Consumption of 500 ml of beet juice per day can reduce blood pressure. The effect comes about an hour after taking the juice and continues for a day, according to the journal Hypertension.

British scientists from the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry conducted a study involving healthy volunteers who were asked to drink half a liter of beet juice. An hour after receiving the juice, the arterial pressure in the participants began to decrease, scientists noted.. According to their data, the maximum pressure drop (the upper one - by 10.4 mm. Ppm. Art.. And the lower one by 8 mm. Ppm. Art.. ) Have been reported in about 3 hours after drinking the juice, and the effect lasted up to 24 hours.

According to the head of the study Amrita Ahluwalia (Amrita Ahluwalia), the effect of beet juice is explained by the high content of nitrate - a substance that is also present in salad and spinach. Under the influence of bacteria that are on the surface of the tongue and fall into the saliva, nitrate turns into nitrite. If the nitrite is ingested and it enters the acidic environment of the stomach, this substance is converted to nitric oxide or enters the blood in the form of nitrite.

The time of the maximum concentration of nitrite in the blood corresponded to the greatest decrease in arterial pressure in volunteers, which served as a confirmation of the role of this substance, the researchers noted.. When the process of converting nitrate into nitrite was blocked (for this purpose anaerobic bacteria were applied to the surface of the volunteers' language), the use of beet juice did not lead to a decrease in blood pressure, which served as additional confirmation of the key role of nitrite.

According to statistics, hypertension affects more than 25% of the adult population of the planet.

Increased blood pressure is responsible for approximately 50% of cases of coronary disease and 75% of strokes.

"Our study shows that the use of beet juice or other vegetables rich in nitrates can be an easy way to maintain the health of the cardiovascular system, and can also be an additional method of fighting high blood pressure," said Ahluwalya.

In turn, Professor Graham McGregor of the British Society of Hypertension noted the need for more long-term studies involving patients suffering from hypertension.

Medicinform. Net.