Drinking beetroot juice every day for a month, with about 800 mg of natural nitrates, doesn’t seem to make blood vessels in the arms work better or worse in older people who are already taking medicine for high blood pressure.

Drinking beetroot juice once can temporarily make blood flow better in the arms of older people with high blood pressure, but if they drink it every day, that boost goes away after a while.

If older adults with high blood pressure drink beetroot juice every day for a month, their body shows more of certain chemicals in their blood and saliva that help relax blood vessels — which means their body is using a natural pathway to make nitric oxide.

Drinking beetroot juice every day for a month is safe for people with high blood pressure—it doesn’t cause any dangerous side effects, and the only harmless things you might notice are pink urine or oddly colored poop.

Drinking beetroot juice every day with at least 397 mg of nitrate can lower high blood pressure as much as common blood pressure pills do.

Drinking a glass of beetroot juice every day for a month can lower your blood pressure in different settings—like at home, at the doctor’s office, and even when you’re wearing a monitor all day—without your body getting used to it and losing the effect.