Jennifer Aniston Refuses to Eat This 'Healthy' Vegetable, and Says Why

Jennifer Aniston has built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most disciplined eaters, someone who treats her plate with the same intention she brings to her workouts. So it comes as a small surprise that there is one classic health food she wants nowhere near her kitchen.

It is not sugar, and it is not fried food, the usual suspects most celebrities swear off. This one is a vegetable that shows up in salads, juices, and every wellness cookbook on the shelf, and Aniston has made it clear over the years that she simply cannot get on board.

She Won’t Even Let It In The House

In a conversation with Yahoo Food, Aniston was asked directly which foods she considers forbidden in her own kitchen, and beets were the first thing she named, admitting she has simply never warmed up to them.

She has been just as blunt about it elsewhere. During a lighthearted interview game with her longtime friend Jason Bateman, she didn’t hold back. “I hate beets. Can’t eat a beet, taste like dirt,” she said in BuzzFeed’s BFF Test video. Bateman even admitted he had never noticed a single beet anywhere in her house, which apparently should have tipped him off years earlier.

This Vegetable Is Kind Of A Big Health Deal

Beets are usually treated like a superfood, and for good reason. They are one of the richest natural sources of dietary nitrates, compounds the body converts into nitric oxide, which relaxes and widens blood vessels and can help lower blood pressure.

They also carry a solid dose of folate, fiber, and antioxidant compounds called betalains, which have been linked to reduced inflammation and better heart health. Athletes in particular have leaned on beet juice for years as a way to boost endurance and improve how the body uses oxygen during workouts.

Not Everyone Needs A Reason To Love a Vegetable

None of that seems to have moved the needle for Aniston, whose issue with beets appears to be less about nutrition and entirely about taste. Her complaint that beets taste almost like dirt is actually a real, well documented trait of the vegetable, caused by a natural compound called geosmin.

That same compound is responsible for the distinct smell in the air after rain, which explains why some people find it oddly pleasant and others find it nearly impossible to swallow in vegetable form.

Aniston’s stance is a reminder that eating healthy does not mean forcing down every vegetable with a good reputation.

She sticks to organic produce, plenty of water, and minimal sugar the rest of the time, but beets are apparently one line she is simply not willing to cross, dirt flavored reputation and all.