When you create your vegetable list for your weekly trip to the supermarket, your list likely includes common legumes like carrots, cucumbers, spinach, lettuce, and maybe a couple of heads of broccoli and cauliflower. However, there is one vegetable vying for the number one spot on your list - the beets!
Scientists are uncovering more and more unique benefits of the humble beetroot.
Not only can beetroot enhance athletic performance and help your body detox, but the powerful vegetable can also lower blood pressure, which is, reportedly, a significant benefit for pregnant women with high blood pressure!
Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Manchester studied the possible connection between pregnant women with high blood pressure and humble beetroot.
At Saint Mary’s hospital in Manchester, a collection of women with slightly high levels of blood pressure consumed a 70ml shot of beetroot juice daily over a period of eight days. Beetroot is a natural source for nitrate, and nitrate helps to regulate blood flow. At the end of the experiment, the pregnant women saw their nitrate and nitrite levels increase after two to three hours of ingesting a shot of beet juice. The placebo group had no changes in their nitrate and nitrite levels.
At the end of the study, the scientists revealed that there was no major change in blood pressure between the two groups, but the nitrate group showed that they underwent a notable difference in diastolic blood pressure and plasma nitrite.
Dr Jenny Myers says, “Women with increased blood pressure are at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia, and all the associated dangers of this such as poor growth of the baby in the womb, preterm delivery and maternal seizures.” She continues, “So if there are indeed benefits of having nitrate in their diet, it might have implications on the development of treatments for pregnant women with high blood pressure."
It is important to remember that nitrate in your diet can convert into nitric oxide and nitrite, which can help to better your blood vessels!
If you are expecting or know someone who is a mom-to-be, you may want to check out Synergy Company Beet Juice Powder. The organic powder contains nitrates, betaine, and phenols, which are all potent phytonutrients, and the beet juice powder can also boost the function of your liver, help with heart health and blood purification, as well as detoxification.
First Cry Parenting claims that beets can help pregnant women in countless ways; the almighty vegetable can help to lower anaemia, balance metabolism, reduce inflammation, as well as assist the development of your baby’s spinal cord.