I know, I know, who eats beets? Your grandmother maybe? But before you think that beets are beat, listen up. Beats have the highest sugar content of any vegetable, and are thus the sweetest. Yet, they contain very few calories!
Multiple studies have shown that the betacyanin, which makes beets that purplish color that scares us men away, is a potent stalwart against colon cancer. This is important fellas because in 2004, there were over 50,000 documented cases of death due to colon cancer in the US. In addition, beets have been shown to break down stomach-cancer-inducing nitrates - nitrates gentleman, which tend to be prominent in processed meats.
We could keep going on and on, and so we will a bit. Fascinatingly, animals that were fed a healthy beet diet, compared to those who were not, had their "cholesterol drop 30% and their triglycerides drop 40% (elevated triglycerides, the form in which fats are transported in the blood, are a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease), and their HDL (beneficial cholesterol) level increased significantly."1
Finally, if your joints ache or your breathing is affected by asthma beets may help reduce your bodily inflammation by up to 20%, allowing to you move and breathe easier.
Beets are great to add on top of basically anything you're throwing in the oven, turkey, chicken, ham, or just veggie medleys. They make great appetizers when paired with the right cheeses such as feta or gorgonzola.
You can also cover them with a tasty pesto sauce and then throw them in the oven for a sweet and nourishing snack. They are well-suited to a variety of salads as well.
You can just throw them over some lettuce and tomatoes doused in lemon juice with a bit of goat cheese, or you can pair them with some fruit, such as peaches and pears, over fresh baby spinach leaves and a bit of raspberry vinaigrette to make a tasty salad.
