(Kubra Fatima*, Mujahid Ali**, Dr. M. Irfan Ashraf***)
(IFSN, UOS; **Horticulture, UOS; ***Horticulture, UAF)
Allah Almighty has blessed us with many blessings, one such blessing includes fruits and vegetables and among these is the sugar beet with is basically our concerned topic. Sugar beet is very important commercial food plant. Sugar beet is botanically called Beta vulgaris, in Urdu called “Chokandar”. It belongs to family Amaranthaceae. In North America, it is just called beet. Its leaves are called green beet. We eat its root (tuber) portion. Its internal color is dark red to purple-red. It is also consumed as fresh in salad, boiled, steamed or in pickle form. It is used to extract sugar in different countries of the world on a commercial level. Leading producers of sugar beet are Russia, France, United States, Germany, and Turkey. It is also grown widely in Pakistan. It is a very use full and beneficial food are a plant. It is also used to produce sugar. Nutritionally, sugar beet is very important. It provides many health benefits to us. It meets the water requirement of our body as it provides about 75% water. Many types of essential vitamins and minerals are obtained by eating sugar beet. It also detoxifies the blood by removing the harmful bacteria and other such substances which contaminated our blood. The vitamins and minerals present in it also help in clearing the skin of humans. It removes the blemishes from the skin and control acne and makes the skin fresh. Moreover, it contains many antioxidants which help in weight loss. It is an excellent food for the persons on diet. It is basically a balanced diet. Sugar extracted from the sugar beet has to use as an alternate for the common sugar. It provides the body which uniforms proportion of sugar. The pulp of sugar beet contains many compounds which besides human beings provides cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and pectin. These compounds are used in the animal feed. The feed of animals containing these compounds having an excellent proportion of nutrients. It is also greatly acceptable by the animals too.
Sugar obtained from the sugar beet contains a large quantity of sucrose which is a carbohydrate area and best alternate of glucose as well. It contains about 99.95 percent of sucrose. It is widely several appetizers are made as it provides excellent carb for appetizing. It is red-purple in color and his very low fats and calories in it. This basically makes a sugar beet fat reducing diet. As discussed earlier the sugar obtained from beetroot.
Whenever we eat the sugar beet with chicken or any other seafood or meat product. It provides the body with many proteins, which are the building blocks of enzymes and amino acids. We obtain vitamin C from the sugar beet. And consuming is sugar beet a day meet the needs of vitamin C which we need on daily basis 6% calcium in our body. It presents the body Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Tocopherol, Vitamin K, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B-12 and pantothenic and so, by eating a sugar beet we can be saved from the deficiency diseases caused by them. It consists of 0 % cholesterol and serves as the best diet for the human body. It also helps to meet the water requirement needs of the body. If we eat one sugar beet then it will provide 119 g of water to our body. Besides, macro-nutrients, sugar beet also contains micro-nutrients in a very large quantity. It includes zinc, manganese, copper, and boron. These help in the prevention of many deficiency diseases.
It is also very useful against the cardiovascular health. As it contains unique anti-oxidant pigments in the root and upper green parts it helps in the pretention against artery diseases and strokes. It has low cholesterol in it. It also lowers the cholesterol levels in the blood too.
It is also a rich source of phytochemical compound ‘glycine-betaine’. This chemical is associated with the property to lower homocysteine is the highly toxic metabolite and it promotes the formation platelets which in turn are used in the blood clotting during any trauma or surgeries etc. they are an excellent source of folates too. As they are necessary for DNA formation. If folates are deficient in the body, it will lead to the defective formation of the neural tube in the body. It provides the body with potassium. Potassium lowers the heart rate and regulates the metabolism of the body. That was all about the nutritional value of sugar beet.
Wake Forest University has researched out that becomes a cause of oxygenation of the brain to improve brain memory and help in decreasing dementia. It contains alpha-lipoic acid that is a good antioxidant, so it helps in prevention of diabetes. It improves digestion due to fiber contents. Chronic inflammation is recovered by sugar beet as choline. Athletic people eat it as it has the capacity for more oxygenation, so they feel comfortable during hard exercise. But its improper storage can be harmful as nitrites are produced in this way. Its juice can cause urine to red color, so we should use it in balance with other food.
