First came tomatoes, then strawberries, pomegranate and acai berries. If shelves in Hong Kong are anything to go by, the next superfood is also red: beetroot.
The vegetable is sold in street markets. You'll find it on menus at Western restaurants across town. Marks and Spencer offers a beetroot, apple and blackcurrant juice, a portion of which can serve as one of the 'five-a-day' helpings of fruit and veg recommended for good health. At ThreeSixty supermarket, customers can buy fresh beetroot imported from Australia mixed with ginger at the juice concession, or in a Mediterranean salad.
Red vegetables are a great addition to any dish, Nicole Wong, a nutritionist with NutraCare Consultancy, says. Beetroot's distinctive colour comes from the presence of betacyanin, an antioxidant. 'Betacyanin can help reduce oxidation of LDL [bad] cholesterol and lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases and heart attacks,' Wong says.
Beetroot is also high in potassium, which is vital for brain function, muscle growth and the nervous system. A cup of raw beetroot contains the same amount of potassium as a medium-sized banana. That same cup will also provide as much fibre as a cup of brown rice, as well as almost a third of the recommended folate intake for pregnant women. Wong suggests eating three portions of beetroot a week as part of a vegetable-rich diet to receive optimum levels of folate, fibre, potassium and betacyanin.
Some studies have found that the nitrates in beetroot boost athletic performance and, in two separate studies, researchers at Queen Mary, University of London and The London School of Medicine found that drinking beetroot juice lowered blood pressure. Wong says the trials have been on a small scale, and she would need more evidence before recommending them to athletes in training. However, she says beetroot's high potassium content does balance pH levels in the body, which can aid blood pressure regulation and can also be good for treating cases of hypertension.
Beetroot can also work to flush the body of toxins. Anita S.K. Cheung, a certified holistic health coach at i-Detox International, uses beetroot to help cleanse the liver, gall bladder and kidneys.