Drinking Key Vegetable Juice May Lower Heart Disease Risk

Consuming nitrate-rich beetroot juice may help to lower the risk of heart disease in postmenopausal women, a study has found. Researchers at Penn State discovered that consuming beetroot juice daily can help improve heart and blood vessel health because it provides a healthy, plant-based source of nitrate. Read more: What Is a Health Savings Account? The body converts nitrate to nitric oxide, which helps the blood vessels expand and makes it easier for blood to flow. However, experiencing menopause means the body has stopped producing estrogen, which helps to maintain levels of nitric acid. Jocelyn Delgado Spicuzza, first author of the research, said in a statement: "This loss of nitric oxide production contributes to the substantial increase in heart disease risk for postmenopausal women. Foods that are rich in nitrate—especially beets—are being investigated as a natural, non-pharmaceutical way to protect the heart and blood vessels."

For the study, the team tested how beetroot juice impacted blood vessel health in 24 postmenopausal women in their 50s and 60s. First, they had their vascular function tested before consuming two 2.3-ounce bottles of beetroot juice as an initial dose. Then, they drank one bottle of concentrated beetroot juice every morning for a week—with each serving containing the equivalent amount of nitrate as three large beetroots. Read more: Find the Right Tax-Advantaged Health Savings Account After several weeks, they were asked to drink beetroot juice with the nitrate removed. Then, their vascular function was tested once again. Specifically, the researchers compared how well the women's blood vessels expanded when they were drinking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice compared with the nitrate-free juice. The results showed that drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice every day improved blood flow in the women. Keeping up this blood vessel function over time could significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, the researchers added. Nitrate is often added to foods—like processed cured meats such as bacon—but has the potential to increase the risk of cancer. However, nitrate sourced from plants has cardiovascular benefits because the human body can convert nitrates from plants to nitric oxide, which it cannot do with nitrate that is added to meat. Vegetables acquire nitrite from the soil they're grown in. Leafy greens like spinach contain high levels of nitrate, as does celery and carrots. The high natural nitrate content of beetroot juice has been credited with lowering blood pressure and enhancing exercise performance. The findings are particularly important for women who have gone through menopause, the researchers added, as some common treatments—like hormone replacement therapy—can carry risks including stroke. Spicuzza said: "Some clinicians are already recommending beetroot juice to men and women with high blood pressure. By providing a safe and effective way to improve blood vessel function, beets could help maintain cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women. When you consider that most women are postmenopausal for at least a third of their lives, you can begin to understand the potential significance of these results." The full findings of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.