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Is Beet Powder as Good as Eating Beets? (+Powerful nutrients)

6 min read time Nov 22, 2022

Description

Description

With a deliciously sweet taste and beautiful deep rich red color, beet powder contains a treasure trove of nutrients and compounds that nourish the body, rarely found in a single food.

Beets are classified as one of the top ten foods with the highest antioxidant activity and possess many unique qualities.

But, if you have ever asked yourself, “Is beet powder as good as eating beets?” you have come to the right place.

Beet powder is the same as eating whole beet root. Beet powder is whole beets with the water removed and in a powder form.

Let’s now review why beets are such amazing food and why beet powder is just as good as eating beets.

Why eating beet powder is as good as eating beets

Whether you eat beets whole or powdered, they are an incredible food.

Beet powders have a wide range of uses in the functional food market. They have been shown to support antioxidant activity as well as support powerful mechanisms of action like healthy blood flow, which directly correlates with vibrant health; beets also may work as a transport system for any powerful nourishment consumed.

When a food powder is created, the process that removes the water (air dry or freeze-dried) produces a shelf-stable, highly concentrated end product that is exceptionally bioavailable and versatile.

A fascinating study conducted by a research team in Switzerland published in the Molecules journal found that eating beet powder mixed with yogurt significantly increased antioxidant activity, largely due to a powerful compound called betalains found in beets. (1)

But is taking beet powder as beneficial as eating beetroots?

Beet powder is a highly nutrient-dense, versatile, functional food with a wide range of uses and unlimited potential for nourishing the human body.

Beet powders have been shown to support antioxidant activity and the end product's functionality. While it is true that a powder does not provide the same texture as eating a fresh beet, its nutrient density and versatility are considered to have the same positive attributes. These attributes must be considered when deciding if a functional food powder can provide equal or more benefits for supporting functional mechanisms of action.

Researchers with Nutrients, a prominent nutrition journal, discovered that because of beet root’s high biological activity, beet root powder supplementation might lead to potential health benefits such as; pain reduction, cognitive function, vascular function, insulin resistance, and inflammation, especially in older and diseased populations. (2)

Does Beet Powder Really Work?

So, now that you know eating beet powder is just as good as whole beets, you might be asking yourself, “does beet powder really work?”

The researchers with Nutrients also found that beetroot has health-promoting agents that may offer therapeutic treatment for several health issues. (2)

They found that the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vascular-protective effects of beetroot may help manage cardiovascular disease and some other diseases. (2)

They also found that beetroot supplementation reduces blood pressure, may support healthy inflammation, avert oxidative stress, preserve endothelial function and support healthy brain blood flow. (2)

And to make beet root powder even more interesting, these researchers also found that beetroot supplementation improves athletic performance. (2)

How good is beet powder for you?

Beet powder is a tremendous source of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients and is considered one of the top ten food with the highest antioxidant activity.

But the power and unsung heroes of beets and beet powders are the nitrates and betalains.

Speaking of unsung heroes, Louis Ignarro was a co-recipient of the noble prize in 1998 for demonstrating the signaling properties of nitric oxide, and based on his research, he wrote the book "NO More Heart Disease." The discovery he is credited with is that nitric oxide is produced in blood vessels and signals vessels to expand and contract, thereby controlling blood flow. He is also known as the "father of Viagra" because his research led to its development. Louis co-founded a Journal called Nitric Oxide: Biology & Chemistry. To date there are over 114,000 scientific papers about nitric oxide. (5)

Nitrates turn into nitrites during a process called Entero-Salivary Circulation with bacteria and enzymes found in the mouth and body.

Nitrites are then converted into nitric oxide, which helps the body transmit signals to arterial cells that relax the system and control cardiac rhythm supporting healthy blood pressure by dilating blood vessels which relax muscle cells.

Betalains are water-soluble plant pigments commonly used as a food colorant with a wide range of bioactive abilities. More than 80% of pigments from red beets consist of betacyanins (betanin & isobetanin). They are susceptible to heat, light, and oxygen, making them very unstable and providing evidence that a functional food powder may be superior because they are not exposed to the things that degrade nutrients.

Additionally, scientists with the prominent journal, Foods, found that the many health benefits, mainly regarding cardiovascular health, come from the rich, potent compounds of nitrate and betalains. (3)

Does Beet Powder Really Lower Blood Pressure?

The primary reason beets are highly regarded for their ability to support healthy blood pressure levels is not just their high concentration of antioxidants and nitrates but the result of how these compounds are converted and their effect on the body.

As explained above, nitrates are converted into nitrites, converting into what many doctors believe to be “The Miracle Molecule,” nitric oxide.

Beet root powder may support healthy blood pressure levels due to its rich nitrate content which converts into nitrites and then into the “miracle molecule” nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is composed of nitrogen and oxygen and is created in the human body from dietary arginine and nitrates. Its primary roles are as a vasodilator, vascular tone modulator, blood pressure, and hemodynamics (how blood flows through your blood vessels).

In simple terms, nitric oxide is also an endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which is a vasodilator elaborated by vascular endothelial cells in response to various stress signals.

In a fascinating review discussing the role of nitric oxide, researchers found that Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important function in many physiological systems, such as: inducing vasodilation, regulating programmed cell death (apoptosis), and maintaining endothelial function. Additionally, NO is an essential regulator of the biology and physiology of the male and female reproductive systems. (4)

The researchers with the Foods journal also found that beet powder significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure among study participants. (3)

Beet root powder, excess nitrites, and antioxidants

In case you are wondering how antioxidants play a role in this process, it comes down to the idea that if there is an excess amount of nitrites, there is great potential those nitrites may also be converted into nitrosamides which are known to be carcinogenic.

Nitrosamides are created when nitrates or nitrites are exposed to high heat like smoked foods or charged meat, highly processed foods, or an acidic environment like that of the stomach. While vegetables like beets are high in nitrates, the large amount of antioxidants is the primary reason nitrates don’t become nitrosamides when they reach the acidic stomach environment.

In conclusion, many factors potentially play essential roles when deciding which version of beets will most benefit an individual.

Z Natural Foods sees it as our mission to offer customers a high-quality, versatile powdered version of powerful functional foods used worldwide to help support a healthy, vibrant life.

These products provide more significant benefits for versatility and avoid the pitfalls that come with nutrient loss due to shipping and spoilage. The bottom line, whether fresh, juiced, or powdered, beets provide a magnificent array of nourishment for sustaining optimal well-being.

For more information about our two excellent beet root products, please visit:

References:

Effect of Encapsulated Beet Extracts ( Beta vulgaris) Added to Yogurt on the Physicochemical Characteristics and Antioxidant Activity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34443359/.
The Potential Benefits of Red Beetroot Supplementation in Health and Disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425174/
Current Knowledge on Beetroot Bioactive Compounds: Role of Nitrate and Betalains in Health and Disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8229785/
Role of nitric oxide in the biology, physiology, and pathophysiology of reproduction: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9622410/
Nitric Oxide – The Miracle Molecule: https://www.nitricoxidesociety.org/Nitric Oxide – The Miracle Molecule: https://www.nitricoxidesociety.org/