Beetroot
Overview
Beetroot is a root vegetable characterised by naturally occurring nitrate and red-violet betalain pigments, with useful folate [1]. Nitrate and pigment levels vary with cultivar, growing conditions and preparation [1].
Within a BRAIN-aligned pattern it is included as an ordinary vegetable for this combination of pigments, nitrate and folate, not as a nitrate supplement.
Food Context
Use beetroot as a whole vegetable rather than treating it as equivalent to a concentrated nitrate product.
Preparation
- Preparation can change nitrate and pigment content; published values vary substantially among cultivars and products [1].
- Roasting is useful for flavour; it does not turn beetroot into a nitrate extract.
Recipes
2 recipes containing this food
Mitochondrial Power Bowl
A nitrate-rich, polyphenol-dense bowl combining leafy greens, beets, berries, nuts, and early harvest olive oil
Salmon & Grated Beetroot Toast (with Lemon)
A fast, brain-forward open sandwich combining omega-3 rich salmon, nitrate/polyphenol beetroot, and lemon acidity for a sharp, savoury bite.
Nutrient Tables (per 100 g)
Selected food and preparation: Beets, raw. per 100 g edible portion.
Core nutrients
| Nutrient | Amount per 100 g | % reference intake per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 43 kcal | — |
| Protein | 1.6 g | — |
| Total fat | 0.2 g | — |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | — |
| Carbohydrates | 9.6 g | — |
| Sugars | 6.8 g | — |
| Fibre | 2.8 g | — |
Key vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals supplying at least 10% of an adult reference intake per 100 g, derived from the composition panel.
| Nutrient | Amount per 100 g | % reference intake per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 0.3 mg | 14.3% |
| Folate | 109 µg | 27.3% |
Bioactive compounds
| Compound / class | Amount per 100 g | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Betaine | 129 mg* | — |
- Betaine: Supporting evidence and original measurement details are available in technical provenance below. [4]
Technical provenance
Betaine: Zeisel et al. (2003) Table 1, corrected by the erratum: beet, raw (NDB 11080), 128.63 mg betaine per 100 g, shown here as 129 mg. Canned beets in the same table are 333.69 mg per 100 g and are not this raw page. USDA Release 2 reports 130 mg per 100 g for the same raw NDB. This is not the FDC 169145 panel used for the other nutrients. No cross-food ranking is inferred. [4]
Substances
7 substances in this food
Betaine
Occurs directly in raw beets; 129 mg per 100 g in the erratum-corrected Zeisel assay.
Vitamin B9 (Folate)
USDA FoodData Central reports folate in Beets, raw. The recorded analyte is folate.
References
[1] Milton-Laskibar et al. (2021). Current Knowledge on Beetroot Bioactive Compounds: Role of Nitrate and Betalains in Health and Disease. Beetroot-specific review describing nitrate and betalains as major bioactive constituents and documenting substantial variation with variety and processing.
[4] Zeisel et al. (2003). Concentrations of Choline-Containing Compounds and Betaine in Common Foods. Table 1, corrected by the erratum, reports 128.63 mg betaine per 100 g of raw beets, NDB 11080, shown as 129 mg. Canned beets in that table are 333.69 mg per 100 g. USDA Release 2 reports 130 mg per 100 g for the same raw NDB. This is separate from the main nutrient panel.
Food composition → admitted dietary relationships
These links join food composition to existing PM admissions. They do not establish that a portion reproduces an intervention, delivers an intact cofactor to tissue, or improves a clinical outcome. Derived supply retains its conversion and delivery limits.
- Iron → BRS1-FM1-PM3 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Human intake-to-dopamine responsiveness and clinical benefit were not established; the direct dopamine-metabolite evidence assessed here is preclinical deficiency evidence.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Magnesium → BRS1-FM1-PM3 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Catalytic capacity does not show that extra dietary magnesium increases regional catecholamine clearance or improves function. COMT isoforms, genotype, SAM availability and tissue homeostasis constrain interpretation; increased clearance is not universally desirable.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Iron → BRS1-FM1-PM4 · direct
Food form & relationship limits
Human intake-to-noradrenaline responsiveness and clinical benefit were not established; the cited dopamine-metabolite and developmental evidence is not a noradrenaline-dosing trial.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Magnesium → BRS1-FM1-PM4 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Catalytic capacity does not show that extra dietary magnesium increases regional catecholamine clearance or improves function. COMT isoforms, genotype, SAM availability and tissue homeostasis constrain interpretation; increased clearance is not universally desirable.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Iron → BRS1-FM1-PM5 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Iron is required by the hydroxylase. That is not evidence that extra dietary iron raises brain serotonin when iron status is adequate.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Potassium → BRS1-FM4-PM10 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Established transport-ion capacity does not show that increasing dietary potassium increases brain clearance. CNS ion regulation and Na/K-pump energy supply intervene; transporter gradients are not inferred from a food quantity. No added-salt recommendation or clinical benefit.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Magnesium → BRS1-FM4-PM11 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Neuronal ion-manipulation experiments establish physiological capacity, not oral magnesium delivery at a pharmacological concentration, treatment of excitotoxic injury or benefit above adequacy. Brain homeostasis and membrane voltage remain determinants; more NMDA inhibition is not automatically beneficial.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Vitamin B9 (folate) → BRS2-FM1-PM1 · Type A / derived
Food form & relationship limits
This conversion pathway does not show that increasing folate intake increases tissue remethylation flux. Folic acid lowers blood homocysteine, which is a circulating marker.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Betaine → BRS2-FM1-PM2 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Supplemental betaine lowers plasma homocysteine in healthy adults, but that change does not measure tissue BHMT activity or show a clinical benefit. Human evidence is an eight-man depletion pilot, with the challenge response in four clinically depleted participants; tissue BHMT flux was not measured. Rat donor rescue and specific inhibition support the chain. This does not establish ordinary-diet limitation, response in every tissue or benefit above adequacy. Folate’s indirect constraint on BHMT remains unresolved.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Magnesium → BRS2-FM1-PM3 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Human MAT structural and enzymological evidence establishes catalytic capacity. Ordinary food supply is distinct from measured MAT flux; no benefit from additional magnesium in replete people or universal methylation increase is asserted.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Potassium → BRS2-FM1-PM3 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Human MAT structures establish the specific ion relationship. Physiological potassium homeostasis and tissue uptake intervene; no claim that extra dietary potassium raises SAM flux or improves methylation is established.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Vitamin B9 (folate) → BRS2-FM1-PM4 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Folic acid can lower blood homocysteine concentration. That concentration change is not a measured change in remethylation or transsulfuration rate.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Magnesium → BRS2-FM2-PM6 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Human GSS crystallography and cofactor annotation support capacity. The structure contains two magnesium ions; this does not establish a dietary dose, increased blood or neuronal glutathione synthesis, or benefit above adequacy. Original one-per-subunit wording is retained in history rather than used as dietary stoichiometry.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Manganese → BRS3-FM2-PM4 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Human SOD2 requires manganese; dietary depletion experiments measured lower heart and kidney MnSOD activity in rats. This establishes a bounded enzyme-capacity dependency, not a human dose recommendation, universal tissue response, measured net ROS balance or benefit above adequate intake.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Iron → BRS3-FM2-PM4 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Rat diet and tissue context; the kidney result is not a uniform response across organs or a human intake threshold. Human catalase haem identity supports capacity, not benefit from extra iron. Iron can also promote non-enzymatic oxidation; higher catalase activity is not a clinical benefit.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Iron → BRS4-FM1-PM1 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
This identifies iron centres in the chain. It does not show that eating more iron, once iron status is adequate, raises electron transport.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Manganese → BRS4-FM2-PM5 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Capacity is supported by protein biochemistry and mouse dietary manipulation; no general-population limitation, extra-intake benefit or human supplement dose is established.
Beets, raw; raw.
- Magnesium → BRS6-FM1-PM3 · Type A / direct
Food form & relationship limits
Dietary-depletion evidence is preclinical; extra intake in magnesium-replete humans is not shown here.
Beets, raw; raw.