Beets are in season from late summer through early winter. These jewel-toned root vegetables offer a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, including vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential to immunity and healthy tissues. Use the whole beet, including the greens, when preparing them to get the most vitamin C.
Vitamin C Function
Vitamin C offers many benefits in addition to helping boost your immunity against the common cold. Vitamin C helps you build connective tissues, affects mood and turns fat into energy. Vitamin C may also play a role in moderating cholesterol levels and preventing gall stones. Vitamin C also helps you absorb iron, especially the type found in plant foods.
Antioxidant Benefit
Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, a compound that fights disease-causing free radicals in the body. Although more research is needed, preliminary studies suggest the antioxidant role of vitamin C may help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin C also supports of vitamin E, another antioxidant. Along with vitamin C, beets provide the antioxidants lutein, manganese, betanin and vulgaxanthin.
Amount in Beets
In 1 cup of raw beets, you get about 13 mg of vitamin C. Cooked beets or canned beets lose about 8 percent of their vitamin C value during processing, according to a study in the May 2004 issue of the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry." A 1-cup serving of cooked beet greens offers 40 mg of vitamin C. The recommended daily value for vitamin C is 90 mg for adult males and 75 mg for adult females.
Additional Nutrients
In addition to vitamin C, beets are a source of folate, which is important to your red blood cells' ability to function and in preventing certain birth defects. Raw beets are a better source of folate as canned and processed beets lose 30 percent of their folate value. A 1-cup serving of beets also provides more potassium than a banana with more than 500 mg. Potassium helps regulate muscle contraction and fluid balance in the body.
Preparation
Fresh beets can stain your hands. Choose golden or candy cane-striped varieties to minimize the mess. You can roast or lightly steam whole, peeled beets. To maximize the benefit of vitamin C from raw beets, shave them thinly on a mandolin and toss them in a green salad with chopped apple and walnuts. Make beets into soup, cake, purees or salads. Saute the greens as you would spinach or kale.
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