The Most Useful Root Crops

Why are root vegetables so great?

The first advantage is that they are available throughout the year. The second advantage is the method of processing. Root crops can be added to soups, and salads, as a side dish, or eaten raw. At the same time, some of them, for example, celery, have a negative calorie content. That is, the body, digesting celery, spends more calories than it receives.

The most useful root vegetables:

• Carrot

Probably, the most famous type of root vegetable is the carrot. It is an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamins B, C, and E, minerals, and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, and iron.

Carrot has an antiseptic, anthelmintic, choleretic, analgesic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-sclerotic effect on the body. It also enhances the activity of the glands of the gastrointestinal tract. A typical manifestation of vitamin A deficiency is chicken blindness when visual disturbances occur at dusk and at night.
If you choose between boiled and fresh carrots in terms of usefulness, scientists give more preference to boiled ones. It is believed that in this form it is better absorbed, and the number of carotene increases by 14%. It’s not for nothing that our grandmothers cooked it for us so often in our childhood.

In order to minimize the loss of vitamins during cooking, the dishes should not be open

• Parsley root

Parsley root contains essential oils, vitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, PP, and K. 100 grams of parsley root contains approximately two daily doses of vitamin C – 150 milligrams, which is 4 times more than 100 grams of lemon. In terms of carotene content, parsley root is not inferior to the recognized champion – carrots.

Regular consumption of parsley root contributes to the normalization of blood sugar. The composition of this plant contains apigenin, which can reduce the manifestation of allergic reactions.

Since the parsley root contains a lot of selenium, it resists the development of some diseases of the heart and blood vessels. As a preventive measure, the plant is recommended to be used to preserve eyesight. It has a root and a bactericidal property, which makes it possible to use it for inflammatory processes of the gums, mucous membranes of the mouth, and tongue. In addition, the plant will help get rid of bad breath.

• Celery

Iron, magnesium, and calcium contained in celery improve immunity. Celery increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood and has the ability to relieve swelling. The plant is rich in vitamins such as B vitamins, provitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin E, and ascorbic acid.
Celery has anti-allergic, laxative, antiseptic, and tonic properties. The plant improves appetite and digestion and promotes the smooth functioning of the entire body. Due to its vitamin C content, celery restores blood circulation and normalizes blood pressure. Celery promotes vasodilatation (relaxation of the smooth muscles of the walls of blood vessels), mainly of the aorta, due to which celery is effective in hypertension.

• Parsnip

Parsnip root is rich in carbohydrates and fiber. Its composition includes a large part of B vitamins, it also contains vitamins C, K, A, and PP, iron, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, zinc, and magnesium.

Parsnip deserves attention because it can be used in dietary nutrition for gallstone and urolithiasis, gout, after serious illnesses, nervous diseases, tuberculosis, emphysema, pneumonia, and bronchitis, to improve the functions of the digestive organs. Parsnip stimulates the appetite, stimulates the activity of endocrine glands, and metabolism strengthens capillary walls, relieves spasms, has a strong diuretic effect, and promotes the excretion of stones and salts with an analgesic, bactericidal, and soothing effect.

• Beet

Vitamins, minerals, trace elements: B, BB, C, carotenoids, folic and pantothenic acids, potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, iodine, cobalt, copper, zinc, phosphorus – the entire Mendeleev table is contained in beets, and in significant quantities!

Beetroot is useful for chronic constipation. Thanks to fiber, organic acids, and other elements, it regulates metabolic processes and strengthens intestinal peristalsis.

Beetroot is useful because it contains betaine, which regulates fat metabolism, prevents infiltration of the liver, and increases blood pressure. Magnesium, which is abundantly contained in beets, contributes to the treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension.

Beetroot has a diuretic, and laxative effect. It relieves pain, has an anti-inflammatory effect, promotes recovery, and helps the body fight depression.

Beets are necessary for pregnant women due to their folic acid content.