Colombian review supports beetroot juice’s BP benefits
The potential blood pressure benefits of the juice, linked to the nitrate content of beetroots, were observed in both healthy (normo-tensive) and hypertensive people, report authors from DB Sports Sciences and Move Nutrition in the journal Biomolecules.
Led by Diego Bonilla Ocampo, the reviewers assessed data from random clinical trials published between 2008 and 2018 and found that beetroot juice (BRJ) has the potential to reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a minimum of two weeks are recommended in order to have sustained results.
“BRJ supplementation might be an easy, accessible, safe, and evidence-based strategy to reduce blood pressure. Its attractive cost-effectiveness ratio would benefit pre-hypertensive patients when pharmacological treatment should not be the first alternative,” they wrote.
“The potential reduction in blood pressure after BRJ administration might contribute to the diminishment in mortality rate for cerebrovascular diseases.”
Sports nutrition
The potential cardiovascular benefits of beetroot have been gaining attention among consumers, but it has been in the sports nutrition realm that there has been the most interest in beetroot, particularly following a report in the Wall Street Journal that stated that the Auburn University football team drinks the juice before its games.
Recent studies have reported significant benefits for a range of athletes, including swimmers and cyclists.
BP benefits
The new review assessed data from 11 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Some studies – predominantly the acute or short term studies – did not find significant reductions in systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure, but studies over two weeks in length did find significant benefits. Specifically, systolic BP was reduced between 4.1 and 1 mmHg, while diastolic BP was reduced between 0 and 5.2 mmHg.
“[I]t is important to note that a decrease between 5 and 12 mmHg of SBP and between 5 and 6 mmHg of DBP is associated with a 14–38% risk reduction in stroke, from 9 to 16% risk reduction of mortality from coronary heart disease, 21% risk reduction of mortality due to coronary disease, and 7% risk reduction in mortality from all causes,” explained the review’s authors.
Other factors were linked to the potential benefits of BRJ, said the authors, including the blood pressure at baseline, age, gender, and whether people are overweight or obese.
The most probably mechanism of action would be via the NO3−/NO2−/NO pathway, said the reviewers, but there could be other mechanisms at play, including a potential role for betalains (secondary metabolites).
“It is recommended that an administration period of minimum two weeks is used in order to have sustained results; however, more research is needed to evaluate the relevance and long-term effect of BRJ administration in hypertensive individuals,” wrote Bonilla Ocampo and his co-authors.
“This reduction in blood pressure, especially SBP, not only would decrease morbidity and mortality, but it would also decrease public health expenditure.”
Source: Biomolecules
2018, 8(4), 134; doi: 10.3390/biom8040134
“Dietary Nitrate from Beetroot Juice for Hypertension: A Systematic Review”
Authors: D.A. Bonilla Ocampo, et al.
