When you think about healthy eating, salads and green vegetables usually come to mind. But how about adding a little more variety to your plan?

Roots like carrots, sweet potatoes, and turnips, are a rich source of nutritious complex carbohydrates. Instead of upsetting blood sugar levels like refined sweet foods do, they help regulate them.

Why Eat More Root Veggies?

Long roots – carrots, parsnips, burdock, and daikon radish – are excellent blood purifiers and can help improve circulation in the body. Round roots – turnips, radishes, beets, and rutabagas – nourish the stomach, spleen, pancreas, and reproductive organs.

Which root vegetables do you eat most?
If you’re like most of the world, it’s carrots and potatoes. Here are a few others to explore:

• Beets contain an abundance of antioxidants and are highly detoxifying.
• Burdock is considered a powerful blood purifier. This long, thin veggie is a staple in Asian and health food stores.
• Celeriac, also known as celery root, is rich in fiber and with a respectable amount of antioxidants.
• Jicama is crunchy and refreshing and contains a generous amount of vitamin C. It’s a favourite in its native Mexico and South America.
• Onions are rich in antioxidants and other phytonutrients, making them prized for their ability to strengthen the immune system.
• Parsnips, which look like giant white carrots, boast a sweet, earthy taste. They’ve also got plenty of fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, niacin, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium.
• Radish is an excellent source of vitamin C. It’s also rich in calcium, molybdenum, and folic acid.
• Sweet Potatoes contain unsurpassed levels of beta-carotene and are also rich in vitamin C, phytonutrients, and fiber.

Excited to add more roots to your diet?

Here’s a fun, easy recipe: