Get the beet! Nutritious, delicious, easy to acquire and prepare, beets are one of nature’s most generous gifts. If their satisfying buttery but earthy taste isn’t enough to get beets incorporated into your daily rhythm, here are three reasons you’ll want to reach for the versatile veggie for your next meal.

“Foods belonging to the chenopod family — including beets, chard, spinach and quinoa — continue to show an increasing number of health benefits not readily available from other food families,” The World’s Healthiest Foods site says. Whether scrubbed up and enjoyed raw; served steamed, boiled, or pickled; prepared peeled, sliced, or shredded– the first, and best, reason to munch on the maroon root is because it’s fantastic for you. Beets are rich in tons of beneficial vitamins, and minerals, like potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron; vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine; and folic acid.

Secondly, forget suffering through a grueling juice cleanse, beautiful beets’ red pigment can actually assist our bodies in detoxifying. HumbleSeed.com explains, “Betalain pigments not only give beets their rich color, but are also important contributors to the body’s detoxification process. Pigments help to neutralize unwanted toxins and make them easier to eliminate in urine. Those that live in big cities or feel they are exposed to above average toxin levels could benefit from adding beets to their diet.”

And lastly, beets can apparently unleash your best self in the bedroom. According to FullCircle.com, “One of the first known uses of beets was by the ancient Romans, who used them medicinally as an aphrodisiac. And that’s not just urban legend – science backs it up. Beets contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones.”

What’s your favorite way to include beets in a healthy diet? Are there positive differences that you notice when fresh beets find their way into your meals? — Casandra Armour