Is beetroot ok ?

[lamb curry]

Pre diabetes i ate pickled beetroot in sweet vinegar on a regular basis but had to give it upon diagnosis.

I've since discovered a unsweetened variety at my local supermarket.

Anyone knows if they are ok for diabetics.I know it is a root vegetable but is it safe to eat one large one or two small ones?

[DeusXM]

I know WHY you're asking but the fact is that there is no food that is 'ok' or 'not ok' as far as diabetes is concerned.

What you need to do is look at the carb count of what you're eating - then test your BG before eating it, then test it again 2 hours after eating it. If your readings are about the same then it turns out you can eat the amount of carbs in that particular food without challenging your body too much.

If you aren't already, you need to get into the habit of measuring how many carbs are in each thing you eat and how those carbs affect your blood sugar. Only then can you know what is and isn't 'ok'. There are no hard and fast rules with diabetes and food.

[foxl]

Well, that said, you should try and test, we actually grow beets for their sugar.

So I would say try a SMALL portion (like 28 g. or 1 oz) and test ...

[Cormac_Doyle]

Umm - until recently, Beets were used to produce crystalized sugar in mass (and the UK & Ireland) ... until subsidised sugar cane forced the local producers out of business.

What this does mean is that Pickled beets tend to be relatively high in sugar.

However - test and see ... you might be able to tolerate them ...

[mzteacher]

it should list the carb and fiber count on your container...i have been cooking beets at home recently...they are delicious and easy...added to a salad a good way to add fiber and fairly low for a small serving...you can google carbs in beets for more information! test and see...
susan

[HelenM]

As others say, weigh and test. Beetroot has about 8.5g carbs per 100g. It's good eaten as it is but actually putting a vinegar dressing on it should lower its glycemic index. Its not the same thing as sugar beet which selected was and hybridised for its sugar content and is over 20% sucrose.

[foxl]

And please read your labels, if you are buying cans!! Hopefully the fools selling it would NOT add HFCS ... but you never know. I found it in canned kidney beans!

[HealthierMe]

I've been wondering about beet root too. I've avoided it since dx, but I used to enjoy fresh, baked beets. I think it's a matter of portion size, but still.... there's the thought of beets used to make sugar. Glad to know the supermarket ones are not the same kind. Also glad to read of the fiber content. It's always good to find veggies with lots of fiber. Still don't think I'm ready to go back to beets though. I hardly touch carrots too. I have a fear of sweet veggies!

Found this info through google.
http://www.helium.com/items/687646-g...s-vs-bad-carbs

Back to good carbs, our second example is the beet, Beets contain a lot of sugar. However the sugar is physically connected to insoluble fiber, water, high amounts of vitamins A and C, potassium and digestive enzymes which our bodies use to break down this food if it is eaten raw. The beet has to be chewed to get to all the sugars, and in the process these other things are made usable to our bodies. If the green leaves that grow above the ground (the beet greens) are included in this equation, we have a beautiful, very good carbohydrate package. At the other end of the spectrum here is beet sugar, the completely refined carbohydrates from the beet. Beet sugar (sucrose) is the sugar we refer to as "white sugar." Devoid of anything except calories, and requiring minimum effort on the part of our bodies to digest, once again we have a very bad carbohydrate. White sugar is used so extensively, that yearly per capita consumption in the U.S. is over 60 lbs

[fgummett]

Maybe off topic but I just have to say eeeuuch! I was never a "fussy" eater (we always had to clear our plates -- because of the starving children in Biafra) but one thing I never could eat was pickled beetroot... we used to get it at Grandma* Gummett's house on our regular Sunday afternoon family visits. I can picture it "bleeding" into everything else on the plate... sorry... but not for me

* imagine a "five foot nothing" former cook from an Edwardian Royal household whose word was unquestioned law... while my over six foot Grandpa sat quietly in the corner. I never heard him say a word to us unless she was out of the room!