Beet juice lowers blood pressure? Not quite.
Increased nitrate intake from beetroot juice over 4 weeks affects nitrate metabolism, but not vascular function or blood pressure in older adults with hypertension
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway works perfectly in older hypertensive adults, yet it doesn’t translate to improved vascular function or lower BP.
Most prior studies assumed that if nitrate levels rise, vascular benefits follow. This study proves the pathway can be fully active while still failing to produce clinical results.
Practical Takeaways
If you enjoy beet juice, keep drinking it—it’s nutritious and safe—but don’t rely on it to lower your blood pressure.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway works perfectly in older hypertensive adults, yet it doesn’t translate to improved vascular function or lower BP.
Most prior studies assumed that if nitrate levels rise, vascular benefits follow. This study proves the pathway can be fully active while still failing to produce clinical results.
Practical Takeaways
If you enjoy beet juice, keep drinking it—it’s nutritious and safe—but don’t rely on it to lower your blood pressure.
Publication
Journal
Food & Function
Year
2024
Authors
Rebeka Fejes, Martin Lutnik, S. Weisshaar, Nina Pilat, Karl-Heinz Wagner, Hans-Peter Stüger, Jonathan M. Peake, Richard J. Woodman, Kevin D Croft, C. Bondonno, J. Hodgson, Michael Wolzt, Oliver Neubauer
Related Content
Claims (5)
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.
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.
Even though older people with high blood pressure are already taking medicine for it, their bodies can still turn nitrates from food (like beets or spinach) into useful compounds — but this doesn’t seem to lower their blood pressure or improve their blood vessels over time.
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.