Beetroot juice: how healthy is it?

Beetroot juice and health benefits: fact or fiction? Learn how this juice can affect your skin and sports performance in our article.

Is beetroot juice healthy?

Now you’re probably wondering: is beetroot juice healthy? Well, it’s not as easy as it seems.

Unfortunately, drinking beetroot juice is not good for your health. It contains a significant amount of sugar, which means you unknowingly consume a lot of sugar. A glass of beetroot juice (200 ml) contains no less than 16 grams of sugar, which corresponds to 4 sugar cubes.

Despite the large amount of sugar, it does not make you feel full. Moreover, with beetroot juice you get much fewer nutrients than if you eat the whole beet.

What is beetroot juice?

So, what exactly is beetroot juice? Good question, beet juice is made from

Beet juice is made from red beets. These tubers have a dark red color and green leaves with red veins. The tuber has a sweet, fresh and characteristic earthy taste. There are winter and summer beets, with summer beets often larger than winter beets. In addition, summer beets are often tied in bunches, with the leaves still attached.

So how is beet juice made? The cooked beets or raw beets are first cut and then blended in a blender into beet juice. Not all types of beet juice consist of 100% beet juice. Some types of beet juice contain other ingredients, such as added sugar, honey and other fruits (such as apples).

What is the nutritional value of beetroot juice?

Below you can read the nutritional values ​​in a glass of beetroot juice (250 ml).

• 85 kcal energy
• 0 grams of fat
• 0 grams of saturated fat
• 19.2 grams of carbohydrates
• 18.5 grams of sugars
• 0 grams of fiber
• 2.3 grams of protein
• 0.11 grams of salt

What nutrients does beet juice contain?

Below you can read which and how many nutrients a glass of beet juice (250 ml) contains.

Nutrient	Quantity	Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Potassium	725 mg	3500 mg
Calcium	8 mg	Men and women 18-24 years: 1000 mg Men 25-69 years and women 25-49 years 950 mg Women 60-69 years 1100 mg
Magnesium	55 mg	Men 350 mg Women 300 mg
Iron	1.5mg	Men and women who do not menstruate 11 g Women who do menstruate 16 mg*
Selenium	0 µg	70 µg
Zinc	0.8 µg	Men (>18 years) 9 ug Women (>18 years) 7 ug Pregnant women 9.1 ug Breastfeeding women 11 ug
Vitamin A	3 ug	Men 800 μg Women 680 μg
Vitamin D	0 µg	10 μg >70 years People with tanned skin People who rarely go outside and/or cover their hands and face 20 μg
Vitamin E	0 mg	Men 13 mg Women 11 mg
Thiamine (vitamin B1)	0.08mg	0.1mg
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)	0.15mg	1.6mg
Vitamin B6	0.22mg	Men and women 1.5 mg Men >50 years 1.8 mg
Folic acid	43 µg	300 μg Pregnant and lactating women 400 μg
Vitamin B12	0 µg	2.8 μg
Niacin	0 mg	16 mg
Vitamin C	8 mg	75 mg
Iodine	0 µg	150 μg Pregnant and/or lactating women 200 μg.
Phosphorus	73mg [3]	550 mg (>18 years) [4]

What is beetroot juice good for?

So, what is beetroot juice actually good for? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that are claimed.

Beet juice makes your muscles work better

Good news! Beetroot juice is said to be good for your stamina and presentations. Beetroot juice increases nitrate and nitrite concentrations in the blood, according to various studies. This produces nitric oxide (a substance in the body that transmits signals), which ensures that mitochondria (energy factories) in the muscles work more efficiently.

Nitrate and nitrites are substances that occur naturally in water and vegetables. Unfortunately, the quality of current studies is still insufficient. If these suspected effects are due to the nitrate in the beets, this would also be an advantage of nitrate-rich sports supplements.

It contains healthy nutrients

Home-squeezed beet juice is packed with healthy nutrients, such as B vitamins and potassium. It also contains antioxidants, which have natural anti-inflammatory properties.

Antioxidants catch free radicals, which can cause damage to tissues and cells. This way it can probably prevent chronic diseases.

What about ready-made beet juice? Unfortunately, this contains a lot fewer nutrients because it is less fresh.

It would lower your blood pressure

Several studies have been done on whether beetroot juice helps lower blood pressure. Unfortunately, the results are mixed. So, we still have to be patient to see whether beetroot juice really lowers blood pressure.

This health benefit is probably also caused by the presence of nitrites in beet juice. This substance causes the muscles of the blood vessels to relax, resulting in dilation of the blood vessels and improved blood circulation. As a result, blood pressure drops.

However, nitrate is also present in whole beetroot, meaning you don’t necessarily have to drink beetroot juice to benefit from it. Other foods rich in nitrate include endive, spinach, Chinese cabbage and turnip greens.

It would cleanse your liver

It is claimed that beetroot juice works as a kind of detox drink, which is why it is also used as a juice cleanse. This drink is said to help protect the liver from toxins and reduce the risk of chronic inflammation.

A small study with rats indeed showed a protective effect. However, it is important to note that these results cannot be directly translated to humans. So, unfortunately, further research is needed to confirm the effects in humans.

But we also have good news: the liver itself is excellent at removing toxins effectively. No specific detox treatment is needed to achieve this. That will save you money in your wallet!

It would be good for your skin

In a small-scale study with hairless mice with dry skin and increased scratching behavior, it was observed that a beet extract caused thicker skin. In addition, the mice showed less scratching behavior and drank more. Drinking enough is also important for healthy skin.

Based on these results, researchers suspect that beet extract may help prevent certain skin diseases. Unfortunately, we do not yet know whether this health effect also applies to humans. So, however, further research is needed to confirm these findings.

Beetroot juice also contains several vitamins and minerals that contribute to healthy skin. Potassium, for example, plays an important role in the body’s fluid balance [9]. Vitamin C is essential for the production of connective tissue and also supports a healthy immune system.

RESUME
Beetroot juice contains healthy nutrients that keep you healthy. Many health benefits are claimed. But more research needs to be done before we can draw any conclusions.

Can you lose weight with beetroot juice?

You may be wondering: can beetroot juice help me lose weight? Unfortunately the answer is: no. With a glass of beetroot juice (250 ml) you get 68 calories and 16 grams of sugar.

This way you not only get a lot of energy, but you also don’t feel satiated. This means there is a good chance that you will consume too much energy one day

In addition, the sugars in beet juice mainly consist of fast sugars, which causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. This makes you feel hungry faster, which makes it harder to eat less.

In addition, the large amount of sugar can make losing weight more difficult. This is because your body is less likely to switch to fat burning as long as your glycogen stores (sugar stores) are not depleted.

Finally, long-term and excessive sugar intake can lead to insulin resistance, where your body responds less well to insulin, the hormone that transports sugar to your body cells.

This causes a major disadvantage when losing weight: storing more fat! So, give up that glass of beetroot juice if you want to get rid of those extra pounds.

RESUME
Be smart and don’t drink beetroot juice if you want to lose weight. You consume a lot of calories and sugars and quickly become hungry again. This only makes losing weight more difficult.

Does beetroot juice fit into a low-carb diet?

If you want to know whether beet juice fits into a low-carb diet , I’m sorry to disappoint you.

Beetroot juice mainly contains carbohydrates, almost exclusively of which are fast sugars. If you follow a low-carb diet, that is not smart.

With just one glass of beet juice you have already consumed a significant amount of your allowed carbohydrates without feeling full. By the way, this applies to all juices.

Does a low-carb diet sound interesting to you? Then we would like to invite you to follow our free weight loss training. Here you will receive valuable information and guidance to help you achieve your goals.

How much beet juice per day?

We do not recommend drinking beetroot juice every day. It is a less healthy choice. It is best to limit drinking beet juice to one glass at a time and a maximum of once a week. Preferably choose fresh beet juice that you make yourself. Making beetroot juice doesn’t have to take much time.

When to drink beetroot juice?

Beetroot juice is drunk by many people before exercising because of its claimed positive effects on sports performance. You can certainly try that, but don’t expect miracles. Drink beetroot juice whenever you feel like it.

Be careful if you drink it before exercising. If you consume too much fluid before exercising, this can be detrimental.

In addition to the fact that it is very inconvenient if you have to go to the toilet (often) in some sports, you can also experience stomach and intestinal problems. For example, drinking too much before exercising can cause cramps, stitches and a sloshing stomach. This actually works against your sports performance.

Is beet juice dangerous?

Now you may be wondering: is beetroot juice dangerous? As with almost all things, too much is dangerous.

Be aware that beetroot juice contains a lot of salt. This is problematic because most Dutch people already consume too much salt. Excessive salt intake increases the risk of high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

People with kidney disease should be extra careful to limit their salt intake. For them, too much salt intake is even more harmful and can have serious consequences.

Conclusion

So, what is the final conclusion? Although beetroot juice contains valuable nutrients, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

You consume a lot of sugar at once and you do not feel satiated. Whole beets, on the other hand, will keep you full. Moreover, you get many more nutrients.