The Advantages of Beetroot Juice

The juice of the beet, often called beetroot juice, is a highly nutritious addition to the diet. High in vitamins and minerals, beetroot juice has numerous health advantages, including cardiovascular benefits and anti-cancer properties. Raw food adherents include beetroot juice in their diets to help detoxify the blood and to support liver and kidney function. Beetroot juice is known to be potent and is usually combined with other juices to moderate its effects.

Anti-Cancer Properties

• The use of beetroot juice or grated beetroot in treating cancer dates back to the 1950s. Hungarian doctor Alexander Ferenczi treated patients suffering from various types of cancer, mostly inoperable. He gave them either grated beetroot or beetroot juice after their meals and found that their tumors rapidly disappeared.

Cardiovascular Benefits

• Beetroot juice helps lower blood pressure and is therefore useful in treating cardiovascular disease. According to a study published in the March 2008 issue of the "Journal of Hypertension," when the nitrates that naturally occur in beetroot are ingested, they are converted to nitrite, which lowers blood pressure when it circulates in the bloodstream.

Detoxification

• Many people consume beetroot juice for its detoxifying properties. It was known in the Middle Ages as a cure for jaundice and dysentery. In modern alternative medicine, beets and beetroot juice are used to support liver and kidney function, helping to remove toxins and improve the blood's cleansing functions.

Menstrual and Menopausal Symptoms

• Another benefit of including beetroot juice in the diet is that it is known to help alleviate the more severe symptoms of menopause and of menstrual disturbances. The bio-available iron and folate in beetroot may be one reason for its efficacy in addressing menstrual issues.