Properties: Sweet, cool

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Liver, Heart, Large Intestine

1. Nourishes Heart Blood
   Anaemia, fatigue, muscle weakness
   Irritability, restlessness
   Hypertension, cardiovascular disease, 消渴 Xiao Ke (diabetes)
2. Moistens the intestines
   Habitual constipation
3. Clears the Liver
   Detoxification from alcohol or drugs
   Herpes

Suggested Daily Dosage: Eaten as food or taken as powder in 3-6g doses.

Cautions: Leaves contain high amounts of oxalic acid which may contribute the formation of kidney stones.

• Nitrate
  Ion (NO₃^-) found in beetroots that is rapidly taken up by skeletal muscle and enhances exercise performance (Kadach et al., 2023) and may improve insulin signaling through GLUT4 translocation (Jiang et al., 2014).
• Betaine
  Modified amino acid that helps regulate cellular hydration and normal functioning. It can reduce plasma homocysteine levels in patients with elevated levels but requires higher doses than are found in dietary forms.
• Betanine
  Red dye pigment of the class known as betalains extracted from beetroot juice and used as food colouring (E162). It is the compound in beetroots that can cause red urine or faeces after ingestion.
• Dehydroascorbic acid
  Oxidised form of ascorbic acid with possible antiviral properties. Aliahmadi et al. (2021) suggest it may also regulate glucose absorption glycolysis, glycogenesis and gluconeogenesis and be responsible for improving metabolic markers and cognitive function of subjects with type 2 diabetes.
• Iron
  Essential heavy metal necessary for the formation of haemoglobin and oxygen transport of red blood cells. Found mainly in the leaves.
• Oxalate
  A dicarboxylic acid that is converted to oxalic acid where it can accumulate in the kidneys and forms the main constituent of kidney stones. It is found in high concentrations of the leaves of beets, chard and spinach and so these should not be consumed too often or in too large amounts.

Notes:

Western herb with little history in Chinese medicine.