Beetroot has a sweet and characteristic flavour, being commonly said “to have an earthy taste”. But few people may know that this tuberous root, sometimes uninviting in appearance, is a real gem in nutrients essential to a balanced and healthy diet. Learn that: There are three types of beetroot : the white beet (used in Europe to produce sugar and ethanol), the fodder beet (cultivated for animal feed) and the table beet (dark red, used for cooking), the latter being the one we usually find on the market, raw or pre-prepared, cooked or pickled. Beetroot has low calories and a lot of water. About 100 g beetroot contain 2.6 g of fibre and nutrients, namely folic acid (20% of the Recommended Daily Intake), potassium (7% of the RDI), vitamin C (4%), vitamin B3 (4%) and manganese (14%). Consuming beetroot raw is the best way to benefit from all its ingredients – and we can use it in salads and juices, for instance. When cooked, it can be boiled, roasted or grilled, and it can be used in soups, purees or as a side dish. Given the growing demand for a varied and healthy diet, many bakeries already incorporate beetroot in bread recipes (hard to miss: it’s the rose one…). If you find beetroot on sale with leaves, know that these are also edible and similar to spinach. You can use the smaller leaves in salads and the larger ones as a side dish, after cooked. The daily intake of vegetables like beetroot, combined with a healthy lifestyle, is highly beneficial. The intake of vegetables contributes to reduce the risk of diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and oncologic diseases, and to control the cholesterol levels. Moreover, they enhance the digestive system functioning and help controlling weight, since they promote satiety. The Mediterranean Food Wheel recommends a daily intake of three to five portions of vegetables (one portion corresponding to two cups of raw vegetables or one cup of cooked vegetables). Source: Associação Portuguesa de Nutrição, Os Hortícolas na Alimentação Healthline, Everything to know about the Health Benefits of Beets These are the recipes suggested by our nutritionists Alexandra Lima , Cristina Cunha , Liliana Natário , Maria Inês Cardoso , Raquel Barbosa e Simone Fernandes . Meet the nutrition clinical team from Hospital da Luz network.
