With their colourful exteriors, beets can definitely brighten up any dinner plate. However they don’t skimp on substance, both. Seems, there are a ton of well being advantages of beets that scientists are solely simply beginning to perceive—perks that may increase all the pieces out of your coronary heart well being to your subsequent exercise.

“Beets are actually a extremely nutritious meals,” Carrie Durward, PhD, RD, extension diet specialist and affiliate professor at Utah State College, tells SELF. Sure, they’re full of fiber, however they’re additionally a “nice supply” of minerals like potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc, she says. In addition they pack a stable quantity of manganese, a mineral that may help cell and bone well being, copy, immune perform, and blood clotting.

And excellent news should you’re a beet newbie: They’re extra versatile than you might suppose too. From salads to smoothies, there are literally tons of the way so as to add the veggie to your meals. For all of the intel on the well being advantages of beetroot, plus the tastiest methods to eat it that may’t be, um, beat, carry on studying.

1. They’re good in your digestion.

Like many greens, beets are excessive in fiber: Only a half cup of beet slices accommodates 1.7 grams (g) of it—round 7% of the advisable every day consumption (28 g) for individuals consuming round 2,000 energy a day. (And, we should always add, a stable share of the precise every day consumption for most people: At present, the common American grownup solely manages 15 grams or so.)

In addition to holding you full, fiber may also assist your digestive system hum alongside somewhat higher. Eat sufficient, and your journeys to the bathroom will doubtless be shorter, smoother, and simply much less of a slog. “By bulking up our stools, [fiber] makes it simpler for issues to maneuver via and for us to be common,” Dr. Durward says. Learn: much less threat of constipation. (Simply bear in mind that there’s an opportunity the pigments in beets may flip your poop and pee purple. That is known as beeturia, and it’s often nothing to fret about.)

Fiber performs different necessary roles too. In addition to supporting total intestine well being—these wholesome probiotic micro organism dwelling in your intestines love a prebiotic, roughage-rich snack—and serving to you keep happy, fiber can also cut back irritation and decrease your threat of well being circumstances like coronary heart illness, stroke, and even some sorts of most cancers.

The way you prep your beets issues quite a bit, although, based on Dr. Durward. Juicing, for instance, really removes a lot of the fiber, so should you go that route “you’re not going to get the identical advantages” you’d should you selected stable beets or perhaps a beet smoothie, Dr. Durward says.

2. They’re excessive in antioxidants, which may have bodywide advantages.

That colourful exterior serves greater than an aesthetic objective, Emily Van Eck, MS, RDN, an Austin-based dietitian nutritionist, tells SELF. Vibrant hues sign {that a} fruit or veggie is full of some mixture of phytonutrients, useful plant compounds which can be also referred to as phytochemicals or antioxidants, based on the USDA.