cooking beets: vitamin C

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Nutritional value of beets - Part 7: Vitamin C

Beet greens

Beet greens - raw: Vitamin C

Measure: 38g (1 cup)

Calories: 8

Vitamin C

We have all heard so much about the health benefits gained by consuming Vitamin C that we tend to go deaf, dumb and blind when this nutrient is mentioned. What can I say? Listen up!

If you value beautiful skin, vitality, strong muscles, a healthy nervous and immune system, and the ability to heal rapidly from wounds, Vitamin C is what you want in abundance.

The RDA of Vitamin C is 60 mg on average. Just one cup of raw beet greens provides 11.4 mg, which is approximately 19% of your entire daily need.

* RDA has been made obsolete by the USDA and so, as of March 2011, when I do mention it, it shall only be as a quaint matter of historical interest. RDA has been replaced by three other measures which are (a) unrelated to RDA and (b) meaningless for all practical purposes at this time. This will remain the case until such time as the new measures are sufficiently and comprehensively developed to the point of serving a meaningful purpose.

For a broad overview of one of the new, incomplete standard measures, check out Dietary Reference Intake .

See the following posts for more information on the health benefits of beets:

Nutritional value of beets - Part 1

Nutritional value of beets - Part 2

Nutritional value of beets - Part 3

Nutritional value of beets - Part 4

Nutritional value of beets - Part 5

Nutritional value of beets - Part 6

Nutritional value of beets - Part 8

Nutritional value of beets - Part 9

Nutritional value of beets - Part 10

Nutritional value of beets - Part 11

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Nutritional value of beets - Part 5: Beet greens (raw)

Raw beet greens

Beet cultivation originated in the Mediterranean basin well before the Greeks became a predominant force. Beets were valued for their leaves rather than their roots; they were commonly known as blood root. Thus, when we use beet leaves, we are reverting to the original use of the plant.

Beet greens are also called beet leaves and beet tops. Whatever you wish to call them, they are a rich source of nutrients and nourishment.

This article discusses only those nutrients present in the highest quantities in beet greens. For a more extensive list of nutrients and their associated values, please refer to the USDA National Nutrient database.

The nutritional values of beet greens are most abundantly represented in the following listed vitamins and minerals:

Measure: 38g (1 cup)

Calories: 8

Principle	Nutrient value	% of RDA* M --- F
Vitamin A	2404 IU	48 - 60
Vitamin C	152 mcg	19 - 19
Vitamin K	11.4 mcg	190 - 190
Potassium	290 mg
Magnesium	26.6 mg	7.4 - 8.9
Manganese	0.1 mg