Group · Vegetables
Beetroot
Beetroot is a root with purple flesh, eaten cooked in salads or raw and grated. Its colour comes from betalains, pigments that are found almost nowhere else in our food.
In terms of nutrition facts, raw it provides 40.2 kcal per 100 g, with 6.34 g of carbohydrate, all of it sugars, 2.8 g of fibre and 1.61 g of protein. It provides 325 mg of potassium, 23 mg of magnesium and 0.8 mg of iron per 100 g.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 40 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 169 kJ |
| Protein | 1,7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 6,4 g |
| Fat | 0,2 g |
| Fibre | 2,8 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Manganese0,33 mg17 %
- Potassium325 mg16 %
- Copper0,08 mg8 %
- Magnesium23 mg6 %
- Vitamin C4,9 mg6 %
- Iron0,8 mg6 %
- Phosphorus40 mg6 %
- Vitamin B60,07 mg5 %
- Vitamin B9dietary folate equivalents109 µg
See the other 13 nutrients
- Zinc0,35 mg4 %
- Vitamin B20,04 mg3 %
- Vitamin B10,03 mg3 %
- Vitamin B50,16 mg3 %
- Vitamin B30,33 mg2 %
- Calcium16 mg2 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,01 g1 %
- Omega-6 LA0,05 g1 %
- Selenium0,2 µg0 %
- Vitamin E0,04 mg0 %
- Iodine0,45 µg0 %
- Vitamin K10,2 µg0 %
- Vitamin A1,67 µg0 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
Its nitrates matter to athletes, and with good reason. Beetroot juice is one of the few supplements whose effect on endurance is documented by consistent studies: nitrates convert to nitric oxide and improve muscle efficiency.
But you need juice, not a slice. The protocols use the equivalent of 300 to 500 ml of juice, two to three hours before exercise. A beetroot salad will not have this effect.
6.34 g of sugars: it is the sweetest vegetable in this group. Nothing problematic, but it sits above the other roots, carrot included.
Pink urine is not blood. It is betanin, passed unchanged by roughly a third of the population. A harmless, temporary effect, but one that worries people who do not know about it.
Raw and grated, it is much better. With lemon, a touch of mustard and a little oil: crunchier and richer in vitamins than the vacuum-packed cooked version.