Beetroot Juice Reduces High Blood Pressure
One glass of beetroot juice a day is enough to significantly reduce
blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure, conclude researchers who
conducted a placebo-controlled trial in dozens of patients.
Beetroot juice
Beetroot
contains high levels of inorganic nitrate. Other leafy vegetables - such as
lettuce and cabbage - also have high levels of the compound, which they take up
from the soil through their roots.
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Beetroot contains high levels of
inorganic nitrate. Other leafy vegetables - such as lettuce and cabbage - also
have high levels of the compound, which they take up from the soil through
their roots.
The trial, conducted at Queen
Mary University of London (QMUL) in the UK, was funded by the British Heart
Foundation, whose senior research advisor Dr. Shannon Amoils remarks:
"This interesting study
builds on previous research by this team and finds that a daily glass of
beetroot juice can lower blood pressure in people with hypertension - even those
whose high blood pressure was not controlled by drug treatment."
The researchers publish their findings in the journal
Hypertension.
Beetroot contains high levels of
inorganic nitrate. Other leafy vegetables - such as lettuce and cabbage - also
have high levels of the compound, which they take up from the soil through
their roots.
In the human body, inorganic
nitrate converts to nitric oxide, which relaxes and dilates blood vessels.
For the trial, Amrita Ahluwalia,
a vascular pharmacology professor at QMUL, and colleague’s recruited 64
patients aged 18-85. Half of the patients were taking prescribed medication for
high blood pressure but were not managing to reach their target blood pressure,
and the rest had been diagnosed with high blood pressure but were not yet
taking medication for it.
The patients were randomly
assigned to one of two groups. One group consumed a daily glass (250 ml or
around 8.5 oz) of beetroot juice, and the other group had the same except their
beetroot juice was nitrate-free (the placebo).
The patients consumed the juice
every day for 4 weeks. They were also monitored for 2 weeks before and after
the study, bringing the total trial period to 8 weeks.
The trial was double-blind, which
means neither the administering clinicians nor the patients knew whether the
beetroot juice they were given was the placebo or the active supplement.
First study to show lasting
reduction in blood pressure from dietary nitrate.
During the 4 weeks they were
taking the juice, patients in the active supplement group (whose beetroot juice
contained inorganic nitrate) experienced a reduction in blood pressure of 8/4
mmHg (millimeters of mercury).
The first figure is the reduction
in systolic pressure (when the heart is pushing) and the second figure is
reduction in diastolic pressure (when the heart is relaxing). For many
patients, the 8/4 mmHg reduction brought their blood pressure back into the
normal range.
What is Beetroot?-Video
In the 2 weeks after they stopped
taking the juice, the patients' blood pressure' returned to their previous high
levels.
The team notes that this is first
study to show evidence of a long-lasting reduction in blood pressure due to
dietary nitrate supplementation in a group of patients with high blood
pressure.
The patients in the active
supplement group also experienced a 20% or so improvement in blood vessel
dilation capacity and their artery stiffness reduced by around 10%. Studies
show such changes are linked to reduced risk of heart disease.
There were no changes to blood
pressure, blood vessel function or artery stiffness in the placebo group (whose
beetroot juice did not contain nitrate) during the period of the study.
The authors note that the
reduction achieved in the active supplement group is comparable to that of
medication; the average reduction in blood pressure that a single
anti-hypertension drug brings is 9/5 mmHg.
The study concludes:
"These findings suggest a
role for dietary nitrate as an affordable, readily-available, adjunctive
treatment in the management of patients with hypertension."
To put the importance of these
findings in context, the authors note that large-scale observational studies
show that for every 2 mmHg increase in blood pressure, the risk of death from
heart disease goes up 7% and from stroke by 10%.
Natural products to lower blood
pressure are 'more appealing' than pillswoman having BP checked
One glass of beetroot juice a day
significantly lowered blood pressure in people with high blood pressure.
Commenting on the findings, Prof.
Ahluwalia says:
"This research has proven
that a daily inorganic nitrate dose can be as effective as medical intervention
in reducing blood pressure and the best part is we can get it from beetroot and
other leafy green vegetables."
She says one reason the findings
are exciting is because increasing dietary nitrate is something patients can
easily work into their daily lives and see a positive benefit.
"It is hugely beneficial for
people to be able to take steps in controlling their blood pressure through
non-clinical means such as eating vegetables," Prof. Ahluwalia adds.
"We know many people don't like taking drugs life-long when they feel OK,
and because of this, medication compliance is a big issue."
"The possibility of using a
natural product, rather than another pill, to help lower blood pressure, is
very appealing," adds Dr. Amoils.
Prof. Ahluwalia advises people
looking to increase their daily nitrate intake not to boil vegetables because
the nitrate dissolves in water. Instead, "steaming, roasting or drinking
in a juice all has a positive effect," she notes.
As for the next step, she says
this was a small trial, and now what is needed is a larger study that tries to
replicate the findings over a longer period with a much larger group of people
with high blood pressure.
High blood pressure increases the
risk of more dangerous health conditions. For instance, about 70% of people who
have a first heart attack, about 80% of those who have a first stroke, and 70%
of those with chronic heart failure have high blood pressure. Kidney disease is
also a major risk factor for people with high blood pressure.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high blood pressure is either the primary
cause of or contributes to 1,000 American deaths every day.
In December 2014, Medical News
Today reported research published in the journal Open Heart that concluded
added sugars probably contribute more to hypertension than dietary sodium.
Source: medicalnewstoday.com
Source: medicalnewstoday.com
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