Beets are a member of the goosefoot family. There are red, orange, yellow, white and two-toned varieties. It wasn’t until the 16th century that red beets became
popular.
Beets contain vitamins A and C, riboflavin, iron, and potassium. Beet greens supply a good amount of calcium, but also contain oxalic acid, which will apparently leach calcium from your system.
It is not true for everyone that eating beets will produce pink urine. The pigment in the red beet root is betacyanin. The ability to digest betacyanin comes from a single gene. If both of your parents had a recessive gene, you will not be able to digest betacyanin and the red pigment will pass intact through your digestive tract.
Note: Combined with acid, red beets turn a vivid crimson, but with sufficient alkali they will turn blue.