Monday’s Diet Journal – The Amazing Beet! 2/8/10
“Strengthens the heart, sedates the spirit, improves circulation, purifies the blood, benefits the liver, moistens the intestines, and promotes menstruation…”¹. Who am I but the amazing Beet! Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pritchard
Many of us were never exposed to the grandeur of beets. However, since their development in the Middle Ages by German gardeners they have been considered an important food for all manner of healing. Rich in iron, copper, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, carotene, B-complex, and Vit. C, beets are known to reestablish numerous functions of the body. We can also use beets to insure adequate vitamins and minerals on a regular basis and that’s what I’m hoping to do. From a Chinese medicine point of view, beets treat liver stagnancy, promote the flow of bile, cleanse the blood, and treat nervousness and congestions of the vascular system. “Beets, both roots and tops, have the property of cleansing the liver and the blood, and are often prescribed in cases of cancer..,” according to Pritchard. Other reasons beets are beneficial to cancer patients is their ability to lubricate the intestines to avoid constipation problems.
In Hanna Kroeger’s, Heal Your Life with Home Remedies and Herbs, she suggests eating beets as a remedy for Leukemia, and to heal Kidney or Bladder stones. In the later case, she recommends boiling 5 whole beets in 3 quarts of water for 1 hour and then drinking 7 ounces of this water 3 times daily. I think if I was in a battle with Leukemia I could down most anything as long as I knew it supported my healing.
The question for many of us is just how to go about adding beets to the diet when we have never acquired a taste for them. Fortunately I’ve discovered a wide range of recipes that have served me well. When I was extremely ill several years ago with heavy metal poisoning (among other things), I juiced beets regularly with a variety of vegetables such as carrot, cucumber, celery, parsley, and ginger in order to cleanse toxins from my system. Granted I never learned to absolutely love the taste but it was extremely helpful in my recovery. And now that I want to boost my metabolism, soothe my nerves, and take corrective action to ward off a middle bread basket, I’m returning to some of the tactics that worked earlier.
I’ve also discovered that I could get the whole family to eat beets by grating them raw into salads. The younger the kids the easier it is to add this bright red vegetable. Pickled beets are also an excellent way to bring beets into the menu. They were a common sight at my Grandmother’s table and I’m certain she knew why! Beets are one of the easier vegetables to grow and can last well into the cold months while still in the garden plot. So what do I hope to gain from falling for these blood-red beauties? A slimmer me!
Connect