Drinking Beetroot Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

LONDONDrinking beetroot juice may be a natural approach to reducing cardiovascular disease, according to a new study that found beetroot juice lowered blood pressure within 24 hours in people who took nitrate tablets. The findings were published online in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London demonstrated that the nitrate found in beetroot juice was the cause of its beneficial effects on cardiovascular health by increasing the levels of nitric oxide in the circulation.

We gave inorganic nitrate capsules or beetroot juice to healthy volunteers and compared their blood pressure responses and the biochemical changes occurring in the circulation, the researchers wrote. We showed that beetroot and nitrate capsules are equally effective in lowering blood pressure indicating that it is the nitrate content of beetroot juice that underlies its potential to reduce blood pressure.

The researchers also found that just 250ml of juice is needed to provide the effect, and that the higher the blood pressure at the start of the study the greater the decrease caused by the nitrate.