Recently, Indian based researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine have discovered that drinking just 500 ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce BP!
As per one report by WHO, presently more than 25% of the world's adult population are hypertensive, and it has been estimated that this figure will increase to 29% by 2025. In addition, hypertension causes around 50% of coronary heart diseases and approximately 75% of strokes! Scientists around the globe are working hard to reduce these numbers.
Recently, Indian based researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine have discovered that drinking just 500 ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce BP!
Hypertension could have major implications for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This research was led by Professor Amrita Ahluwalia of the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine, and Professor Ben Benjamin of Peninsula Medical School. According to Prof Ahluwalia, it is the ingestion of dietary nitrate contained within the beetroot juice - and similarly in green, leafy vegetables - that results in lower BP. Previously, the protective effects of vegetable-rich diets had been attributed to their antioxidant vitamin content.
Researchers found that in healthy volunteers BP reduced within an hour of ingesting beetroot juice, with a peak drop occurring 3-4 hours after ingestion. Some degree of reduction continued to be observed until up to 24 hours after ingestion.
"Decrease in BP was due to the chemical formation of nitrite from the dietary nitrate in the juice. The nitrate in the juice is converted into nitrite in saliva by bacteria on the tongue. When this nitrite-containing saliva is swallowed, in the acidic environment of the stomach it is either converted into nitric oxide or re-enters the circulation as nitrite," explains Prof Amritha.
The peak time of reduction in BP correlated with the appearance and peak levels of nitrite in the circulation, an effect that was absent in the second group of volunteers who refrained from swallowing their saliva during, and for 3 hours following beetroot ingestion.
Professor Ahluwalia said: “Our research suggests that drinking beetroot juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, and might also be an additional approach that one could take in the modern day battle against rising BP.”
As per one report by WHO, presently more than 25% of the world's adult population are hypertensive, and it has been estimated that this figure will increase to 29% by 2025. In addition, hypertension causes around 50% of coronary heart diseases and approximately 75% of strokes! Scientists around the globe are working hard to reduce these numbers.
