Exeter scientists gave people in their 60s and 70s a small drink twice a day for two weeks. Their blood pressure fell. Younger people's didn't.
The one thing
Drink a small glass of beetroot juice twice a day, or eat more nitrate-rich vegetables.
Beets are full of nitrate. Bacteria in your mouth turn it into nitrite, and your body makes nitric oxide from that, which helps blood vessels relax. Older bodies make less nitric oxide on their own, so this backup route may matter more with age.
Do it today
- If you try the juice, the study used 70 mL (about 2.5 ounces) twice a day, morning and evening, for two weeks.
- Prefer food? Leafy greens like spinach and arugula carry nitrate too. One cup a day is a good target.
- Skip antibacterial mouthwash. It kills the mouth bacteria that do the nitrate-to-nitrite step.
What the study found
In adults aged 67 to 79, two weeks of nitrate-rich beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure from 134 to 127 mmHg, compared with 133 to 130 on a juice with the nitrate removed. Pressure measured near the heart fell from 127 to 120. Young adults saw no real change. In the older group, helpful Neisseria mouth bacteria went up and Prevotella went down.
- Who
- 75 adults: 39 aged 18 to 30 and 36 aged 67 to 79.
- Type of study
- Double-blind, randomized crossover trial at the University of Exeter. Each person took the real juice and a placebo juice (70 mL twice a day) for two weeks each, with a two-week break between.
- Keep in mind
- Small, two-week trial. The arm blood pressure after real juice was not clearly lower than after placebo; the clearest drops were in pressure near the heart and average pressure. A related study of 15 older adults already on blood pressure pills found no lasting drop.
Check first: If you take blood pressure medicine or nitrate heart medicine, or have kidney stones, ask your doctor before drinking beet juice daily.
Source: Vanhatalo et al., Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2025
Educational information, not medical advice. Read our medical disclaimer.