What if I told you there is a simple, inexpensive and delicious vegetable juice that can go a long way to helping your heart and your overall health?
That juice is beet juice and it is a wonder.
It can not only work wonders for our health (we’ll talk about blood circulation and heart health shortly) but it actually tastes very good!
It has a slightly sweet flavor, which makes it different from a lot of vegetable juices.
Many vegetable juices require an additional fruit juice, like apple or cherry, to be mixed in to give them a more palatable flavor.
But beet juice is not the same.
I’ve juiced my own beets for many years and usually by themselves because they are more than good enough on their own.
Because of their sweet, semi-sweet flavor, they also make a great addition to other juices.
I currently get beet juice in a superfood blend, which I’ll discuss at the end of the article.
On to the health benefits!
The first thing most lovers of beet juice point to is its ability to increase blood circulation.
There is benefit to this for just about everybody.
It can be beneficial to those with heart disease, whose blood circulation might be lower and blood pressure higher.
Increasing blood flow can help increase overall energy and give those who suffer from heart disease the wherewithal to perform more physical activity as part of a physical therapy program.
Physical activity can be very difficult when blood circulation is low as it drains energy and can lead to being too tired to do the therapeutic exercises prescribed.
Being able to do prescribed exercises can lead to increased energy whereas failing to do them can lead to decreased energy. It can become more difficult to perform those exercises in the future.
That is a vicious cycle that it would be great to avoid. Instead, it would be much more preferable to start a better cycle of gaining the energy to do the exercises, then getting the benefits of those exercises and having more energy to do those exercises and improve in the future.
For those who are healthier and do not have heart disease, the increased blood circulation has myriad benefits as well.
First of all, the increased energy is not just reserved for those who have heart disease. Those benefits are enjoyed by anybody.
In fact, researchers found consuming beet juice could lead to a 20 percent increase in exercise performance.
For those of us who sometimes have a hard time getting up and going, or finding the motivation to exercise more, this is a really big deal.
(more details on these benefits can be found in my previous article, Can You Boost Your Physical Performance By Up To 20 Percent With Beetroot Juice?)
Again, it is no different from the benefits realized by those undergoing physical therapy. Increasing energy and the ability to properly exercise on a regular basis can lead to compounding gains over time.
Energy leads to exercise, which leads to better fitness, which leads to more energy, which leads to continued exercise, and so on.
Conversely, the opposite can also be true. Lack of energy can lead to decreasing exercise, which can then lead to less energy and fitness, compounding losses over time.
The fact that we can combat that with a humble root vegetable that doesn’t cost very much is very exciting.
Lastly, the improved blood flow also delivers a great benefit in delivering more oxygen and nutrients to your body’s cells. This is a benefit that can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their health status.
Even more so if you get your beet juice in a blend with other superfoods.
How does beet juice accomplish all of this?
The answer is nitric oxide.
Beet juice is high in a nutrient called nitrate, which your body converts into this vital compound.
So why is this compound so vital?
Your body uses nitric oxide to relax blood vessel muscles, thus allowing the vessels to widen. Widening the vessels is what allows more blood to flow through, thereby also lowering blood pressure so your body doesn’t have to work as hard to deliver blood, oxygen and nutrients to its cells.
High blood pressure has been shown to lead to things like heart disease, so keeping it in a healthy range as early as possible is of great benefit.
Now men, of special interest to you, nitric oxide and the increased blood flow it brings can be of special benefit to your you-know-where.
It helps your muscles in that region to relax and increase the blood flow there. Very important.
For some, it has turned into a safer alternative to ED drugs, although it has not been shown to be necessarily as powerful.
The word is out, and there are a lot of beet juice products on the market
So, if you’re interested, take a look around and see if one works for you.
And always consult with your licensed health care practitioner whenever starting or changing any exercise, diet or treatment program.
Here’s to your health!
References:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nitric-oxide-supplements#muscle-soreness https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15866322 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21195829
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806141520.htm
https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/oct14/beetroot102314.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321663492_Influence_of_dietary_nitrate_food_forms_on_nitrate_metabolism_and_blood_pressure_in_healthy_normotensive_adults
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