The Study
Reduction in blood pressure following acute dietary nitrate ingestion is correlated with increased red blood cell S-nitrosothiol concentrations.
This study found that when people drank beetroot juice, their blood pressure sometimes went down at the same time that certain chemicals in their red blood cells went up. But just because two things happen together doesn't mean one caused the other — it could be coincidence or something else.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When you drink beet juice, your body turns its natural chemicals into compounds that help relax blood vessels. This study looked at which of those compounds actually match up with lower blood pressure.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 539 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1A drop of 8 mmHg in systolic pressure is clinically meaningful — similar to some blood pressure medications — and this study suggests red blood cells, not blood plasma, may be where the magic happens.
- 2Beet juice raised S-nitrosothiols and nitrite inside red blood cells — and those increases matched lower blood pressure.
- 3But nitrite in the blood plasma didn't match any drop in pressure.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nitric oxide : biology and chemistry
Year
2023
Authors
Chenguang Wei, A. Vanhatalo, Stefan Kadach, Zdravko Stoyanov, Mohammed Abu-Alghayth, Matthew I. Black, M. Smallwood, Raghini Rajaram, P. Winyard, A. Jones
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking 397 mg of dietary nitrate every day lowers systolic blood pressure by about 8 mmHg in people with hypertension.
When healthy adults consume nitrate-rich foods, their plasma nitrite levels rise, but this increase does not reliably correspond to lower blood pressure, suggesting plasma nitrite alone does not fully explain how nitrate affects blood pressure.
In healthy adults, the relationship between higher levels of S-nitrosothiols in red blood cells and lower systolic blood pressure is similar in strength to the relationship between higher levels of nitrite in red blood cells and lower systolic blood pressure.
When healthy adults consume dietary nitrate, levels of S-nitrosothiols and nitrite rise inside red blood cells but do not rise in plasma, showing that nitric oxide derivatives are processed differently in these two compartments.
When healthy adults consume beetroot juice containing about 12.8 mmol of nitrate, higher levels of S-nitrosothiol in red blood cells occur at the same time as decreases in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure.
When healthy adults consume nitrate-rich foods, their red blood cells show higher nitrite levels, and this is linked to lower systolic blood pressure. This suggests red blood cell nitrite, not nitrite in plasma, plays a more important role in regulating blood pressure.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.