Beet Kvass

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been completely freaked out after you went to the bathroom and saw that your pee was red and your poop was purple? But then…you remembered you had beets the night before.

There was actually one time when Josh was changing our daughter’s diaper that he started yelling in a terrified voice, “SEASON!!! Come here…hurry!” Of course, I took off to the room because I thought someone was dying. However, all I found was her lying on the changing table, giggling and chewing on her toes, and my husband standing there frozen and holding up a diaper that was filled with bright red pee. The look on his face was almost comical, though he definitely didn’t think anything was funny because he thought something was terribly wrong with his baby girl. I put his heart and mind at ease when I reminded him Selah had Beets for lunch  the day before.

All this to say…

I want to introduce you to a magical beverage, Beet Kvass, that should become a regular part of your diet. Yes, be forewarned…it will probably turn your pee red and your poop purple. However, this usually only lasts for 1-2 bathroom visits after enjoying your beets, and the medicinal benefits will up your healthcare game by:

• Reducing your risk of cancer
• Improving your digestion
• Increasing the good bacteria in your gut
• Supporting your body’s ability to detox
• Helping you to lose weight

So, what is Beet Kvass?

Kvass is a fermented tonic that’s traditionally made from sourdough and has been recognized for centuries for its health benefits. It can be made from fruits and vegetables, such as beets, and it offers powerful benefits from the fermentation and whatever phytonutrients are present in the fruit or vegetable that the kvass is made from. The potency of this healthy beverage is largely due to the fact that it’s a raw food that has been naturally fermented and therefore, is easily used by the body in many different ways.

Here’s some of its specific benefits:

• Cleanses the liver
• Destroys disease processes in the body because of the phytonutrients
• Dilates blood vessels
• Improves blood flow
• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces inflammation
• Protects against oxidative stress
• Protects the vascular system
• Chelates the body
• Improves immune system function

So, what about its impact with cancer?

Beet Kvass packs a powerful punch! Researchers have even found that it helps to promote healthy cellular function and rid the body of heavy metals and toxins, including radiation exposure.

A few years ago, The University of Michigan did a study that gave 2 groups of mice a lethal dose of chemotherapy. However, one of the groups was also given a dose of a specific nutrient that’s found in Beet Kvass and triggers the body to produce probiotic flora. 75% of the group that had been given both the chemo and the Beet Kvass nutrient survived, and the other group didn’t fair nearly as well!

Powerful stuff, right?

So, let’s turn up the beet on your health…Sorry, I had to. 🙂

But in all seriousness, if you’ve ever tried Beet Kvass, please share in the comments below some of the health benefits you’ve noticed.

And if you haven’t tried it, here’s the recipe I use:

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Beet Kvass (Fermented Beet Juice)

Source: The Nourishing Cook

Information from Nourishing Traditions: “This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are just loaded with nutrients. One 4-ounce glass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments. Beet kvass may also be used in place of vinegar in salads dressings and as an addition to soups.”

Ingredients

Equipment:

• 1/2 gallon mason jars
• Fine strainer & cheesecloth (to strain whey from yogurt)
• Vegetable peeler
• Chef’s knife
• No stain, no slip cutting board
• Non-reactive spoon 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium or 2 large organic beets, peeled and chopped up coarsely
• 1/4 cup whey (To make this recipe dairy/casein free, omit it and just use 4 teaspoons of salt instead of 2)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt [I reduced the salt to 2 tsp from 1 T]
• Filtered water

Instructions

1. Place beets, whey and salt in a half gallon glass container (2 quarts). Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.
2. When most of the liquid has been drunk, you may fill up the container with water and keep at room temperature another two days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first. After the second brew, discard the beets and start again. You may, however, reserve some of the liquid and use this as your inoculant instead of the whey.

Notes

• Do not grate the beets. When grated, beets exude too much liquid resulting in too rapid of fermentation that favors the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.
• Add beet kvass to salad dressings, soups, or wherever you would use vinegar or where a slightly sour taste is preferable.
• Be sure to make the second batch of beet kvass as the recipe directs, but leave some of the first batch of liquid in the jar to help start the 2nd batch.
• After you’re done using your beets for kvass, use your leftover beets and make Simple Roasted Beet Soup. The soup will of course be more sour than if you used fresh but it’s not an unpleasant flavor at all.

If interested in learning more, here’s some additional studies and references to check out:

1.  Beet Kvass: The Miracle of Russia.
2. Synergistic cytotoxicity of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) extract with doxorubicin in human pancreatic, breast and prostate cancer cell lines.
3. Effect of beetroot juice on lowering blood pressure in free-living, disease-free adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
4. Mice survive lethal doses of chemotherapy.

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