Why Dwight Schrute's Beet Obsession Actually Makes Sense
"People love beets," Dwight Schrute, one of the best characters to come out of the mockumentary sitcom "The Office," declared. But do they? If you're unfamiliar, "The Office" follows the workers at a paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, PA. Dwight is always reminding his colleagues of the rules, eavesdropping, and serving as the quirky oddball. Perhaps we all have a Dwight Schrute in our own workplaces, which is why we enjoy actor Rainn Wilson's portrayal of this iconic role so much.
The beet farm that Schrute inherited from his grandfather is a fan-favorite side story that has inspired countless memes and jokes. During the episode "Office Olympics," Dwight tells his co-workers that he runs a 60-acre working beet farm with his cousin Mose (via IMDb). Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, tells Dwight he should grow something people like to eat, like candy corn. Scott's advice wasn't too far off the mark. According to Fox News, VeggieTracker conducted a survey in 2019 and found beets are among America's top three least favorite vegetables, second only to turnips. However, if you are a beet hater, you may want to rethink those feelings because Dwight was on to something.
Beets might make you smarter, faster
According to Heathline, beets are nutritional bombs of vitamins and minerals that may help you improve your brainpower. Beets are nitrate-rich and when you eat them, your body turns the nitrates into something called nitric acid, which is critical for blood flow and brain functions. In a study, adults who drank beet juice did better on a subtraction test than their counterparts who did not imbibe the ruby red liquid (via Physiology & Behavior).
That's not all beets might help with. Remember during Season 3 when Schrute said, "I am fast. To give you a reference point, I am somewhere between a snake and a mongoose ... and a panther" (via The Office Quotes)? It turns out those nitrates might also make you faster. The European Journal of Applied Physiology shared an experiment in which runners who drank beet juice for seven days straight recorded faster sprint times. Another study showed that runners shaved a nice 1.5% of their individual 5k time (via Runner's World).
Dwight Schrute's beet farm may have inspired a lot of humor among his co-workers, but in true Schrute style, he gets the last laugh.