The Study
Dietary nitrate improves vascular function in patients with hypercholesterolemia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
This study is like a fair test where one group drank beet juice with nitrate and another drank fake beet juice. The group with real nitrate had better blood vessel function. That means the juice probably caused the improvement — but only in this group of people with high cholesterol.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
People with high cholesterol drank beet juice every day for six weeks. The juice had a natural chemical called nitrate that helped their bodies make more nitric oxide, a gas that keeps blood vessels open and healthy.
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 574 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — a 24% improvement in blood vessel function is meaningful and suggests better heart health.
- 2Reduced platelet clumping means lower risk of blood clots.
- 3Beet juice group: FMD improved by 1.1% (24% better), platelet clumping dropped by 7.6%, and good bacteria (Neisseria flavescens) in the mouth increased.
- 4Placebo group: FMD got worse by 0.3% and platelet clumping went up.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Year
2015
Authors
S. Velmurugan, J. Gan, Krishnaraj S. Rathod, R. Khambata, Suborno M. Ghosh, A. Hartley, S. van Eijl, V. Sági‐Kiss, T. Chowdhury, Mike Curtis, G. Kuhnle, W. Wade, A. Ahluwalia
Related Content
Claims (5)
In adults with high cholesterol, taking dietary nitrate daily for six weeks lowers the formation of platelet-monocyte aggregates by 7.6%, while a placebo increases them by 10.1%, showing a direct effect on platelet activation pathways.
In adults with high cholesterol, consuming dietary nitrate daily for six weeks lowers the level of P-selectin on platelets when they are activated by substances like ADP and adrenaline, but does not change P-selectin levels when platelets are not activated.
In adults with high cholesterol, taking dietary nitrate daily for six weeks lowered a measure of arterial stiffness by 0.22 meters per second compared to a placebo, but the change was not statistically significant.
Untreated hypercholesterolemic adults who consume 6.0 mmol of dietary nitrate from beetroot juice daily for six weeks experience a 1.1% increase in flow-mediated dilation, while those taking a placebo experience a 0.3% decrease.
In adults with high cholesterol, consuming dietary nitrate daily for six weeks raises levels of nitrite in saliva and changes the types of bacteria in the mouth, specifically increasing Neisseria flavescens and slightly increasing Rothia mucilaginosa.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.