Can beetroot juice lower blood pressure?

There’s a lot of marketing about beetroot juice’s benefits but there is not yet enough scientific evidence to give specific dietary recommendations.

While research, including some funded by British Heart Foundation, has linked beetroot juice to reduced blood pressure, the studies so far have only included small numbers of people.

We know nitrates found naturally in beetroot can help keep blood pressure in check. But other fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, celery, kale, bananas and strawberries, are also sources of nitrates.

Beetroot, like other fruit and vegetables, contains other nutrients, such as flavonoids, polyphenols and potassium, which could help lower blood pressure. From the research done so far, we do not know if there is something special about beetroot or whether other fruit and vegetables would have the same effect.

The best way to manage high blood pressure (hypertension) is to take any medication you’ve been prescribed by your doctor, keep physically active, and eat healthily.

While it is not a magic bullet to reduce blood pressure, beetroot can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet, a third of which should come from fruits and vegetables.

Eating beetroot whole will add more fibre to your diet than when it’s juiced. Ideally, cook it yourself or buy it ready prepared with nothing added. The amount of sugar and salt added to pickled beetroot varies a lot, so check the label and choose one that’s low in salt and sugar.

If you drink beetroot juice, remember a 150ml portion only counts once a day towards your 5-a-day and naturally contains around 10g of sugar. We should limit how much sugar we have, including sugars from fruit and vegetable juices, to 30g per day. Concentrated ‘shots’ of beetroot juice often contain more nitrates per millilitre but more sugar too, so check the label.

If you take blood pressure-lowering medication, check with your doctor before regularly drinking beetroot juice. If your blood pressure drops too low, this can also affect your health.

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