HEALING HERBS: Beets – veggies of peace, tranquility

By Annette Maynard-Watson | Mon, February 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM

JAMBO!

The Creator knows when to reveal silent doctors to us. On Thursday as I drove along Salters Main Road in Barbados to take a colleague to work, I spotted “nuff” beets growing in splendor in a well-maintained kitchen garden.

As I drove past them listening to Jackie Opel’s spouge music in preparation for a class I was teaching at school, I suddenly recognized that silent doctors beets were revealing themselves to me.

Further yet, I also noted that many people are “crying out” about pain in the joints and high cholesterol. Beet roots and leaves are here to the rescue.

However, before I inform you about beets, I will pay special tribute to elder Glenroy Straughn as we continue to celebrate African History Month.

As a former educator, he paved the way for us, the youth, to follow and achieve total liberation.

I say thank you, elder Glenroy.

Beta vulgaris, or beet, which grows underground, is a very influential silent doctor. We must investigate why they have thin skin and grow so magnificently under the earth. They are vegetables of peace and tranquility. Being under the earth, they spring surprises whether in shape or size.

Take time to understand the growth habits and crimson colour of beets and what should come to mind is dynamic healing. Some of the above-the-surface things about beets: they contain calcium, iron, vitamins A, B6 and C, fibre, manganese, potassium and phosphorous.

Research shows that vitamin C, a very powerful antioxidant, will scavenge for free radicals in the body, thus assisting in cancer prevention.

Cancers of the colon, stomach, nerves, lungs, breasts, prostate and testes would like us to consume a diet riddled with beet root and leaves. The liver would enjoy beets being included in a detoxification regimen.

Readers should research beets and their capacity to prevent or treat hypertension, birth defects, infertility, seizures, osteoporosis, asthma, high cholesterol, some vision and hearing problems, memory loss and some blood sugar disorders. Numerous researchers out there tout beet as a silent doctor.

We should investigate why our African ancestors who arrived in Barbados to toil on plantations have ensured that their descendants understand why beets should be included in kitchen gardens in this country. Develop a love for beets in their natural state.

l Annette Maynard-Watson, a teacher and herbal educator, may be contacted via silentdoctors@gmail.com or by telephone 250-6450.

DISCLAIMER: It is not our intention to prescribe

or make specific claims for any products. Any attempt to diagnose or treat real illness should come under the direction of your health care provider.