http://www.aimforherbs.com/remakingbeets.html
Health Benefits of Beets
Blood red and looking like a badly shaped tennis ball with a tail, beets are not high on the favorite foods list. They do show up in Aunt Mabel’s family reunion salad (which ranks right up there with fruitcake), but they are not found very often on dinner plates. Let’s face it, beets are a beaten vegetable.
To beat the beaten image, we have put together a little public relations kit.
If Roman Gladiators Ate Beets...
The Facts: Ancient peoples believed that the color of beets was indicative of their power. Folklore mentions that beets were eaten to aid the blood: Greeks used beets to “cool” blood, and Romans used beets to fight fever.
The Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia notes that wild beets were gathered for their greens, and that beets were cultivated for their roots around the early Christian era. By the sixteenth century, the red beet had traveled widely and was being used as food by the English.
Eat Them Raw
The Facts: One cup of raw beets is high in carbohydrates and low in fat. It contains phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and potassium, as well as fiber, vitamins A and C, niacin, and biotin. Beets contain folic acid, which is recommended for pregnant women because it may lower the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects in newborn infants.
Heartbeet City
The Facts: According to John Heinerman, in the Encyclopedia of Healing Juices, beets (and beet juices) are a blood-building herb that detoxifies blood and renews it with minerals and natural sugars.
Dr. H.C.A. Vogel, in The Nature Doctor, States that beet juice contains betaine, which stimulates the function of liver cells and protects the liver and bile ducts. Recent studies point to betaine as contributing to the prevention of coronary and cerebral artery diseases.
Beeting the Big C
The Facts: Early research in Hungary indicated that beet juice and its powdered form slowed the development of tumors. Heinerman reports that Alexander Ferenczi, M.D., observed beets aiding cancer patients and performed studies that indicated that beets may help animals fight cancer.
Come on beet growers, if you’ve got it, flaunt it!
Carrot juice is often used as a “base” juice in juice combinations, as its natural sweetness often masks unpleasant tastes. Many people mix carrot juice with beet juice for liver health.
AIM RediBeets™
*Reprinted with permission from AIM International.All articles and information on this website are for educational purposes only. They are not to be regarded or relied upon as medical advice. The articles and information have not been evaluated by the FDA. AIM products are not intended to cure, treat, heal, mitigate, or prevent a disease or illness. Results may vary per person. Consult your health practitioner if you have health problems.
Mitten Clips
These mittens won't warm chilled hands, but they will generate good cheer when clipped to gift tags. Cut a mitten shape from cardboard, and trace it onto a piece of felt. Cut along the lines, and glue the felt to the cardboard with clear-drying white craft glue. Adorn the felt side of the mitten with bits of felt in complementary colors -- dots made with a hole punch, a monogram, felt trim edged with decorative shears, or a Christmas tree cut out with a decorative craft punch. Glue a standard wooden clothespin to cardboard, then glue a magnet to the back of the clothespin. After the gifts have been opened, use your mittens to display greeting cards on the refrigerator.
