Premise
Red beards, red beets or, again, red carrots: they are all dialect synonyms used in the local language of some Italian regions, all referring to red turnips. We are talking about an unmistakable tuber for its very particular bright red color, so much so that the characteristic pigment of red turnips, betanine, is also widely used by the food industry.
General information on beetroot
Although belonging to the same family, red beet should not be confused with sugar beet.
The red turnip has ancient origins: so much so that its consumption is even mentioned in some very ancient Greek writings dating back to 420 BC, a period in which the red tuber was known simply as beta. According to the thought of other authors, the origin of the red turnips dates back to 2,000 BC, considering the presence of some archaeological finds that attest to it.
Since ancient times, therefore, the red turnip has been exploited by man as a food that is well suited to accompany meats and savory dishes. However, the preciousness of the red turnip does not stop only in the culinary field: in fact, as we will deepen explanation of the article, the beetroot is also important for its therapeutic properties. Not surprisingly, we speak of beetroot as a concentrate of essential elements for human health.
Diffusion and cultivation
The beetroot is a tuber native to European countries and North Africa, currently cultivated in all areas of the Mediterranean.
The beetroot, which does not require particular cultivation conditions, is well suited to any type of soil, although it prefers slightly acidic and clayey ones. The red turnip is grown up to 800 meters above sea level, and loves regions with a temperate climate.
Botanical description
Red turnips are tubers known in botany as Beta vulgaris var. turnip form rubra: it is a plant belonging to the Chenopodiaceae family and to the Beta genus. There are varieties for fodder, vegetable garden, and sugar.
The beetroot is a biennial herbaceous plant, sometimes cultivated as an annual (0.5-1 meter height): similar in shape to the beetroot, the beetroot has a red skin; also the root, the leaves and the petioles are painted the same ruby color. The leaves have a particular heart shape and, in cultivated species, reach a length greater than 20 centimeters, while the flowers have 5 petals and are gathered in spikes.
The beetroot blooms in the warm months, especially from July to September.
Nutritional values and pigments
Red turnips contain very few calories (only 19 per 100 grams of product): for this reason, they are among the low-calorie foods, excellent foods preferable therefore in balanced diets that require a marked caloric restriction.
Red turnips are made up of a good amount of water, corresponding to approximately 91%; there are only 4% carbohydrates and 2.6% fiber; the remainder is made up of proteins and, in minimal part, of fat.
In the red turnip root a glycoside is found which attributes the typical bright red color to the turnip: it is betanin, used - as mentioned - by the food industry as a natural colorant (E 162), obtained from the root by pressing or extraction with water from fragments of the root system. Another pigment found in beetroot is betaxanthin, which gives it yellowish streaks.
Furthermore, in the red turnip root there are other substances exploited in phytotherapy and cosmetics: saponins, anthocyanins, flavonoids in general and allantoins (moisturizing and anti-reddening properties).
Red turnips in feeding
Red turnips are generally eaten cooked, although it is preferable to eat them raw, grated or in very thin slices - in order to also take all the vitamins, minerals and fibers contained in them.
Some like to bake beetroot in the oven, then toasted and au gratin.
In phytotherapy, the red turnip decoction is recommended as a purifying, remineralizing and digestive agent.
Therapeutic properties
As we have seen, the beetroot boasts numerous therapeutic properties, wisely exploited in the herbal-phytotherapeutic field. It is a vegetable with primarily purifying and refreshing properties. Given the richness of minerals, the beetroot is included among the highly remineralizing foods and, for the same reason - as well as for the richness of oxalates - it is not recommended in case of kidney stones.
The consumption of red turnips is recommended instead for anemics: in fact, it seems that the chemicals present in the vegetable are able to revitalize the red blood cells and rebalance the iron levels in the blood.
Among the other properties attributed to the beetroot, the antiseptic, nourishing and restorative properties are mentioned; for these reasons, the consumption of turnips is particularly beneficial in flu states.
The red root is also useful for promoting digestive functions, as it stimulates the production of gastric juices: strictly speaking, it is not recommended for those suffering from stomach acid.
The consumption of beetroot is also contraindicated for diabetics, given the low sugar content (4%) of this vegetable.
In cosmetics, red turnips are used both to extract the red pigment and to prepare capillarotropic and anti-reddening creams.
Anticancer vegetable?
In the magazine International Journal of Cancer, the role of beetroot as a potential anti-cancer food is discussed: the question is in some ways debatable and obscure, and there is no undoubted and unequivocal evidence that establishes the hypothesis. In particular, in the aforementioned journal, the possible role of turnips is discussed in the prevention of colon cancer; for others, beetroot would be able not only to prevent cancer, but also to fight it.
Red turnips in brief, a summary of red turnips "
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