Comments on Cranky Fitness: Beets Me

I just looked online to see about this beet juice ...

2009-03-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

I just looked online to see about this beet juice thing. I ordered a couple of containers of the stuff that arrived today, also in hopes of naturally treating my high blood pressure problems.

So, I poured about 1/2 cup as my husband stood by cringing and tried to drink it. The stuff could not taste more fowl- I mean, it was inhumanely disgusting. He was cheering me on to finish up the last ounce or so, even offered a shot glass. I tried to chug the last bit, but I think my body had enough beet juice by then and I puked it right back into the cup it came from- and had a bright pink/red mouth to top it off.

So, now I have bottles of the stuff and am faced with what to do with them. I was told by the health store people that the stuff is highly coveted. BY WHOM?????

I'm sure any battle is serious business but someth...

2008-02-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

I'm sure any battle is serious business but something about "The Battle of the Herrings" sounds kind of silly. It has me picturing two old guys fighting over a bucket of smelly fish.

And Katieo, thank you! It's interesting that this problem is getting so much worse for women. And it's a good reminder that elevated bp is very controllable and those of us who are starting to have issues need to get our butts to the doctor's office.

See? All you had to do was say 'please' and it wor...

2008-02-14T01:38:00.000-05:00

See? All you had to do was say 'please' and it worked just fine :)

This is kind of getting funny...PLEASE WORK THIS T...

2008-02-14T01:17:00.000-05:00

This is kind of getting funny...

PLEASE WORK THIS TIME

You couldn't get it to work because I am stupid. L...

2008-02-14T01:15:00.000-05:00

You couldn't get it to work because I am stupid. Let me try this again.
(Again. 4th comment for a pretty boring article....)

I'll do it this way:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/aha-hbp021108.php

Dang I hate working late... I miss most of the com...

2008-02-13T23:31:00.000-05:00

Dang I hate working late... I miss most of the commentry.
(Yes that is too a word. Because I said so, that's why.)

Now you've all gone and made me curious. I had to go look up smoked herring and pickled herring and all that kind of stuff. Did you know that the English and the French once fought the Battle of the Herrings?

Oh all right. I was just trying to be informative and stuff like that. I'll go away now... sniff

Thanks everyone! Dang, I wish I could respond to ...

2008-02-13T23:16:00.000-05:00

Thanks everyone! Dang, I wish I could respond to more comments.

Rocio--I hear the okra slime-factor has to do with how you cook 'em. I've got Louisiana relatives who can make okra taste just fine but when others cook it and it gets slimy I'm totally with you: ewwww.

J.C.--I love lurkers and thanks for the potassium warnings!

Lazy man--I'm a big fan of garlic already, but can always use and excuse to have more.

Holly, we should have greek salad together some day--you can have ALL my beets, I promise!

And Claudia, thanks so much for stopping by and saying hi. I'm definitely curious about the metoprolol, especially since the Lobster has problems with migraines, and we didn't even know there was a preventative. Cheap drugs that cure multiple problems? Sounds great.

Katieo, couldn't get the link to work but I'm still curious! Will have to keep my eye out for it.

Cara--well, I actually LIKE pickled herring, and they have a such a strong flavor perhaps they'd be the perfect camouflage/complement to Evil Beets.

OOH I love beets...on a greek salad. I never eat ...

2008-02-13T22:31:00.000-05:00

OOH I love beets...on a greek salad. I never eat them any other time, but if I get a greek salad without beets I feel robbed.

I'm not a big fan of beets, but I am on BP meds - ...

2008-02-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big fan of beets, but I am on BP meds - although not for my BP... I've been on metoprolol for about 2 or 3 years as a migraine preventative. It's lowered my BP (so it's now always pretty low), and (I like to think) I get less migraines. A few months ago I cut back from a whole pill to a half pill every night (before bed) and got migraines almost every day for my 3 week experiment. Un-fun!! Needless to say I'm back to a full pill per day. Like someone else said, they're super cheap - 3 month supply for $3. That's the best part. hahaha... I'm curious if I'd finally drop those 5 lbs if I went off the pills, but migraines are miserable, so I'll stay on them for now...

I'm not sure my comments were much help, but I wanted to contribute! I've been reading your blog for a few months and wanted to say hi! :o)

Maybe you can pour the beet juice over something.....

2008-02-13T20:55:00.000-05:00

Maybe you can pour the beet juice over something...or make soup out of it?? Two cups is a lot!
m
I stole a beet recipe from y boyfriend's mom because it is the first time EVER that I have enjoyed beets. It is a pickled herring and beet salad. Sounds disgusting, but is about the best thing I've ever tasted. I made it for a party, and no one ate it because of the beets. Everyone was calling it "Purple Stuff", as in don;t eat the Purple Stuff. More for me, I guess.

Muah -HA!I found it!It's here: Blood Pressure Incr...

2008-02-13T18:29:00.000-05:00

Muah -HA!
I found it!
It's here: Blood Pressure Increase

(and guess what, it's not that great of an article...but now at least I'm not going to be bugged that I couldn't find it )

Have you looked into garlic? I've been reading ab...

2008-02-13T16:50:00.000-05:00

Have you looked into garlic? I've been reading about it a lot recently and it seems like it might help with blood pressure.

"I retain water like crazy and wonder if that coul...

2008-02-13T16:44:00.000-05:00

"I retain water like crazy and wonder if that could contribute to the problem."
Do yoga, eat beets, and meditate in a Sauna. Or, on second thought, just do the sauna :-)
Dr. J

PS As for young people and cholesterol numbers, eat healthy and be active and you wont have to worry about your numbers.

Heya Crabby. Haven't commented in a while, but I'v...

2008-02-13T16:42:00.000-05:00

Heya Crabby. Haven't commented in a while, but I've been lurking regularly. What can I say, I love the stealth. Muah.

My Mother has had issues with her BP. Two things that came up:
(1) Pomegranate Juice. For some people it has helped. Tastes better than beet juice. But as you know studies are like statistics: you can make them to be whatever you like. Just sayin....

(2) One of her medications caused a significant drop in potassium to the point where she was hospitalized and almost died. If medication is in your future, please discuss with Doctor. (I believe this is related to the diuretic effect) Once she was placed on potassium supplementation she was fine.

Hope this is helpful. As with anything, research, question, and question more. You can never have enough information when it comes to your own health. Just my humble opinion.

Wow this is so helpful--not just for moral support...

2008-02-13T16:29:00.000-05:00

Wow this is so helpful--not just for moral support in hating beets, but the great info and advice about blood pressure stuff.

(And even you beet lovers are very nice about it. Though I can't share your taste in veggies, I can at least admit that beets are a very pretty, vivid color. Just as long as I don't have to eat or drink them.)

I wish I didn't suck at meditating, it's definitely supposed the best way to de-stress. But, well, I've tried 9 billion times and never had much luck. (Exaggerate? Who me?)

I'm curious about diuretics too, if that's what a doctor someday suggests. I retain water like crazy and wonder if that could contribute to the problem.

And for those of you with "bad" numbers of any kind, I totally sympathize. I think it's really unfair for healthy folks in their 20s to already be watching their cholesterol.

I don't like beets. Or brussels sprouts. Or celer...

2008-02-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

I don't like beets. Or brussels sprouts. Or celery. I can't imagine having to drink the juice of any of the above, either.
Have you tried yoga?

I'm going to completely ignore the icky vegetable ...

2008-02-13T15:28:00.000-05:00

I'm going to completely ignore the icky vegetable question. You also asked about bp meds. Best one, seriously, is a diuretic. The one I take (not for bp) is an unpronounceable generic that is abbreviated HTCZ. I think. Costs about four bucks for a three-month supply. I always feel like I'm putting one over on Big Pharma when I walk out of the pharmacy with the cheapest drug on their shelves. Heh.

Ok, I really like beets, but . . . beet . . . JUIC...

2008-02-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, I really like beets, but . . . beet . . . JUICE?? And TWO CUPS a day?!?! I feel sick just thinking about it. I imagine it'd be like drinking sugar water - gross! (Not to mention the red pee Geosomin point out - ewwwww.)

Have you tried meditation? Might be worth a shot if the alternative is pills. Also, a therapist once gave me a low-tech biofeedback thingy: it was a little tiny thermometer, and I held it against my finger while I breathed deeply. I haven't used it in forever, but I think the idea was to make the temperature rise: that meant your blood vessels were relaxing, and therefore the pressure on them was lower.

But I might have that last part backwards, so if it's something you're interested in, you should definitely look it up first. :P

I'm definately in tune with you on this one. I HA...

2008-02-13T14:50:00.000-05:00

I'm definately in tune with you on this one. I HATE beets, period, end of sentence.

My father used to have a jar in the fridge with beet juice, in which he put hard boiled eggs to let them "pickle."

Can you say, GROSS.............:)

You know, I don't think I've ever tried beets. If ...

2008-02-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

You know, I don't think I've ever tried beets. If I have, it was obviously too long ago for me to remember.

The vegetable that grosses me out is okra. I am opposed to slimy foods, and okra is one of them. I won't even make exceptions for breaded okra. It just makes me want to gag.

I used to like beets, but now they taste too sweet...

2008-02-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

I used to like beets, but now they taste too sweet to my liking. Much like carrots, in fact -- today was the first day of 2008 when I ate carrots, when they used to be one of my staple veggies a few years ago. I guess tastes really do change with time. And yes, drinking beet juice seems kinda... uh... disgusting?

No way could I drink straight beet juice, but this...

2008-02-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

No way could I drink straight beet juice, but this juice place near where I work blends it with apple and celery and it tastes pretty good. Beets are probably the only vegetable I flat out refuse to eat. They just look... suspicious.

I'm back(...couldn't find the study...and now it's...

2008-02-13T12:54:00.000-05:00

I'm back(...couldn't find the study...and now it's really irritating me.)

What about adding a bunch of sugar to the beet juice? Like Sprite? Or Dr. Pepper or something? Yes, I'm sure that defeats the purpose and probably cancels out the benefits of the beet-iness, but that'd be the only way I could choke it down!

I think I ate a beet once. Somewhere, maybe. They'...

2008-02-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

I think I ate a beet once. Somewhere, maybe. They're red, is that right?
Then there was that red soup in the Russian Tea Room, in New York City. Didn't do that twice!
I'm with Crabby on beets. They're red?
Dr. J

Crabby, beets are gross! I am a truly picky eater ...

2008-02-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

Crabby, beets are gross! I am a truly picky eater and don't really like many veggies anyway, but beets are just gross!