Beetroot Juice May Lower Blood Pressure in Men

Drinking beetroot juice may lower blood pressure in men, according to a recent study.

Beet is a flowering perennial plant that produces leaves and roots that are widely used as a food source in humans and animals. Beets are a source of vitamins A and C, iron and other minerals, carotenoids and dietary fiber.

Along with high blood sugar levels and high cholesterol, high blood pressure is a known risk factor for heart disease that may be improved with diet and lifestyle changes. Early evidence suggests that sugar beet fiber may modestly lower systolic blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes. Additional research is warranted.

In a recent study, researchers randomly assigned 15 healthy men and15 healthy women to receive 500 grams of beetroot and apple juice or a placebo drink. After two weeks, each participant received the opposite drink. Blood pressure was monitored before drink consumption and hourly over the course of the 24 hours following drink consumption.

The researchers found that six hours after drinking beetroot juice, men experienced a significant reduction in blood pressure. Overall, in both men and women, there was a trend toward lower blood pressure after six hours; however a significant reduction was lacking.

The authors concluded that drinking beetroot juice may lower blood pressure in men; however, due to the small sample size, further research is warranted before any firm conclusions can be made.

In addition to beets, numerous human studies report that garlic may lower blood pressure. Furthermore, preliminary research suggests that CoQ10 causes small decreases in blood pressure (systolic and possibly diastolic). Low blood levels of CoQ10 have been found in people with hypertension, although it is not clear if CoQ10 "deficiency" is a cause of high blood pressure. Well-designed long-term research is needed to strengthen these findings.

For more information about integrative therapies for high blood pressure, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness Database.

For more information about beets, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements Database.

Comments

[Sara Berg]

It's very interesting that it worked so quickly. To make it more practical, I think it would have to be prepared in a capsule form, as I can't imagine it tastes good, and it would stain your teeth a horrible colour!

[ML]

I wonder why they used beet juice and not beets. It’s interesting that the study used beet juice and apple juice. I don’t know if the apple juice had any effect on the blood pressure lowering also. This study does have a small study size and the effects seem to only be for men. Drinking beet juice in addition to therapy would not be a bad idea, but there needs to be more studies done before a firm recommendation.

[af]

I read up on beet on the Natural Standard database because I don’t know anything about it other than the information presented here. Some things I found interesting about beet were that beet pectin may have the ability to stimulate growth of “good” bacteria in the gut, or probiotics, and that beetroot is still currently popular in Africa for treatment of AIDS and other illnesses. I wonder if beetroot juice is ever recommended by some practitioners here in the U.S. for patients who have GI issues or are on long-term antibiotics, or who have HIV or AIDs, as a part of their diet.

[kl]

To build off a previous comment by tx, I would suggest designing a much larger, powered study in which participants drink a standard concentration of beetroot juice at the same time daily for 30 days, for example. Blood pressure would be measured prior to the initiation of the trial and then daily for it's duration. While this small, short-term study is a great pilot trial, the potential chronic effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure would be more significant and relevant to the target population of patients with hypertension and diabetes, for example.

[SC]

I would definitely be interested in seeing larger studies being done as a natural product that lowers blood pressure would be great. I understand that cooking beets does not give the same amount of nitrates as the juice, which makes me wonder if the juice tastes good. If the juice tastes gross then compliance in drinking it to reduce blood pressure would decrease. Also, I am curious about the efficacy of the beet root capsules in comparison to the juice.

[Annie C]

Interesting find! It would be interesting to see if the blood pressure lowering would be sustained with continued use and how the BP lowering compares between men and women. While I've never had beetroot juice, it doesn't sound too appetizing.

[af]

Because I’ve never heard of beetroot juice, I was curious about where one can purchase it. I performed a Google search, and I found that it is mostly available at organic food stores and supplement stores (like the Vitamin Shoppe), but it is also sold at Walmart. “Beet It” seems to be a popular juice product, and many products are available as a beet juice powder, to which you’d add water or juice. Beetroot juice seems to be pretty expensive, at about $13 for a container of powder or between $15 and $20 dollars for a bottle of juice.

[NL]

This finding is interesting finding. Although I agree further studies need to be conducted to with a larger sample size to expand the external validity and to consider risks and potential adverse effects.

[JS]

It’s great to hear about natural products that are being studied for their blood pressure lowering effects. However, I think it would be interesting to learn how the researchers controlled for other factors that can lead to changes in blood pressure such as stress, caffeine, exercise ect. I would also be interested in seeing what the actual reduction in blood pressure was and whether it’s clinically significant and not just statistically significant.

[JH]

Not only the high levels of nitrates in beetroot juice reduce the amount of oxygen needed for muscles including heart muscle to function but also it increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain. It is rich in fiber as well which helps to lower LDL and bad cholesterol while promoting bowel function.

[tx]

This is clearly a study that should be conducted in a much larger study population. With only 15 subjects in each group, it is hard to say whether beet juice actually had an impact on blood pressure. It is also interesting to see that sugar beets were used, and that they may be helpful in decreasing blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes. I wonder if the decrease in blood pressure is negated by the impact of the sugar in the drink on the patient's blood sugar levels.

[dp]

It is interesting to see that beetroot juice has such a quick effect in lowering blood pressure! Not many natural treatments that I have seen work as quickly as the results of this study showed for beet juice. Clearly more research is needed with a larger study population, but this is encouraging news for people with high blood pressure. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the next popular treatment for blood pressure!

[Mahsa Salsabili]

It is interesting how CoQ10 levels can impact blood pressure and other disease states. According to the following article it has been shown that CoQ10 supplementation can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The question does arise that does CoQ10 have a greater impact in men compared to women?
http://blog.naturalstandard.com/natural_standard_blog/2012/12/omega-3-fatty-acids-and-coq10-may-lower-psa-levels.html