Beetroot Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

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It used to be that if you wanted the health benefits of beetroot, you would have to go to the trouble of making a dish like borscht, the famous Eastern European beet soup. Nowadays, though, with the juicing craze in full swing, you can get these same benefits from simply drinking a glass of beetroot juice. And science is finding that this can have an immediate and positive impact on high blood pressure levels.

The New Research

A new study has just come out that has tested the effects of beetroot juice consumption. The study found that, within only a few hours of drinking this juice, there was a marked effect on the systolic blood pressure numbers of participants, and that on average, this number dropped between 4-5 points. While this might sound like a lot, it is biologically significant and researchers believe that if this happened within the cardiac patient community, it would translate into a 10% in deaths from cardiac disease. And that is significant.

One of the lead researchers in this study, which was conducted by the IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute from Melbourne, Australia, noted that the scientists undertaking this study were pleasantly surprised at the immediate effects that drinking the beetroot juice could have and hopes that further research will be done to see what the effects of long-term consumption of this juice would be.

Previous Studies Back the New Research Up

This is not the first study to find the link between beetroot juice and lower blood pressure, but rather part of a growing body of evidence that suggests that beetroot is a healthy and natural way to promote cardiac health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

In another study, a group of men and women who drank beetroot juice or a placebo were monitored for 24 hours afterwards and it was found that those who consumed the beetroot juice, as opposed to the placebo, showed lower blood pressure within six hours of consumption. Interestingly, men showed a greater susceptibility to the juice and on the whole, men showed a greater drop in their blood pressure levels due to this therapy than women. Researchers are not sure why, but hope to make it the subject of further study.

Findings like this are potentially significant. Elevated blood pressure levels are a common problem and put people at a much greater risk for serious conditions like heart attacks or strokes. So if you are struggling to control your blood pressure levels and are looking for a natural way to do this, beetroot juice might be the answer for you. It is fast to make with the average juicing machine and the cardiac benefits derived from it will make the effort well worth your while.

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Meghan Telpner
Meghan has written many articles about health subjects as a journalist and as a freelance writer. As a reporter, she often covered hospital and clinic events/news and wrote news and features about health topics relevant to people in the community.