The Benefits of Beetroot juice in reducing Blood Pressure

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Findings

Researchers found that both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings decreased after drinking 500 ml of beetroot juice. The systolic readings showed a decrease of about 10 mmHg and were lowest after 2.5 hours. The diastolic blood pressure which dropped by about 8mmHg was lowest at three hours after drinking the juice. The systolic blood pressure was still lower 24 hours after drinking the juice than at the beginning of the study.

The mechanism involved was that the bacteria on the tongue converted the nitrate in the juice to nitrite. The nitrite containing saliva when ingested either got converted into nitric oxide or entered the circulation as nitrite. A relationship was seen between the peak time of BP reduction and the highest levels of nitrite in the blood. This effect was not seen in the group which did not swallow their saliva up to 3 hours after drinking the beetroot juice.

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User Comments

16 April, 2013 | Kanika Jain | Reply

A recent study published online in the journal Hypertension reaffirms the beneficial effect of beetroot juice in the hypertensive patients. In the study, the participants who had a systolic blood pressure between 140 to 159mm Hg drank either 250 mL of beetroot juice (containing about 0.2g of dietary nitrate ) or water with low nitrate. Compared with placebo group, people having beetroot juice cut their systolic pressure by about 10 mm Hg. The effect was most pronounced three to six hours after drinking the juice but still present even 24 hours later. Though this study is small but it again highlights that that drinking\consuming nitrate rich vegetables like beetroot might be one of the lifestyle approaches to manage hypertension http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/early/2013/04/15/HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.00933.abstract?sid=9a28b8a9-3024-4412-a2bb-6942eda57ba5

Regards,
Kanika Jain
Dietitian,
NutritonVista.com

28 July, 2011 | Vinod | Reply

It’s so amazing to gather information on the blog. I really loved reading these post. It has strengthen my faith more. You all do such a great job at such concepts.

29 July, 2011 | Vijayalakshmi Iyengar | Reply

Thank you Mr Vinod. Truly appreciate your comment, and we are motivated to share more information on how we can lead healthy -healthier lives with a good diet, physical activity and life style.
This was what it was meant to be but some how the current scenario is far from it and we are trying to revive it as non invasive therapy and prophylaxis

13 July, 2010 | Nilofer | Reply

I cant stand beetroot juice. Any other vegetable juices that could also help reduce BP.
Its the texture and perhaps color. i dont know. My husband loves it though so I do boil it for his salad regularly.
Please do suggest some others.

13 July, 2010 | Poonam Vaswani | Reply

Hello Nilofer,
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps to reduce blood pressure. There are many of them which you can include in your diet. I suggest you go through the Top 10 BP reducing foods on our site. Please click on http://www.nutritionvista.com/Top-10-Foods-At-A-Glance/Ease-Blood-Pressure.aspx
Thank you for your query.

13 July, 2010 | Prathiksha | Reply

I have a question? What happens to the nitrate content when the vegetables are cooked? I dont think I can eat raw spinach for instance and I prefer my beetroot cooked so will I benefit as much from it as from raw beetroot juice?

13 July, 2010 | Sangeetha Narayana Swamy | Reply

Dear Prathiksha,

A study conducted on "the oral bio availability of nitrate from nitrate-rich vegetables in humans", shows that nitrate from vegetables, whether cooked or uncooked, is absorbed by the body very effectively. Therefore you can include spinach and beetroot in the cooked form, but always remember we tend to lose many nutrients with open pan cooking and the methods we use to clean the vegetables.

Visit www.nutritionvista.com for more information on how to effectively cook vegetables to retain the maximum nutrients.

Regards,
Sangeetha Narayana Swamy,
Senior Dietitian,
Nutritonvista.com

07 July, 2010 | Poonam Vaswani | Reply

Hello Archana,
Examples of some nitrate rich vegetables are, spinach, lettuce, radish, cabbage, parsley and rhubarb

07 July, 2010 | Vijayalakshmi Iyengar | Reply

One research suggests that drinking beetroot juice or consuming for that matter any other nitrate-rich vegetables on a daily basis, is probably a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and a natural way to handle the modern day battle against rising blood pressure. I think this is truly worth considering seriously.

07 July, 2010 | Ambika | Reply

I had my father in law read this article and he is open to the idea of having half a glass of Beetroot juice every day.
Is there any problem with having too much beetroot, tho I dont think half a glass dail will be too much.
This was helpful reading.

07 July, 2010 | Sangeetha Narayana Swamy | Reply

Dear Archana,

About 80% of the dietary nitrates are from vegetable consumption. Fruits and processed meats are also sources. Oxidation of nitric acid cycle produces nitrites endogenously and reduction of nitrate by commensal bacteria in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract.

Thank you for your query.

Regards,
Sangeetha Narayana Swamy,
Senior Dietitian,
Nutritionvista.com

07 July, 2010 | Archana | Reply

What are the other food sources of nitrates?

06 July, 2010 | Ambika, | Reply

We do eat a lot of beetroot as my father in law has health conditions and a dietitian told him to have more beetroot - she didn't mention it was good for hypertension.
I add in salt and pepper and a dash of chili sauce to my beetroot juice.
We all have it as a family at least once a week.
My father in law has beetroot daily either in salad form or added to yogurt raita.
Thanks

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