Beet Juice and Blood Pressure

The juice changes bacteria in the mouth, and this can influence blood pressure levels, a phenomenon that is particularly apparent in older people.

The juice is rich in nitrates, a vital compound for healthy heart functioning that’s made up of oxygen and nitrogen, and is the precursor of nitric oxide, which is essential for heart health, but as we get older, our nitric oxide levels can start to drop.

Bacteria in the mouth convert nitrates from food into compounds that eventually support the production of nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels relax and function properly, which is important for healthy blood pressure regulation.

A diet of nitrate-rich food and drinks can increase levels of nitric oxide, say researchers from the University of Exeter. They enrolled 39 people under the age of 30 and 36 adults in their 60s and 70s, who drank a beetroot juice twice a day for two weeks before switching to a placebo drink.

Although both groups showed significant changes in their mouth microbiome, only the older people benefited with improved blood pressure levels. After drinking the juice, there was a notable drop in Prevotella, a group of mouth bacteria that can harm the heart, but bacteria linked to healthy heart function, including Neisseria, became more abundant.

The older group began the study with higher average blood pressure than the younger group, but after the nitrate-rich beetroot juice phase, their blood pressure fell. That reduction was not seen after the placebo drink, and it was not seen in the younger adults.

If you don’t find beetroot juice appealing, you can consume other nitrate-rich foods such as spinach, arugula, fennel, celery, and kale that can do the job just as well.