Beet Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

Beet Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

Beet Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

This week Patrick shared his good news with me. “I have been juicing constantly since the beginning of the year (finally!!!). I am seeing great health benefits, especially a drop of the blood pressure without taking my medication, and a clearer mind.”

Well Patrick isn’t alone. A resent study (Medical News Today, 2015) conducted at Queen Mary University of London, and funded by the British Heart Foundation. showed that one cup of beet juice a day can help lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension, even those whose blood pressure was not controlled by medication. Published in the journal Hypertension, the scientists examined the impact consuming nitrate has on blood pressure. In the 4-week study, patients drinking the juice in the active group (whose beetroot juice contained inorganic nitrate) experienced a reduction in blood pressure of 8/4 mmHg (millimeters of mercury).

The patients in this juice group experienced a 20 percent improvement in blood vessel dilation capacity. Artery stiffness was also reduced by about 10 percent. Various studies also show these changes are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.

In contrast, there were “no changes to blood pressure, blood vessel function or artery stiffness in the placebo group (whose beetroot juice did not contain nitrate) during the period of the study.”1

Vegetables rich in nitrates include:

  • beetroot
  • lettuce
  • cabbage
  • fennel

Vegetables take in nitrate through their little roots that reach down into the soil where nitrates are naturally found. Nitrates are important to the growth of vegetables. The researchers explained that when nitrates are converted to a gas called nitric oxide, it has a relaxing effect on blood vessels and may help lower blood pressure.2

Are you surprised that this study shows nitrates as being beneficial? If yes, I’m with you.   I thought I’d do some research before I advised you about this new beet juice study. Here’s what I found: A study that originally connected nitrates with cancer risk and caused the scare in the first place has since been discredited after being subjected to peer review. There have been major reviews of the scientific literature that found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or even evidence to suggest that they may be carcinogenic. Further research suggests that nitrates and nitrites may not only be harmless, they may be beneficial, especially for immunity, heart health, and hypertension.3

Notes

1 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288229.php

2 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/259113.php Amrita Ahluwalia, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a professor of vascular pharmacology at The Barts and The London Medical School in London, reported to Medical Xpress

3 http://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon

 


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