Leafy tops of Beta vulgaris. More nutritious per calorie than the beet root. One cup cooked provides 4g protein, 45% DV iron, 220% DV vitamin A, 37% DV vitamin C, 700% DV vitamin K, and significant dietary nitrates — the compound that converts to nitric oxide and dilates blood vessels. Second only to spinach in nitrate density among common vegetables.
Available wherever beets are sold — ask the produce clerk or farmers market vendor to leave the greens attached. Usually discarded or sold cheaply. Can be bought separately at health food stores. Very affordable.
The nitrate-to-nitric-oxide pathway is the most direct dietary blood pressure intervention after hibiscus tea. Dietary nitrates → nitrites (by mouth bacteria) → nitric oxide (in tissues) → vasodilation → blood pressure reduction. A 2015 meta-analysis found dietary nitrate from vegetables reduced systolic BP by 4.4 mmHg and diastolic by 1.1 mmHg — modest but meaningful, especially combined with other interventions. Beet greens provide more nitrates than beets and more iron than beets. For the Black community facing iron deficiency anemia at 3x the rate of white Americans (particularly Black women) — beet greens are an iron source hiding in the part of the vegetable people throw away. The iron + vitamin C combination is synergistic: the C in beet greens increases absorption of the non-heme iron in beet greens by 3-4 fold.
Rinse well — beet greens carry grit. Remove thick stems (use them in vegetable broth). Sauté with olive oil + garlic + lemon for 3-4 minutes until wilted. Can be used in place of Swiss chard or spinach in any recipe. Steam lightly to retain nitrates (boiling leaches nitrates into cooking water — if you boil, drink the water).
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