed, 100% juice for maximum nutrient content and effect.
Organic brands of beetroot juice I have found locally in Western Australia include Georgia’s Natural, Biotta, and Beet It.
If you’re local and have problems finding organic beetroot juice, we can do a special order for you – as long our supplier has stock. It takes several days to arrive, but you are welcome to call us and place an order.
PRACTITIONER SUPPORT
I love sharing general information that can help you create a healthier lifestyle.
But the information I share is not meant to replace professional support.
If you suffer from chronic infections or disease, always seek qualified advice.
Your health is precious so please protect it.
All the very best of health,
Lisa Rieniets ND.
I’ve included live links to research and studies so you can explore how beetroot can benefit your health and wellbeing.
Arazi H and Eghbali E (2021) Possible Effects of Beetroot Supplementation on Physical Performance Through Metabolic, Neuroendocrine, and Antioxidant Mechanisms: A Narrative Review of the Literature. Front. Nutr. 8:660150. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.660150 (Beetroot antioxidants)
Bonilla ocampo DA, Paipilla AF, Marín E, Vargas-molina S, Petro JL, Pérez-idárraga A. Dietary Nitrate from Beetroot Juice for Hypertension: A Systematic Review. Biomolecules. 2018;8(4) DOI: 10.3390/biom8040134 (High blood pressure)
Brzezińska-Rojek J, Sagatovych S, Malinowska P, Gadaj K, Prokopowicz M, Grembecka M. Antioxidant Capacity, Nitrite and Nitrate Content in Beetroot-Based Dietary Supplements. Foods. 2023; 12(5):1017. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12051017(Beetroot as a supplement)
Buettner D, Skemp S. Blue Zones: Lessons From the World’s Longest Lived. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jul 7;10(5):318-321. doi: 10.1177/1559827616637066. PMID: 30202288; PMCID: PMC6125071. (Blue Zones lifestyle)
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Chen L, Zhu Y, Hu Z, Wu S, Jin C. Beetroot as a functional food with huge health benefits: Antioxidant, antitumor, physical function, and chronic metabolomics activity. Food Sci Nutr. 2021 Sep 9;9(11):6406-6420. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2577. PMID: 34760270; PMCID: PMC8565237. (Beetroot antioxidant action)
Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, Stevenson EJ. The Potential Benefits of Red Beetroot Supplementation in Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2015 Apr 14;7(4):2801. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425174/ (Health benefits)
Domínguez R, Cuenca E, Maté-Muñoz JL, García-Fernández P, Serra-Paya N, Estevan MCL, Herreros PV, Garnacho-Castaño MV. Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Athletes. A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017; 9(1):43. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9010043 (Improved endurance)
Ekaterina Pazukhina, Esteban Garcia-Gallo, Luis Felipe Reyes, Anders Benjamin Kildal, Waasila Jassat, Murray Dryden, Jan Cato Holter, Allegra Chatterjee, Kyle Gomez, Arne Søraas, Matteo Puntoni, Nicola Latronico, Fernando A Bozza, Michael Edelstein, Bronner P Gonçalves, Christiana Kartsonaki, Oksana Kruglova, Sérgio Gaião, Yock Ping Chow, Yash Doshi, Sara Isabel Duque Vallejo, Elsa D Ibáñez-Prada, Yuli V Fuentes, Claire Hastie, Margaret E O’Hara, Valeria Balan, Tigist Menkir, Laura Merson, Sadie Kelly, Barbara Wanjiru Citarella, Malcolm G Semple, Janet T Scott, Daniel Munblit, Louise Sigfrid, – Long Covid: a global health issue – a prospective, cohort study set in four continents: BMJ Global Health 2024;9:e015245. (Post pandemic global health)
Fadlilah, Synta & Suhartomo, Dalri & Yusan, Rizak & Yudhawan, Indra. (2023). BEETROOT (Beta vulgaris L.) AND ITS POTENTIAL AS AN ANEMIA TREATMENT IN PREGNANCY. Medical and Health Journal. 3. 114. 10.20884/1.mhj.2023.3.1.9070. (Anaemia)
Gallardo EJ, Coggan AR. What’s in Your Beet Juice? Nitrate and Nitrite Content of Beet Juice Products Marketed to Athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2019 Jul 1;29(4):345–349. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0223. PMID: 30299195; PMCID: PMC8512783. (Nitrate content beetroot juice)
Gopala SK, Joe J, Chandran J. Effects of lemon-tomato juice consumption on crystal formation in the urine of patients with calcium oxalate stones: A randomized crossover clinical trial. Curr Urol. 2023 Mar;17(1):25-29. doi: 10.1097/CU9.0000000000000178. Epub 2023 Jan 29. PMID: 37692132; PMCID: PMC10487295. (Lemon prevents kidney stones)
Hatch M. Gut microbiota and oxalate homeostasis. Ann Transl Med. 2017 Jan;5(2):36. doi: 10.21037/atm.2016.12.70. PMID: 28217701; PMCID: PMC5300851. (Gut microbiota and oxalates)
Jones AM, Thompson C, Wylie LJ, Vanhatalo A. Dietary Nitrate and Physical Performance. Annu Rev Nutr. 2018 Aug 21;38:303-328. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-082117-051622. PMID: 30130468. (Dietary nitrate for performance)
Jones AM, Vanhatalo A, Seals DR, Rossman MJ, Piknova B, Jonvik KL. Dietary Nitrate and Nitric Oxide Metabolism: Mouth, Circulation, Skeletal Muscle, and Exercise Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Feb 1;53(2):280-294. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002470. PMID: 32735111. (Nitric Oxide and performance)
Kavitha, R., Nay, M. M. T. S., Adel, A. A. M., Ahmed, M. M. G., Anja, K., Heidi, R., Zhen, Z. C., Dietrich, K., & Iryna, S. (2013). Impact of processing of red beet on betalain content and antioxidant activity. Food Research International, 50, 670–675. (Antioxidant activity)
Khatri J, Mills CE, Maskell P, Odongerel C, Webb AJ. It is rocket science – why dietary nitrate is hard to ‘beet’! Part I: twists and turns in the realization of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2017 Jan;83(1):129-139. doi: 10.1111/bcp.12913. Epub 2016 May 6. PMID: 26896747; PMCID: PMC5338143. (Nitrate pathway)
Kiani AK, Dhuli K, Donato K, Aquilanti B, Velluti V, Matera G, Iaconelli A, Connelly ST, Bellinato F, Gisondi P, Bertelli M. Main nutritional deficiencies. J Prev Med Hyg. 2022 Oct 17;63(2 Suppl 3):E93-E101. doi: 10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2022.63.2S3.2752. PMID: 36479498; PMCID: PMC9710417. (Nutrient Deficiencies & Disease)
Kobayashi J, Ohtake K, Uchida H. NO-Rich Diet for Lifestyle-Related Diseases. Nutrients. 2015 Jun 17;7(6):4911-37. doi: 10.3390/nu7064911. PMID: 26091235; PMCID: PMC4488823. (Nitric oxide for lifestyle diseases)
Lechner JF, Stoner GD. Red Beetroot and Betalains as Cancer Chemopreventative Agents. Molecules. 2019; 24(8):1602. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24081602 (Cancer prevention)
Lbban E, Ashor A, Shannon OM, Idris I, Siervo M. Is vitamin C a booster of the effects of dietary nitrate on endothelial function? Physiologic rationale and implications for research. Nutrition. 2023 May;109:111995. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2023.111995. Epub 2023 Feb 7. PMID: 36917872. (Vitamin C boosts nitric oxide)
Lopez-Leon, S., Wegman-Ostrosky, T., Perelman, C. et al. More than 50 long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep 11, 16144 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95565-8 (Post pandemic health symptoms)
Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Martin-Calvo N. Mediterranean diet and life expectancy; beyond olive oil, fruits, and vegetables. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2016 Nov;19(6):401-407. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000316. PMID: 27552476; PMCID: PMC5902736. (Mediterrranean diet, health and longevity)
Miller AW, Penniston KL, Fitzpatrick K, Agudelo J, Tasian G, Lange D. Mechanisms of the intestinal and urinary microbiome in kidney stone disease. Nat Rev Urol. 2022 Dec;19(12):695-707. doi: 10.1038/s41585-022-00647-5. Epub 2022 Sep 20. PMID: 36127409; PMCID: PMC11234243. (Oxalates and your gut microbiome)
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