Beetroot juice linked with lower blood pressure in older adults, study finds
University of Exeter researchers report nitrate-rich beetroot shots altered the oral microbiome and were associated with blood pressure reductions among participants in their 60s and 70s.
A short-term study by researchers at the University of Exeter found that daily consumption of nitrate-rich beetroot juice was associated with lower blood pressure in older adults and with measurable changes in the bacteria that live in the mouth. The findings were published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
The trial enrolled 75 volunteers divided into two age groups: 39 participants under age 30 and 36 participants aged in their 60s and 70s. Each participant completed two separate two-week phases. In one phase they consumed a daily shot of nitrate-rich beetroot juice; in the other phase they received a placebo drink formulated without nitrates. A wash-out period separated the phases to allow participants’ systems to return to baseline between treatments.
Investigators used bacterial gene sequencing to profile oral microbial communities before and after each treatment phase. In the older cohort, consumption of the nitrate-rich juice coincided with a reduction in the relative abundance of bacteria from the genus Prevotella. Those microbial shifts occurred alongside the observed reductions in blood pressure among the older participants. The study reported a smaller or no comparable blood-pressure response in the younger group.
The researchers emphasized the link between dietary nitrate intake, changes in the oral microbiome and vascular responses in the older participants. The study authors framed the results as evidence that dietary nitrates from beetroot juice may influence vascular health in some adults by altering oral bacterial communities that interact with nitrate metabolism.
The trial was short in duration and involved a modest number of participants, factors that the researchers noted limit how broadly the results can be generalized. The crossover-style design, with a wash-out period, allowed each participant to serve as their own control, but longer and larger trials will be needed to confirm durability of the blood-pressure effects and the implications of the microbiome changes.
Previous research has indicated that dietary nitrates can affect vascular function; this study adds data specifically on older adults and provides paired measurements of oral microbiota and blood-pressure outcomes. The authors called for further investigation to determine whether sustained dietary nitrate intake produces long-term cardiovascular benefit and to clarify the mechanisms linking oral microbes and blood-pressure regulation.
Clinicians and public-health experts said the findings could point toward nonpharmacologic strategies to support vascular health in older adults, but they cautioned that dietary changes should be discussed with a health-care provider, especially for people taking medications for blood pressure or other cardiovascular conditions.