Herbally Yours

Beets aren’t an herb, but considering their powerful healing benefits they deserve a place in my healing arsenal. Beets help normalize the ph of the body and build the blood. In America and most industrialized nations the foods we eat have become so over processed that many people’s body ph is very acid which leads to not only digestive problems, but obesity and other diseases such as diabetes.

Beets have been used to treat acne, anemia, cancer, poor circulation, toxemia and a host of other diseases and afflictions. The root and greens are both powerful blood cleansers and builder. Betacyan is the property in beets that give them their deep amethyst color. Betacyan helps significantly reduce the homocysteine levels in the blood which reduces plaque buildup in the arteries and helps increase blood circulation.

Beets belong to the same family as chard and spinach and have the same bitterness as chard. They are richer in chlorophyll than most greens and are higher in nutrients than the roots. Other nutrients in beets are vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. The greens have a higher content of iron than spinach and are also contain calcium, magnesium, copper, phosporus and sodium.

The content of iron is not high, but coupled with all the other vitamins and minerals it is more bioavailable than many other sources of natural iron. The combination of nutrients also make beets and beet greens an amazing aid in treating may ailments that are caused by our toxic environment.