Food and health in the Times

Beets and more

By Culinate staff

July 10, 2008

A few pieces in the New York Times last week put numbers to food. Mark Bittman’s 101 picnic foods included a simple beet salad in the number-one spot — helpful, since beets are one of the 11 best foods we aren't eating, according to the Times’ health blog, Well. Not convinced? Tara Parker-Pope of Well, who has never prepared a beet at home but plans to do so, may change your mind (she interviews a beet expert who says beets are high in folate). Of course, food isn’t everything, as a fourth Times story pointed out: you can eat olive oil, drink red wine, and still have a heart attack. (No word on the beet intake, though.)