6 Health Benefits of Beets
- Drinking beet juice helps lower blood pressure in a matter of hours
- Beets boost your physical performance/ stamina
- They fight inflammation (“[Betaine’s]… presence in our diet has been associated with lower levels of several inflammatory markers, including C reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. As a group, the anti-inflammatory molecules found in beets may eventually be shown to provide cardiovascular benefits in large-scale human studies, as well as anti-inflammatory benefits for other body systems.”)
- They offer anti-cancer properties
- They have a robust nutritional profile
- They promote detoxification
Health Benefits of Fermented Foods
Pickling needs to be done naturally, without vinegar added in order to be nutritious and allow you to get the most of the veggie. This means that you only need water and salt, which produces lacto-fermentation. Lacto-fermented foods are basically regular veggies placed in a solution made of salt and water for a certain period of time at room temperature. Any veggie can be fermented this way and it will produce high amount of beneficial bacteria, mostly Lactobacilli type. This bacterium creates lactic acid, which protects the food from pathogenic bacteria. What`s more, lacto-fermented veggies are healthier as the nutrients are pre-digested, meaning that they are more easily assimilated.“The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anti-carcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.”
How to Make Naturally Fermented Beets
Ingredients:- 2 cups water
- 6 medium beets
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- Option seasonings: cinnamon sticks, cloves, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds;
Instructions:
- Wash and try the beets thoroughly
- Poke them in a few places and bake at 300 degrees for about three hours
- Remove the skin and chop them into slices
- Place them into a quart-sized canning jar
- Dissolve the salt in water to make a brine
- Pour the brine over the beets
- Cover the container and keep at room temperature for three days
- Then, transfer the container to cold storage
