Beetroot may be good for blood pressure levels, suggests study

A report states that beetroot juice may be able to help with high blood pressure

13:14 17 April 2013

Beetroot may not be everyone’s favourite vegetable, and beetroot juice may not be the first drink that springs to mind when you think of a person’s daily intake of fluids. However, a study suggests that it may help to reduce blood pressure levels.

 

This relates to drinking one cup of beetroot juice each day, as researchers have stated it can decrease blood pressure by 7per cent.

 

A reason for this is believed to relate to the vegetable containing nitrate. Experiments which were carried out reflected there were natural amounts of this in beetroot. Nitrate can also be found in other vegetables such as spinach as well as cabbage among others.

 

The study involved a mixture of both sexes and is in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.

 

The leader of the study, Amrita Ahluwalia, said: “We were surprised by how little nitrate was needed to see such a large effect.

 

Adding: “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.”

 

High blood pressure is often linked to health problems such as strokes. One way a person can lead a healthy lifestyle is by eating well and exercising regularly. Avoiding smoking and excessive amounts of alcohol among other things can help improve your health.