betabel (remolacha)

What is betabel (remolacha)?

What is betabel?

Betabel, also called remolacha, is the root of Beta vulgaris. In English it is beet or beetroot. Most types are deep red, but some are golden or white.

It is a food first and a remedy second. Across Latin America it is boiled, grated raw into salads, or juiced. It shows up in ensalada rusa and in fresh juice with carrot and orange.

As a home remedy it was used "for the blood", for the liver and for low energy. Modern interest is narrower. It rests on nitrate, a natural compound in the root.

Here is the honest verdict. Beet juice does lower blood pressure a small amount in human trials.

It may help stamina in some kinds of exercise. Traditional use is not proof that a remedy works, and it is not proof that it is safe.

How does betabel (remolacha) work?

How is beet supposed to work?

The main route is nitrate, and this part is well studied in people.

Beet root holds a lot of nitrate. Bacteria on your tongue turn some of it into nitrite. Your body then turns that into nitric oxide, a gas that relaxes blood vessels.

Trials have measured this chain directly. After a beet juice dose, nitrite in the blood rises and blood pressure dips a little. The dip is modest and it fades within a day unless you keep taking it.

The same pathway is the proposed reason for better stamina. The idea is that muscles use oxygen a bit more efficiently. Trials support a small benefit in some people, but not in everyone.

Beet also holds betalains, the red pigments. In test tubes and in animals these act as antioxidants and calm markers of inflammation. Whether that helps a person who eats beet is not established.

The old idea that beet "builds blood" because it is red has no support. Beet is a fair source of folate, but it is low in iron. It does not treat iron deficiency.

What forms does betabel (remolacha) come in?

What forms can you buy?

- Fresh raw root, grated or juiced. - Boiled or roasted beet, the common kitchen form. - Pickled or canned beet, usually with added salt or sugar.

- Bottled beet juice, plain or blended with apple, carrot or orange. - Concentrated "beet shots", small bottles with the nitrate amount on the label. - Beet powder, stirred into water or smoothies.

- Capsules and chews sold for sport. - Beet greens, cooked like chard. They are high in oxalate and vitamin K.

One caution about powders and capsules. Some are made in ways that strip out much of the nitrate. If the label does not state the nitrate amount, you cannot know what you are getting.

Where it comes from:

Where does its use come from?

Beet reached the Americas with Spanish settlers and spread fast as a cheap crop. It became a kitchen staple in Mexico, the Andes and the Southern Cone.

In home medicine it was given to people who looked pale or tired, often spoken of as a food that "makes blood". Beet and carrot juice was a common morning drink for that purpose.

It was also taken as a liver tonic and after heavy drinking. Grandmothers often recommended it during pregnancy and after illness.

Related uses appear in European folk practice, where beet was taken for constipation and general weakness. These are records of custom, not records of tested results.

What does betabel (remolacha) help with?

• Mildly raised blood pressure: This is the strongest evidence beet has. Pooled analyses of randomised trials show beet juice lowers the top blood pressure number by roughly 3 to 5 points. That is a real but small shift. It is far less than a blood pressure drug does. It also fades once you stop drinking it. Beet is not a replacement for prescribed medicine. If you have high blood pressure, treat beet as a food choice, not a treatment.
• Exercise stamina and sport performance: Trials show a small gain in endurance for some people. Time to exhaustion and short time-trial results improve in parts of the research. The benefit shows up most in recreational and moderately fit people. In elite athletes results are mixed and often absent. Timing in the studies is specific: a single dose two to three hours before effort. Many people get no measurable gain at all.
• General heart and circulation health: Short trials show better blood vessel widening after beet juice. This is measured with an arm cuff test. No long trial has shown that beet lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke. That step has not been tested. What is fair to say: beet fits a diet pattern linked to better heart health. That is not the same as beet itself protecting your heart.
• Constipation: Beet supplies fibre and water, like other root vegetables. Many people find it helps keep stools regular. There are no good trials of beet for constipation specifically. The reasoning is general and applies to vegetables as a group. If stools suddenly change in pattern, colour or shape, that needs a doctor rather than a food fix.
• Tiredness and "weak blood" (traditional): This is the classic Latin American use, and the evidence does not support it. Beet is low in iron. It will not correct iron-deficiency anaemia (low iron in the blood). It does supply folate, which matters for making red blood cells. But folate deficiency needs a diagnosis, not guesswork. Lasting tiredness deserves a blood test.
• Liver support (traditional): Beet was taken as a liver cleanser in home practice. The word "cleanse" has no medical meaning. Betaine, found in beet, has reduced liver fat in some animal studies and small early human work. Most of that research used betaine supplements, not beet. There is no trial showing that eating beet treats any liver disease.
• Hangover (traditional): Beet juice was a common morning-after drink. No trial has tested it for hangover. Any relief is most likely from the fluid and sugar. Water would do the same. There is no evidence that beet clears alcohol faster or protects the liver from it.

Which foods are rich in betabel (remolacha)?

1. Beetroot and beet juice
2. Beet greens
3. Rocket (arugula)
4. Spinach
5. Lettuce
6. Celery
7. Radish
8. Fennel

Practical Tips:

Beet is not the only nitrate source. Leafy greens such as rocket and spinach are just as rich, sometimes richer.

A diet with plenty of these vegetables gives the same raw material. You do not need a shot to get nitrate.

Cooking does not destroy nitrate, though boiling leaches some into the water.

What are the side effects of betabel (remolacha)?

• Pink or red urine (harmless, called beeturia)
• Red or pink stools, which can look alarming like blood
• Gas, bloating or loose stools
• Mild stomach cramps from large juice amounts
• Dizziness or lightheadedness if blood pressure drops too far
• Higher risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones in people prone to them
• Rare allergic reactions, such as rash, itching or swelling

Good to know:

How common and how serious?

For most people beet is very safe. It is an ordinary vegetable eaten daily by millions.

The most common effect is red urine and stool. Around one in eight people get it. It is harmless and passes within a day or two.

The effect worth watching is colour masking. Beet can make blood in your stool harder to spot. Never assume red stool is just beet.

The real risk sits with kidney stones. Beet is high in oxalate, and concentrated juice gives a big dose. If you have had calcium oxalate stones, ask your doctor first.

Dizziness is uncommon and usually happens when beet is combined with blood pressure medicine.

How much betabel (remolacha) should you take?

• Recommended daily: What do labels usually say? This is what product labels carry. It is not advice for you personally. Concentrated beet shots are usually sold as one 70 ml bottle, standardised to about 400 mg of nitrate. Bottled beet juice labels often suggest 250 to 500 ml. Powders vary widely, so the nitrate figure on the pack matters more than the scoop size. As food, a normal serving is one medium cooked beet or a small bowl of grated raw beet. Most trial doses line up with roughly one to two cups of juice. If you take blood pressure medicine, talk to your doctor before adding daily beet shots.
• Best time of day: Does timing matter? For food use, no. Eat it whenever you like. For the nitrate effect, timing does matter. Blood nitrite peaks about two to three hours after a dose. Athletes in trials take it in that window before effort. One practical point. Antibacterial mouthwash kills the tongue bacteria that start the process. Using it around a beet dose can cancel the effect.
• With or without food: With food or on its own? Either works. Beet is a food, and your stomach handles it well with meals. For sport, some people take a shot on a fairly empty stomach to avoid feeling heavy. That is comfort, not science. If juice upsets your stomach or feels too sweet, take it with a meal.
• Time to effect: How fast would you notice? For blood pressure, the dip starts within two to six hours of a dose. You will not feel it. It only shows on a monitor, and it is small. For exercise, any benefit shows the same day, within the two to three hour window. Red urine can appear within hours. That is a pigment effect, not a sign the remedy is working. It is also fair to expect nothing. Many people get no measurable change at all.
• How long to take it: How long do people take it? For blood pressure, the effect only lasts while you keep taking it. Trials usually ran from a few days to about three months. For sport, the common pattern in studies is a single dose before an event, or a few days of loading before it. Beet as a food can be eaten lifelong. Daily concentrated shots over many months have not been well studied, especially for kidney stone risk.