Stand By Your Man-loretta lynn

[Gob]

Children hate beets.

In fact, so few people in the U.S. eat table beets that the federal government doesn't bother to keep track of how many are grown and sold, even though it does keep track of just about every other crop, including turnip greens and horseradish.




But it turns out that this was a good year for beets (otherwise known as beet roots or garden beets, but not to be confused with sugar beets.)

Some farmers markets say beet sales have surged since January, and they've doubled over the past few years. And it seems like every restaurant across the country serves beets these days — especially the ubiquitous beet salad.

Does all this constitute a beet renaissance? Irwin Goldman says, absolutely, yes. He breeds beets at the University of Wisconsin, where he's a professor of horticulture. He has been waiting for this renaissance for years.

"I think it's just wonderful to see because it's just an incredibly fabulous vegetable that I think is totally underappreciated," he says.

Maybe it's not surprising that chi-chi restaurants have rediscovered beets. Take, for example, the Oval Room across the street from the White House. Sous-chef Tamesha Warren shows how the staff turns beets into art.

Her salad man gently places a red baby beet on the passion fruit squiggle, then a baby golden beet, then a striped one — it's like of row of fantastic marbles. Then he shaves fresh baby horseradish over everything, like baby snowflakes. He adds some herbs — baby, of course — and vinaigrette.

Warren says at one point they tried to get rid of the salad, but clients protested. "So we have to leave it on here," she says. "They might as well put billboards up and say, 'No, don't get rid of the beet salad.'"

Then again, this is Washington, D.C., where people are used to protests. But here's even more compelling evidence that beets are back: They've been showing up in chain restaurants from California Pizza Kitchen to Jamba Juice.

Matt Mandeltort of Technomic analyzes food trends for the food industry. The company's survey found that beets showed up in 13 percent more appetizers in chain restaurants this year, compared to 2010. They've increased more than 55 percent in the last three years.

[rubato]

I've heard that in SE asia people snack on beetle larvae, great big ones toasted on a stick.



Or prepared by diverse means.




But, I'm sure they have their reasons:




yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Heart health and blood pressure: A 2008 study published in Hypertension examined the effects of ingesting 500mls of beetroot juice in healthy volunteers and found that blood pressure was significantly lowered after ingestion. Researchers hypothesized this was likely due to the high nitrate levels contained in beet juice and that the high nitrate vegetables could prove to be a low cost and effective way to treat cardiovascular conditions and blood pressure.

Another study conducted in 2010 found similar results that drinking beetroot juice lowered blood pressure considerably on a dose-dependent basis.

Dementia: Researchers at Wake Forest University have found that drinking juice from beetroot can improve oxygenation to the brain, slowing the progression of dementia in older adults. According to Daniel Kim-Shapiro, director of Wake Forest's Translational Science Center, blood flow to certain areas of the brain decrease with age and leads to a decline in cognition and possible dementia. Consuming beetroot juice as part of a high nitrate diet can improve the blood flow and oxygenation to these areas that are lacking.

Diabetes: Beets contain an antioxidant known as alpha-lipoic acid, which has been shown to lower glucose levels, increase insulin sensitivity and prevent oxidative stress-induced changes in patients with diabetes. Studies on alpha-lipoic acid have also shown decreases in peripheral neuropathy and/or autonomic neuropathy in diabetics.5

Digestion and regularity: Because of its high fiber content, beetroot helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract.

Inflammation: Choline is a very important and versatile nutrient in beetroot that helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory. Choline also helps to maintain the structure of cellular membranes, aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, assists in the absorption of fat and reduces chronic inflammation.4

Exercise and athletic performance: Beetroot juice supplementation has been shown to improve muscle oxygenation during exercise, suggesting that increased dietary nitrate intake has the potential to enhance exercise tolerance during long-term endurance exercise. Quality of life for those with cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic diseases, who find the activities of daily living physically difficult because of lack of oxygenation, could be improved.

Beetroot juice improved performance by 2.8% (11 seconds) in a 4-km bicycle time trial and by 2.7% (45 seconds) in 16.1-km time trial.

[wesw]

Cran-Grape tastes a lot better tho.....
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice is the best thing to come out of MA since ben franklin left....

[wesw]

I ve never actually tasted a beet. yuck!!!!

do you guys get Welches Concord grape juice in Oz?

[Gob]

Ermmm.... seeing as Aus is one of the major wine producing areas in the world, why would we import grape juice?

[wesw]

welches concord grape is VERY good.

there is grape juice, then there is CONCORD grape juice.

[Guinevere]

I prefer my grapes fermented to pasteurized. And concords ferment too sweet (when ripe). Pass.

[Gob]

This just popped up in my FB feed;

Can Beetroot improve the body's ability to cope with altitude?
added 21/Oct/2015

This announcement has been read 650 times

The challenge of climbing the world’s highest mountains appeals to thousands of adventurers across the globe, but high altitude sickness (AMS) can hinder even the most experienced climber. Now research from the Mid Sweden University and Norwegian University of Science and Technology has shown that consuming a quick high nitrate Beet It concentrated beetroot shot can improve the body’s ability to deliver blood to the muscles at high altitude.

Altitude sickness is caused by the lower air pressures at altitude which affects the body’s ability to distribute sufficient oxygen. The body has to acclimatise in order to function properly due to the reduced oxygen availability. The recently published paper shows that the natural dietary nitrate contained in the Beet It shot can help with this. The nitrate interacts with enzymes in saliva to boost Nitric Oxide (NO) in the blood system, which is the body’s natural regulator of blood flow.

The Swedish and Norwegian team of scientists spent months in Nepal mostly in the Rolwaling Valley west of Mount Everest, investigating how the high nitrate beetroot concentrate affected the arterial function of students on the Outdoor and Adventure Management program. Using both Beet It shots (with a 400mg nitrate content) and specially produced “nitrate depleted” Beet It shots as a placebo, they measured the Flow Mediated Dilation of blood vessels, to assess the impact of nitrate supplementation on arterial function at both low and high altitude. The study found that the high nitrate Beet It shot made the blood vessels relax and return much more quickly to normal function, while the placebo shot had no effect.

Dr Harald Engan, from the Environmental Physiology Group at Mid Sweden University, commented: “During acclimatisation to high altitude, obtaining sufficient blood perfusion is essential. Our study shows that dietary nitrate supplementation reduced the stiffness of the blood vessels, allowing blood to be distributed more easily in the body. In this way, dietary nitrate supplementation may be a possibly novel strategy to improve arterial function during high altitude exposure. Whether dietary nitrate supplementation potentially can reduce the risk of developing altitude related diseases needs to be further investigated.”

Svein Erik Gaustad from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim also commented: “Next time you plan a trip at high altitude, maybe it is worth carrying a beet juice shot in your backpack. It may be the extra boost your body needs to deliver enough oxygen to your tired muscles and keep you healthy when you are climbing a high mountain.”

[wesw]

don t that beet all.....

that explains all the sherpas that I ve seen on tv lately, flogging beet juice ....

someone should turn those Kenyans on to some beet juice....

if the welsh had only discovered beet juice before the English conquered them....
...would it have made the difference? ...beets me....

[wesw]

seeing as how I m at sea level here...., I ll pass....

cranberries for everyone!!!

[Crackpot]

Horseradish rocks.

[rubato]

True story; God had a whole new commandment written out he was going to give to Moses "Thou Shalt Not Eat Beets" but the angel Gabriel talked him out of it. Gabe said "Another commandment? What for? You already made them smell like shit I think they'll get the message." "Next thing you'll be telling them not to go places with redback spiders, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, brown snakes and taipans. I think they can figure that one out; you DID say they were only a little lower than us right? Not total morons?


Not widely known, but true.


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

I honour of my good friend "rubato" I will be making "beetroot caviare" today.

[Lord Jim]

True story; God had a whole new commandment written out he was going to give to Moses "Thou Shalt Not Eat Beets" but the angel Gabriel talked him out of it. Gabe said "Another commandment? What for? You already made them smell like shit I think they'll get the message." "Next thing you'll be telling them not to go places with redback spiders, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, brown snakes and taipans. I think they can figure that one out; you DID say they were only a little lower than us right? Not total morons?


Not widely known, but true.


yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

I honour of my good friend "rubato" I will be making "beetroot caviare" today.

You're not using real beluga for that are you?

Waste.

Or is this like "little links" a vegetarian soya 'treat' with the shape, but none of the other qualities of sausages?

Just a fanciful name for reprocessed waste?






yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

No, it's genuine "beetroot caviare".

[rubato]

Right, genuine ersatz.


I'm just glad that the real beluga caviar has not been used for this purpose.


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Why?

[Lord Jim]

Right, genuine ersatz.


I'm just glad that the real beluga caviar has not been used for this purpose.


yrs,
rubato

You're not thinking quite right, are you rube?