Beetroot Juice May Help Lower Blood Pressure in Older Adults, Study Finds

New Delhi, July 23 — Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice could help reduce blood pressure in older adults, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK found that the blood pressure-lowering effects of beetroot juice may be linked to beneficial changes in the oral microbiome—the community of bacteria living in the mouth—of older individuals.

Nitrate, a natural compound found in many vegetables, plays a key role in maintaining healthy blood vessels. In the study, older adults who consumed a concentrated beetroot juice shot twice daily for two weeks experienced a significant drop in blood pressure. However, this effect was not observed in younger participants.

The research, published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, involved 39 adults under 30 and 36 adults in their 60s and 70s. Each participant spent two weeks consuming nitrate-rich beetroot juice and two weeks drinking a placebo juice without nitrate.

Among the older group, the nitrate-rich juice reduced harmful mouth bacteria such as Prevotella and increased beneficial bacteria like Neisseria. This shift in oral bacteria helps improve the conversion of nitrate into nitric oxide, a molecule essential for blood vessel health and blood pressure regulation.

Professor Andy Jones of the University of Exeter said, “This study shows that nitrate-rich foods alter the oral microbiome in a way that could result in less inflammation and lower blood pressure in older people. It opens doors for larger studies to understand how lifestyle and biological sex affect responses to dietary nitrate.”

For those who don’t enjoy beetroot, Professor Anni Vanhatalo noted there are plenty of other nitrate-rich vegetables such as spinach, rocket, fennel, celery, and kale.

This research highlights the potential of natural dietary approaches to support cardiovascular health in aging populations.