Beet greens: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Iron that ranks 4th in its group

   Beet greens carry 5.8 mg iron per 100 g, ranking 38th of 242 foods. Those 100 g of beet greens supply 31 per cent of the iron a man needs daily and 20 per cent of a woman's need. A squeeze of lemon or a tomato in the pan helps the body absorb plant iron.

2. 02

   Potassium and magnesium

   With 530 mg potassium and 120 mg magnesium per 100 g, beet greens rank 7th and 4th among leafy vegetables. The magnesium meets 27 per cent of a man's requirement and 32 per cent of a woman's.

3. 03

   Naturally higher in sodium

   The 111 mg sodium per 100 g ranks 1st of 26 leafy vegetables and 14th of 243 foods. It is still a small amount next to table salt, but it means a beet greens dish needs less added salt than usual.

4. 04

   Low in folate

   Unlike most greens, beet greens are poor in folate, at 12 micrograms per 100 g, the lowest in their group. Pair them with dal or other leafy vegetables if folate is the goal.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• Beet greens moong dal: chopped leaves and stems stirred into yellow moong dal with a cumin and garlic tadka.
• Beet greens and potato sabzi: cooked dry with mustard seeds, turmeric and green chilli.
• Beet keerai poriyal: leaves stir-fried with grated coconut and a tempering of urad dal and curry leaves.
• Kneaded into thepla or paratha dough in place of methi, with ajwain and a little curd.
• Added to a mixed palak and beet greens saag, so both greens cook down together.

Beet greens, like spinach, are among the highest-oxalate leaves eaten anywhere, so people who form kidney stones should ask their doctor before eating them often. Boiling and draining reduces oxalate. Their natural sodium, 111 mg per 100 g, matters for people on a strict low-salt plan, so salt the dish at the end and taste first. The leaves wilt within a day or two of cutting; store them wrapped in a cloth in the fridge and cook them soon.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Beet root

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Spinach

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Amaranth leaves (chaulai)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Radish leaves

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Fenugreek leaves (methi)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

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