Did you notice that there seems to be a spelling mistake in the title of this post? It’s not a mis-steak 😉 The topic of today’s post is… wait for it… beets. The vegetable that can ruin your clothing, stain your sink, and even leave pink splotches on your floors and dishes.
Apart from its inherent capacity for staining things pink, it turns out that the humble beet may actually be even better for us than other vegetables. How much better? A review article, published by researchers in England and South Africa, stated that:
Based on the available data, beetroot appears to be a powerful dietary source of health promoting agents that holds potential as therapeutic treatment for several pathological disorders.
The powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and vascular-protective effects offered by beetroot and its constituents have been clearly demonstrated by several… studies; hence its increasing popularity as a nutritional approach to help manage cardiovascular disease and cancer.
In the human studies to date, beetroot supplementation has been reported to reduce blood pressure, attenuate inflammation, avert oxidative stress, preserve endothelial function and restore cerebrovascular haemodynamics.”(1)
What’s of particular interest to me in this list of likely benefits are the anti-inflammatory effects of beets; also called beetroot. I live with a rare disease which combines autoimmune and neuro-inflammatory facets, arguably both rooted in… (you guessed it, right?) inflammation.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a condition of neuropathic pain, which is characterized by significant autonomic and inflammatory features.”(2)
In the hopes of somehow reducing some of the multiple and diverse effects of CRPS, formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), I’ve been focusing my diet on foods with anti-inflammatory properties for the past few years.
You can read more about these efforts in my 2017 post on foods to fight pain. My husband and I started buying fresh beets at a local farmers’ market a few years ago. They are delicious when cut into large slices, coated with a bit of olive oil, and then cooked on our outdoor grill (a BBQ).
It occurred to me, as my husband was preparing the vegetables for dinner tonight, that this may have become one of our favourite vegetables to grill. Whatever you’re doing for dinner tonight, I hope that it’s a pleasant and sustaining meal – shared with someone you love; either in person or at a distance. Oh, and by the way, a good book counts as ‘someone you love’ in my book. (Get it?!)
These days a shared meal may mean a phone or video call, a ZOOM meeting, social media; there are so many ways to ‘connect’ with people these days, during this strange and disorientating pandemic period of mass closures, physical distancing, and self-isolation.
Speaking of social media, please feel free to reach out via Instagram or Twitter if you have a comment or question – or simply want to eChat. As always, thanks so much for stopping by this 100% non-commercial blog. Stay safe out there!
References:
(1) Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, Stevenson EJ. The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients. 2015;7(4):2801‐2822. 14 Apr 2015. doi:10.3390/nu7042801. Accessed 05 May 2020:
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/7/4/2801
(2) Eldufani J, Elahmer N, Blaise G. A medical mystery of complex regional pain syndrome. Heliyon. 2020;6(2):e03329. Published 2020 Feb 19. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03329. Accessed 05 May 2020:
https://www.cell.com/heliyon/pdf/S2405-8440(20)30174-2.pdf?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2405844020301742%3Fshowall%3Dtrue