Are Beets Good For Diabetics?

You might be aware that beetroot is considered something of a superfood. But are they good for everyone? And does beetroot have a negative or positive effect on your blood sugar? Here we’ll look at beetroots’ nutritional benefits, as well as whether are beets good for diabetics.

Beetroot is a purple-colored root vegetable that grows well in the northern hemisphere. Beetroot has been a dietary staple for many years due to its fiber-rich, nutrient-dense properties. Many people also enjoy beetroots versatility and earthy taste.

You can consume beets in many different ways – whether grated raw into salads, juiced with ginger, or even added into chocolate brownies for an added health boost. Beetroot has also been concentrated and added to many different health supplements because of its wide-ranging health benefits.

It features in our Red Tonik blend, specifically because it’s so nutrient-dense, and has many benefits, including improved athletic performance, enhanced blood flow, and increased cognitive function.

Beets Nutrition Facts

One of the great things about beetroot is that it’s naturally low in calories – making it a great way to top up on nutrients when maintaining a calorie deficit.

Aside from offering you a source of fiber, beetroot also contributes to your daily recommended amounts of:

• Folate
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Vitamin C
• Copper
• Iron

We know that beets pack a punch when it comes to nutrition but what about beet glycemic index? Well first of all it’s good to start with what we mean when we talk about the glycemic index.

The GI index is a way of rating the effect that different foods have on your blood sugar. For example, foods with a high glycemic index release sugar into your blood quickly, which causes a surge in insulin, and a corresponding blood sugar drop.

Conversely, foods with a low GI release their glucose much slower, leading to a steady release of energy, which avoids the insulin surge and also prevents the following blood sugar dip. It’s usually pretty easy to spot a higher GI food as this tends to include refined carbs such as white bread.

But sometimes it can get a little confusing – for example, ice cream is lower GI than you’d think because it contains fat which reduces the effect of the sugar on your blood glucose levels.

When it comes to a vegetable like beetroot – its GI level is classed as moderately high as it is fairly starchy. Whilst this might lead you to believe that beetroot would not be a good option for diabetics (who typically need to avoid high GI foods due to the effects on blood sugar) we also need to look at beets GI load.

The GI load takes into account the quantity of carbs per serving. With beets, the level of carbs per portion is pretty low, giving it a low GI load.

Can Diabetics Eat Beets?

Despite beet’s relatively high GI level, its low GI load means that you’d have to eat an excessively large amount of beets for them to cause any kind of negative blood sugar effect.

This means that diabetics can indeed eat beets – in fact, there are several specific health benefits that diabetics can gain from eating beetroot in reasonable quantities.

It’s important to note though that the method of preparation can affect beetroots’ effect on blood sugar. For example, eating a couple of roasted skin-on beets can provide lots of benefits with negligible impact on blood glucose levels.

But, juicing lots of beetroots, and combing them with apple juice or other high GI foods can lead to a blood sugar rise. This is because you have stripped away the fiber which in turn raises the rate at which glucose is released.

So diabetics are better off consuming beetroot in their whole form, rather than juicing them instead.

Health Benefits Of Beets For Diabetics

It turns out that beetroot may have some very specific benefits for people suffering with diabetes:

Beets Can Reduce Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance, when left untreated leads to diabetics. Mild insulin resistance is common and can put people in a pre-diabetic state. Luckily beets can lower insulin resistance which can prevent prediabetes from becoming full-blown diabetes. (Source)

It can also help people with type 2 diabetes to manage their condition. When beetroot is broken down (metabolized) it creates compounds called nitrates. Whilst nitrates are most well known for their blood pressure-lowering properties, these clever compounds can also lower insulin levels, whether you have diabetes or not.

Beets Can Reduce Diabetes Complications

Unfortunately, diabetes is associated with an increased risk of other health complications, including damage to your blood vessels. Blood vessel damage resulting from unmanaged diabetes can cause conditions such as heart issues, eye damage, kidney issues, and foot problems.

Luckily beetroot is jam-packed with antioxidants that can help to reduce damage occurring in the first place.

This happens because the antioxidants help to reduce the harmful effects of free radicals and oxidative stress, protecting the body from diabetes-based complications.

Beets Can Lower Both Glucose And Insulin Levels

We know that diabetes arises as a result of chronically elevated blood glucose levels and insulin resistance. 

Well, studies have shown that beetroot can lower elevated blood glucose levels too.  Experts think that beetroots’ high phytonutrient content has a glucose-lowering effect – which explains why the participants supplementing beetroot had lower post-meal glucose levels than those who weren’t supplementing with beets. (Source)

How Is Red Tonik Beneficial For Diabetics?

We’ve outlined the specific benefits that beets provide for diabetics. But Red Tonik doesn’t only offer you this superfood as part of its carefully curated blend.

Nope, Red Tonik also contains a wide range of antioxidant-rich ingredients that are renowned for their blood sugar-lowering benefits such as turmeric root,  blueberry, ginger, tart cherry, and more.

So, if you’re looking for an overall health aid for managing diabetes whilst improving your general health, Red Tonik might be a good place to start.

Just remember, everyone is different when it comes to diabetes management and you’ll usually find that a combination of regular exercise, stress management, and a low GI diet works best, especially when you add in evidence-based supplements to complement your regime.