Eating Processed Food

Is Eating Fast Food a Dementia Risk?

The health risks of eating ultraprocessed foods —including sausages and burgers as well as pizza and ice cream — are well documented. They have been shown to raise the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cancer among other ailments. (CNN.com).

In a new study, researchers followed more than 10,000 Brazilians with an average age of 51 for more than 10 years. They found that people who consumed more than 20% of their daily calories from ultra processed foods had a 28% faster cognitive decline compared with those whose intake was less than 20%. Unfortunately, that 20% is not a high threshold: just 400 calories out of the 2000 calorie diet. And most Americans are well over that, getting on average a whopping 58% of their calories from ultraprocessed foods.

“The sample size is substantial and the followup extensive,” says Dr. David Katz, a nutrition specialist who was not involved in the study. While short of proof, this is robust enough that we should conclude ultraprocessed foods are probably bad for our brains,”

Source: The Week. December 23, 2022, Volume 22, Issue 110.

What is Epigentics?

What is Epigenetics?

Epigenetics refers to the inheritable changes in your DNA that don’t change the actual DNA sequences. That means these changes are potentially reversible.

What is DNA Methylation?

Your DNA consists of four bases called cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine. A chemical unit called a methyl group (designated by CH3 or one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms) can be added to cytosine.

When that happens, that area of the DNA is methylated. When you lose that methyl group, the area becomes demethylated.

DNA methylation often inhibits the expression of certain genes. For example the methylation process might stop a tumor-causing gene from “turning on”, preventing cancer.

Researchers are currently working to better understand the factors that affect DNA methylation. Based on some earlier findings, there is some evidence that diet plays a role. This opens up the potential to reduce genetic risk of developing certain conditions such as breast cancer or heart disease through simple lifestyle changes.

The patterns of DNA methylation change through out your life, from fetal development to end of life. Studies suggest that DNA methylation slows down as we age. Genes that were once repressed by methylation start to become active and possibly result in a variety of diseases. Interestingly, another study found that participants”who consumed more alcohol were more likely to have decreased DNA methylation. In contrast, those who consume a lot of folate were more likely to have increased methylation.

“Can Diets Change Your DNA? The question is “are you really what you eat? The answer appears to be No. However, we have known for years that gene expression influences metabolism. A study published in Nature Microbiology in 2016 indicates that nutrition may play an important role in how some DNA sequences are expressed. The study that how genes behave is strongly influenced by the food we eat. Even so, we are still a long way from the kind of personalized medicine that will furnish nutritional therapies to treat a wide spectrum of conditions.” Stay tuned for the future. Source: You Are what Your Grandparents Ate. Judith Finlayson, 2019.

Nutrition and Gene Interactions: Epigenetics

NUTRITION AND GENE INTERACTIONS

Little is known about the etiology of cancers or the origins of chronic diseases. “The precipitous rise of chronic diseases is now the subject of genetic and environmental influences. Poor nutrition and stress, we now know, can alter susceptible genes. This is the basis of epigenetics, a recently recognized mechanism underlying health and disease.” (Judith Finlayson, Robert Rose, Inc. You Are What Your Grandparents Ate, 2019.)

The Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project has identified millions of gene defects and variants in human DNA. The average person has 250 to 300 defective genes, plus an average level of 75 variants associated with disease. Nutrient availability, particular in early life, can modify the functional level of specific genes thereby influencing disease risks. Increased understanding of epigenetic processes as well as a person’s genetic status without changing gene structure is becoming an interesting phenomenon. Gene activity can be shut off or turned on, or slowed or sped up by epigenetic mechanisms, many of which are environmental. Refer to FFandFads on epigenetics.

Diseases Resulting from Multiple Gene Variants

Cancer
Most types of cancer are related to environmental exposures such as high fat and alcohol intakes, low fruit and vegetable intakes, high levels of body fat, smoking and other toxins. A number of research studies suggest that a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables may lower rates of a variety of cancers, including breast, pancreatic, bladder, lung, prostate and colon cancer. This family of vegetables is led by broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage to mention a few.

Certain enzymes in cruciferous veggies may help protect cell DNA from damage, and others may have antioxidant properties. Crucifers may also help to counteract cancer-causing nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are found in charred, cured or barbecued fish or meats.

Obesity
“Over 40 gene variants have been related to obesity development in people exposed to Western-type diets and low levels of physical activity. The current obesity epidemic appears to be driven by a mismatch between multiple components of our 400,000 year old genetic endowment (i.e., what our ancestors ate) and current food and activity environments.

Genetics traits that helped our early ancestors survive times of famine and that encouraged food intake rather than discouraged it, and that set up metabolic systems around unrefined and unprocessed foods are at odds with much of today’s food supply and physical activity requirements.” Nutrition Now, Judith E. Brown, 7th Edition

Reversing the world wide trend in obesity rates will not be easy. We need to lessen our triggers that favor food intake and increase environments that favor physical environments – how about just increased walking environments. No need to go to the gym.

Expanding availability of healthier foods and increasing earlier nutrition education to encourage healthier lifesytes is desperately needed and the earlier the better. As Michael Pollan suggests: Eat food (unprocessed), (Not too much), Do not diet. Mainly plants (fruits and vegetables). See how easy it is???

Try the Mediterranean Way

“The Mediterranean Diet is often referred to as “the best diet in the world.” The Mediterranean diet is not a diet in the fad sense, but a traditional way of living — the same can be said for the “diets” practiced by the countries that make up the “Blue Zones” that work for health and often longevity. (Mark Bittman and David L. Katz, MD. How to Eat: All your Food and Diet Questions answered.)

History gives us clues about the development of the cuisines of the Mediterranean. European explorers would bring back spices and foods from their travels to Asia in the East and the New World, introducing them into their native countries. Conquering armies from Rome, France, Spain and Britain brought their own foods and cooking techniques with them, leaving marks on the cuisines of their Mediterranean neighbors. Today, although you will find McDonalds’s in Mediterranean countries, native cuisines are still apparent as you walk through the markets still selling local spices, produce, meats, cheeses, and seafood. For many, it becomes necessary for some people to shop daily for ingredients due to lack of refrigeration and is a way of life for them.

This is the way people work the land and feed themselves with seasonal ingredients grown in their small plots outside the kitchen. Again, this is the back to basic cuisine and the basis of many of the “diets” of the countries of the Blue Zone and Mediterranean regions. It is more than a diet, and is shown to be worthy of saying “it is a way of life”. The best advice for Americans is to buy a basic Mediterranean cookbook and try its many foods that emulate this way of living and hopefully – Skip the fast food!!!!

Try this very simple recipe.

Tomatoes with Olive Oil
As with the all foods found as part of the Mediterranean diet, a tomato is no exception. These bright and juicy fruits are often categorized as a vegetable. The science is back and forth of these gems but the fact remains is that they are a healthy addition to the Mediterranean diet. For extra health, make a basic salad dressing with a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil with a little garlic to your tastes.

A serving (1 cup of raw, cut up tomatoes) provides us with 2 grams of fiber and relatively little calories. In addition to that, they are a great source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Just by eating a single serving, you’ll be getting –25% of your daily Vitamin C. Vitamin C is needed to form blood vessels, muscles, and collagen in bones; It helps the body absorb iron, and is involved in the healing process.

10 % of potassium – a mineral and electrolyte that helps kidneys remove excess sodium, helps muscles contract and your heartbeat regularly.

In addition, tomatoes are chock full of powerful antioxidants like lycopene, beta carotene, and lutein.

These antioxidants may protect your arteries from atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases, decreases blood pressure and reduces the risk of prostate cancer in men. What a nutrition bargain!!

Food Addiction?

Fatty and sugary foods train your brain to hate healthier options: Yale study

Emily Lefroy

New York Post, March 22, 2023

“People crave fatty and sugary foods when they consume them daily — and the pattern can be hard to break, researchers at Yale University and the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Germany have determined in new research.”People crave fatty and sugary foods when they consume them daily — and the pattern can be hard to break, researchers at Yale University and the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Germany have determined in new research.

The study, published online Wednesday in the journal Cell Metabolism, found eating a snack high in fat and sugar every day alters the reward circuits in human brains to create lasting preferences.

Participants were divided into two groups and told to continue their normal eating habits, except for one major difference. Researchers gave one group yogurt high in fat and sugar twice daily for eight weeks, while the other group received a placebo.

At the end of the eight weeks, participants were offered puddings with varying fat contents and apple juice containing differing sugar levels and told to rate them for fattiness, creaminess, oiliness, sweetness, desire and satisfaction.

Scientists found the group that was used to eating the yogurt higher in sugar and fat didn’t enjoy the healthier options as much as they had before the study.

The participants also underwent MRI scans to track brain activity while drinking milkshakes, which showed increased activity for the high-sugar, high-fat group, but not for the other group.

“Let’s say a new bakery opens up next to your work and you start stopping in and having a scone every morning. That alone can rewire your basic fundamental dopamine learning circuits,” Dana Small, the study’s senior author and director of Yale University School of Medicine’s Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center, told NBC News.

The authors likened the findings to the effects of addictive drugs, saying exposure to foods high in sugar and fat indicates that habitual factors contribute to obesity — not just genetic and environmental influences, as previously thought.”

Close up of deep fried foo. — The study found those eating food higher in fat and sugar continued to crave it.

Small told NBC News the study is the first to show that even small human dietary changes can rewire brain circuits and increase the long-term risk of overindulgence or weight gain.

The findings support a rat study published in January in the Journal of Physiology, which showed that a consistent diet of high-fat and high-caloric foods can change the neurological pathways in your brain, reducing its ability to regulate calorie intake.

While a “brief exposure” of three to five days of fatty foods didn’t appear to affect the pathways between the brain and stomach, the researchers noted the decline with 10 to 14 days of high-fat and high-calorie diets.

Junk food has been linked to depression, with a study recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders finding rates of depression are significantly higher in people whose diets include large amounts of ultra-processed foods.

Are You a Snackaholic?

SAD News for the SAD – The Standard American Diet!!! What happened to “whole real food”?

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Sales of cookies, chips, candy and popcorn are soaring as America binges on snacks.
Stunning stat: Nearly half of U.S. consumers are eating three or more snacks a day — up 8% in the last two years, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing market-research firm Circana.
Snack sales ballooned to $181 billion last year, up 11% from the year before, according to Circana.
What’s happening: Mondelez International — maker of Oreos, Ritz Crackers, Swedish Fish and more — saw sales jump 22% between 2019 and 2022.
Hershey’s sales rose 30%.
America’s love of snacks is leading to “the ‘snack-ification’ of everything,” Andrea Hernández, who writes Snaxshot, a newsletter on food and beverage trends, told The Journal.
Kellogg is pitching breakfast cereal, including Apple Jacks and Froot Loops, as snacks.

Are Keto and Paleo Diets Heart Healthy?

Popular keto and paleo diets aren’t helping your heart, report says
An analysis of various diets gave low marks to some of the most popular ones for straying from heart-healthy eating guidelines

By Anahad O’Connor
April 27, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EDT

Washington Post:

Ketogenic and paleo diets may be trendy, but they won’t do your heart any favors.
That’s the conclusion of a report from the American Heart Association, which analyzed many of the most popular diets and ranked them based on which approaches to eating are best and worst for your heart.

The authors said one of the purposes of their report was to counter widespread misinformation about nutrition promoted by diet books, blogs and people on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter — where posts promoting keto and paleo eating plans have surged in recent years.

The amount of misinformation that has flourished on social media sites has reached “critical levels,” said Christopher D. Gardner, the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and chair of the committee that wrote the report.

“The public and many health-care professionals are likely confused about heart-healthy eating, and rightfully so,” he added. “Many of them likely feel that they don’t have the training or the time to evaluate the important features of the different diets.”
Ranking diets for heart health
The report, published Thursday in the journal Circulation, was drafted by a team of nutrition scientists, cardiologists, dietitians, and other health experts, who analyzed a variety of dietary patterns.
The diets were evaluated to see how closely they aligned with guidelines for heart-healthy eating, which are based on evidence from decades of randomized controlled trials, epidemiological research and other studies. The report also took into account factors like whether the diets allowed flexibility so that people could tailor them based on their cultural and personal preferences and budgetary constraints

The include advice to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains like brown rice, bulgur, and steel cut oats, as well as lean cuts of meat and foods like olive oil, vegetable oils and seafood, which is high in protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
The group recommends limiting foods that are salty, sugary, highly processed or made with white flour and other refined grains. These include things like soft drinks, white bread, white pasta, cookies, cakes, pastries and processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages and cold cuts.
As for alcohol, the evidence that it provides a cardiovascular benefit is questionable. The heart association says that people who don’t drink shouldn’t start, and that if you do drink, you should limit your intake.
Popular low-carb diets scored lowest
The heart association gave its lowest rankings, using a scale of 0 to 100, to some of the buzziest diets widely touted on social media. These included very-low-carb regimens like the Atkins and ketogenic diets (31 points) and the paleo diet (53 points).
Following such diets typically requires restricting your carbohydrate intake to less than 10 percent of daily calories. The diets are widely promoted for weight loss and endorsed by many celebrities.
“People are so carb-phobic, and that’s one of the things that you see on Instagram — that carbs are bad,” said Lisa Young, an adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University, who was not involved in the report. “But that’s misinformation. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains are good for you — these are healthy carbs. These foods are the cornerstone of a healthy diet.”
The report noted that the Atkins and keto diets have some beneficial features: They restrict sugar and refined grains, for example, and they encourage the consumption of non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, leafy greens, and cauliflower. But they generally require limiting a lot of “healthy” carbs that align with the heart association’s dietary principles, like beans, whole grains, starchy veggies, and many fruits. And they typically include a high intake of fatty meats and foods rich in saturated fat.

Some studies have found that very-low-carb diets can help with weight loss and improve certain markers of metabolic health, like blood sugar and triglyceride levels. But the heart association’s report noted that these improvements tend to be short-lasting, and that very-low-carb diets often cause an increase in LDL cholesterol levels, which can heighten the risk of heart disease.
The report found similar problems with the paleo diet, which excludes grains, vegetable oils, most dairy products and legumes such as peanuts and soybeans. The theory behind the diet is that it allows foods like fruit and honey that our hunter-gatherer ancestors had access to but excludes grains and other foods associated with modern agriculture.
The diets have also been criticized for what is often interpreted as an all-you-can-eat stance toward red meat, from steaks and burgers to bacon and processed deli meats. TikTok’s “Liver King,” for instance, gained popularity advocating a controversial meat-heavy “ancestral” diet consisting largely of organ and muscle meats.
The low ranking for the ketogenic and paleo diets is expected to generate controversy. In 2019, three doctors published an essay in JAMA Internal Medicine cautioning that the enthusiasm for the ketogenic diet was outpacing the science. The research was polarizing, generating a flood of emails of both support and condemnation.
Colette Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition and education at Atkins, said that the new report failed to adequately describe the Atkins diet, which includes three approaches with different carbohydrate limits.
One approach, which is typically used on a short-term basis for weight loss, allows only 20 grams of carbs per day. Another version of Atkins allows 40 grams of carbs per day, and the third approach allows people to have up to 100 grams of carbs daily, including small amounts of fruit, starchy vegetables, beans and whole grains. “Evidence suggests that Americans have varying tolerances to carbohydrate loads,” Heimowitz said. “So carb-focused dietary patterns like Atkins have never been more relevant.”
The four winning heart diets
The heart association gave its highest mark — a score of 100 — to the DASH pattern of eating, which stands for “dietary approaches to stop hypertension.” Developed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health in the 1990s, the DASH diet is widely endorsed by doctors, dietitians and other nutrition experts.
But it’s not exactly buzzworthy among celebrities and social media influencers. The diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy, while encouraging people to limit their intake of salt, fatty meats, added sugars and refined grains.
The DASH diet and three others with high scores were grouped into what the heart association called Tier 1. The others in the Tier 1 group included the pescatarian diet (92 points), the Mediterranean diet (89 points) and the vegetarian diet (86 points).
While these diets have small differences, they also share some common denominators — promoting fresh produce, whole grains, beans and other plants and whole foods. The pescatarian diet is similar to the vegetarian diet, but it allows seafood. The Mediterranean diet promotes moderate drinking, while the DASH diet allows alcohol but doesn’t encourage it.
“The conclusion that we came away with between these diets is that they’re all fine and very consistent with a heart-healthy diet,” Gardner said.
Vegan and low-fat diets
Gardner emphasized that the report judged diets based on how they are “intended” to be followed, not necessarily on how some people actually follow or interpret them.
For instance, a vegetarian can drink Coca-Cola and eat potato chips and a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin without the meat for breakfast. It’s a vegetarian diet, but not exactly a heart-healthy vegetarian diet, Gardner said.
“That’s not what we have in mind when we say people should follow a plant-based diet,” he added. “I know from doing these studies that people don’t always follow diets as they’re intended: They follow them based on misinformation.”
The report included two other tiers of dietary patterns. Vegan and low-fat diets were grouped into the second tier because they encourage eating fiber-rich plants, fruits and veggies while limiting sugary foods and alcohol. But the report noted that they are quite restrictive and can be difficult for many people to follow. The vegan diet, in particular, can increase the risk of developing a vitamin B12 deficiency and other problems
The third tier of diets received the second-lowest range of scores. This group included low-carb approaches like the South Beach and Zone diets, which limit carbs to 30 or 40 percent of daily calories, as well as very-low-fat diet plans such as the Ornish, Esselstyn and Pritikin programs, which restrict fat intake to less than 10 percent of daily calories.
These diets received lower scores because they limit or eliminate a number of healthy foods, the report found. People on low-carb diets, for instance, tend to eat less fiber and more saturated fat, while people on very-low-fat diets have to cut back on all types of fat, including the healthy unsaturated fats found in olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.
Despite giving some diets low scores, the report did find that all of the diets across every tier had four positive things in common: They encouraged people to eat whole foods, more non-starchy vegetables, less added sugar and fewer refined grains.
“If we could get Americans to do those four things, that would go a long way toward everyone eating a healthy diet,” Gardner said.

Long COVID and Healthy Lifestyles

10 tips to keeping a healthy nutrition routine

Researchers have found that adhering to a healthy lifestyle in women may protect against Long Covid. These include: healthy body weight, not smoking, exercising, sleeping well, eating a healthy diet. Symptoms of long covid are defined as having fatigue, fever, respiratory, heart, neurological, and digestive issues four or more weeks after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Author: Mark A. Mahoney ( 10 Tips to keeping a healthy nutrition )

With the recent 50th anniversary of 2023 National Nutrition Month in March, it’s a good time to continue to focus on important messages and proactive actions.

Today’s column focuses on some healthful messages and actions that can be taken to help us achieve a better quality of life as well as a note on a diet that can provide us with many-varied benefits and also helps foster more environmental sustainability.

Some general overall health tips that are recommended follows:

1. Eat breakfast

Start your day with a healthy breakfast that includes lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

2. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables

Fruits and veggies add color, flavor and texture plus vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber to your plate.

3. Watch portion sizes

Use half your plate for fruits and vegetables and the other half for grains and lean protein foods. Complete the meal with a serving of fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt.

4. Be active

Regular physical activity has many health benefits. Start by doing what exercise you can. Children and teens should get 60 or more minutes of physical activity per day, and adults at least two hours and 30 minutes per week.

5. Get to know food labels

Reading the Nutrition Facts panel can help you choose foods and drinks to meet your nutrient needs.

6. Fix healthy snacks

Healthy snacks can sustain your energy levels between meals, especially when they include a combination of foods.

7. Consult an RDN

Whether you want to lose weight, lower your health-risks or manage a chronic disease, consult the experts! Registered dietitian nutritionists can help you by providing sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice.

8. Follow food safety guidelines

Reduce your chances of getting sick with proper food safety. This includes: regular hand washing, separating raw foods from ready-to-eat foods, cooking foods to the appropriate internal temperature, and refrigerating food promptly. Learn more about home food safety at eatright.org.

9. Drink more water

Quench your thirst with water instead of drinks with added sugars.

10. Make an effort to reduce food waste

Check out what foods you have on hand before stocking up at the grocery store. Plan meals based on leftovers and only buy perishable foods you will use or freeze within a couple of days.

Thanks to District 10s health department in Michigan for the tips provided above.

Eating with sustainability in mind focuses on nourishing ourselves during every phase of life while emphasizing the protection of the environment. Information on one evidenced-based diet that can contribute to one’s health follows.

I Call This The Mediterranean Bowl Full Of Leafy Greens Roasted Chickpeas And Additional Vegetables Make This A Delicious Mediterranean Diet Meal

The Mediterranean diet

One diet that is very promising for achieving a more healthful lifestyle and also focuses on the theme of National Nutrition Month is the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes plant-based foods and healthy fats. You eat mostly veggies, fruits and whole grains. Olive oil is the main source of fat. Research shows the Mediterranean Diet can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and many other chronic conditions.

The Mediterranean Diet is also considered to be a potent intervention for reducing body weight. Several studies investigating this traditional diet have highlighted its importance in preventing and managing non-communicable diseases and mortality.

Improving our quality of life through living a healthy lifestyle is a process, not something that just magically appears. Taking good messages and messengers to “heart” are a key part of this approach. Good luck with taking a more proactive approach to better health in 2023 looking toward a life-long approach to a healthier you. Do it for yourself and your family.

Additional reference sites for science-based resources are provided at the end of this column including information on the Mediterranean diet.

Additional resources

Healthy eating for a healthy weight is available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov/healthyweight.

A good resource for Information on the Mediterranean diet is available at the following site:my.clevelandclinic.org

New research on the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet for managing obesity is available at news-medical.net.

Are Our Diets Killing US?

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/you-are-what-you-eat-is-your-diet-killing-you

” A 2010 report from the National Cancer Institute on the status of the American diet found that three out of four Americans don’t eat a single piece of fruit in a given day, and nearly nine out of ten don’t reach the minimum recommended daily intake of vegetables. On a weekly basis, 96 percent of Americans don’t reach the minimum for greens or beans (three servings a week for adults), 98 percent don’t reach the minimum for orange vegetables (two servings a week), and 99 percent don’t reach the minimum for whole grains (about three to four ounces a day). “In conclusion,” the researchers wrote, “nearly the entire U.S. population consumes a diet that is not on par with recommendations. These findings add another piece to the rather disturbing picture that is emerging of a nation’s diet in crisis.” About this blog by Sally J. Feltner, MS, PhD.

What are Nitrates?

HEALTHLINE

Written by Kathleen M. Zelman, RD, LD, MPH

Medically Reviewed by Dan Brennan, MD on March 17, 2022

Beet juice may boost stamina to help you exercise longer, improve blood flow, and help lower blood pressure, some research shows.

Why? Beets are rich in natural chemicals called nitrates. Through a chain reaction, your body changes nitrates into nitric oxide, which helps with blood flow and blood pressure.

Nitric oxide plays a major role in the dilation of blood vessels thus increasing blood flow It is also vital for maintaining healthy blood pressure and platelet function.

Nitric oxide production in the body decreases with age. Low levels are associated with heart disease, cognitive decline, and dementia. This can result in endothelial dysfunction (inner walls of arteries). The vessels cannot dilate properly or widen, leading to or increasing blood pressure and sometimes atherosclerosis, heart attacks, abnormal clotting, strokes and sudden cardiac death.

Beet Juice Nutrition

One cup of raw beets has 58 calories and 13 grams of carbohydrates. A cup of beet juice is usually around 100 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrates.

Beets are good sources of folate, potassium, vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants, as well as nitrates.

Other good food sources of nitrates include spinach, radishes, lettuce, celery, and Chinese cabbage.

Raw or cooked beetroot offers about 8–10% carbs.

Simple sugars — such as glucose and fructose — make up 70% and 80% of the carbs in raw and cooked beetroots, respectively.

Beetroots are also a source of fructans — short-chain carbs classified as FODMAPs. Some people cannot digest FODMAPs, causing unpleasant digestive symptoms.

Beetroots have a glycemic index (GI) score of 61, which is considered medium. The GI is a measure of how fast blood sugar levels rise after a meal.

On the other hand, the glycemic load of beetroots is only 5, which is very low.

This means that beetroots should not have a major effect on blood sugar levels because the total carb amount in each serving is low.

Fiber

Beetroots are high in fiber, providing about 2–3 grams in each 3/4-cup (100-gram) raw serving.

Dietary fiber is important as part of a healthy diet and linked to a reduced risk of various diseases .