A recent study by Indian researchers has found that consuming a cup of beetroot juice everyday could help reduce blood pressure effectively.
During the study, people with high blood pressure, who consumed about 8 ounces of beetroot juice, experienced a significant reduction in their blood pressure of about 10 mm Hg.
However, as per the preliminary findings, researchers did not made any claim of supplementing your diet with beetroot juice for health benefits.
"Our hope is that increasing one's intake of vegetables with a high dietary nitrate content, such as green leafy vegetables or beetroot, might be a lifestyle approach that one could easily employ to improve cardiovascular health," 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, said.
The beetroot juice contains about 0.2g of dietary nitrate, which is equivalent to a large bowl of lettuce or perhaps two beetroots.
In the human body the nitrate is converted to nitrite and then to nitric oxide in the blood. Nitric oxide is a gas that stretches the blood vessels and supports blood flow.
"We were surprised by how little nitrate was needed to see such a large effect," Ahluwalia said.
"This study shows that compared to individuals with healthy blood pressure much less nitrate is needed to produce the kinds of decreases in blood pressure that might provide clinical benefits in people who need to lower their blood pressure. However, we are still uncertain as to whether this effect is maintained in the long term," she said.
Eight women and seven men participated in the study having a systolic blood pressure between 140 to 159 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). However, the participants did not have any other medical complications and were not taking blood pressure medication.
The participants were provided with 250 mL of beetroot juice or water containing a low amount of nitrate, and their blood pressure was monitored over the next 24 hours.
Participants drinking beetroot juice showed significant reduction in both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure as compared to the placebo group even though nitrite circulating in the blood had returned to their previous levels prior to drinking beetroot.
The effects were most effective during three to six hours after drinking the juice but still present even 24 hours later.
The details of the study were published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.
-With inputs from ANI
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