Beets, often called beetroots, offer numerous health benefits for blood pressure, primarily due to their high levels of nitrates, which support cardiovascular health. As a result, eating beets regularly may help lower your blood pressure and provide several benefits supporting this effect.
1. Provides Nitrates to Dilate Blood Vessels
- Beets contain naturally occurring inorganic nitrates (NO3), which your body converts into nitric oxide (NO). This new molecule promotes the relaxation of your blood vessels (vasodilation).
- With vasodilation, your blood vessels relax and widen, a process that lowers blood pressure by creating a larger space for blood to flow and reducing the resistance your heart must overcome to pump blood.
2. Lowers Systolic Blood Pressure Levels
- While there is little research on how blood pressure is affected by consuming cooked or raw beets, extensive investigation has been conducted on the effects of beetroot juice.
- A systematic review of trials in adults with high blood pressure found that consuming about 200 to 800 milligrams of nitrate from beetroot juice daily was linked with a 5.3 mmHg reduction in clinical (resting) systolic blood pressure (the upper number in a blood pressure reading that measures pressure in your arteries when your heart beats and pushes blood out) compared to controls.
- Another analysis reported that beetroot juice interventions (daily intake of 70-250 milliliters) significantly lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 4.95 mmHg in adults with high blood pressure.
3. Exhibits Smaller Effects on Diastolic Blood Pressure
- Research suggests that the effect of nitrate-rich beet intake may be minimal on diastolic pressure (the bottom/lower number of a blood pressure reading that measures the pressure your blood is pushing against your arteries between heartbeats).
- In multiple controlled trials, beetroot juice significantly lowered systolic pressure, but had no statistically significant effect on diastolic pressure in some studies.
- The results of another analysis indicate that nitrates from beets cause a slight decrease in diastolic blood pressure of about 0.9 mmHg in adults with high blood pressure. However, this reduction often does not reach statistical significance.
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4. Promotes Short-Term and Immediate Changes
- A single dose of beetroot juice can lower systolic blood pressure by several mmHg within two to three hours, causing a short-term acute effect due to the conversion of dietary nitrate into nitric oxide.
- There is no indication that regularly consuming beets provides a prolonged 24-hour effect on blood pressure.
- Short-term effects of beet product consumption depend on individual factors such as age, gender, and baseline blood pressure, with indications that the greatest impact may be in people with higher baseline blood pressure and advanced age.
5. May Sustain Long-Term Effects with Continued Use
- A review of existing research suggests that the effects of nitric oxide from beetroot juice may support the management and control of arterial hypertension for up to two months, provided nitrate intake is maintained during this period.
- When regular dietary nitrate intake is discontinued, nitrate and nitrite levels tend to return to previous levels, suggesting that the benefits of beets on blood pressure depend on ongoing intake, according to available research.
- Individual factors such as weight status, gender, and age can impact the rate at which the benefits of consuming beets cease after you discontinue eating them.
- Research suggests that consuming beets regularly for two weeks can help achieve sustained results and evaluate their effects on blood pressure.
6. Carries a Risk of Adverse Effects
- Research suggests that the effect of nitric oxide from consuming beets may not be consistent in patients taking blood pressure-lowering medication.
- Evidence from studies on the effects of consuming beet products, such as beetroot juice, indicates that eating beets regularly should be incorporated alongside other lifestyle strategies to manage blood pressure, rather than used as a standalone treatment.
- To prevent your blood pressure from dropping too low, consult your healthcare provider before regularly consuming beet, especially if you take medication prescribed to treat high blood pressure.