Can You Juice Beet Greens

Beet juice is one of the more popular things to juice, but can you juice beet greens? The healthy benefits to drinking beet juice are well known, however you should not overlook juicing the green tops from the raw beets.

Beet Greens Vs Beets: Health Benefits and Juicing Instructions

The major benefits to juicing beets is that they are loaded with organic nitrates. These nitrates are good for you (they are much different than the nitrates found in Hot Dogs!).

When you eat natural nitrates from beets, they are in the raw form and have vitamin C. It’s not just beets by the way, celery and other vegetables have these natural nitrates that can improve your bodies nitric oxidize level. This improves the oxygenation in your body.

In fact, beets have more natural nitrates than any other vegetable. You can pair it with another superfood such as kale (a beet and kale salad is one of the healthiest lunches you can have). One of the big healthy benefits of beets and beet juice is that they can assist in lowering blood pressure.

 

Beet greens are also super healthy, but for slightly different reasons. So, you should not skip the beet greens just because you have eaten the beet root (or juiced it).

 

Can you Juice Beet Greens Raw?

The quick answer is yes. Of course you can juice beet greens, and you should if you’re going to be juicing the beet root. It’s similar to when you buy a organic lemon, you should be juicing the skin as there are many benefits to the lemon rind. So you shouldn’t throw it out.

In addition to the high levels of nitrates, beet greens also have a ton of amazing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. For example, beet greens are one of the highest foods in potassium content.

Additionally, if you are someone who is concerned about your blood pressure, then one of the best fresh juices is going to be beet greens and celery. Studies have shown that beet greens, due to their nitrate content, are incredibly helpful at improving vascular health.

Cooking any vegetable will diminish the nutrient quality, and that’s the case with beet greens. So, in order to make sure you get the maximum benefits, you should juice them. Ironically, whilting greens has shown to reduce all nutrients except for nitrates (and there are some conflicting thoughts on the negative health effects).

Can You Juice Beet Greens Raw?

Yes. The only issue that you encounter when juicing raw beet greens is the same issue that you encounter when you juice spinach and kale (the oxaliac acid…I wrote an article about juicing and oxalic acid you can read here.). This is really only a problem if you juice huge amounts. People who were drinking kale smoothies everyday might sometimes run into the side effects.

When you do plan to juice beet greens, it’s important that you wash them properly. I recommend using a organic vegetable wash.

Also, while you can juice beet greens, I would steer clear of any that are whilted. While some people suggest that it is fine to eat or juice whilted greens, I tend to prefer to only use fresh vegetables.

Will It Taste Bitter?

It has more of an earthy flavor. What you might want to do is add something with a more citrus flavor, such as a organic lemon. Additionally, you can always add a tart apple to the beets so that it cuts the flavor and you’re left with a more palatable juice.

My Suggestion for the best juicer for beet greens.