Drinking a glass of beetroot juice every day would allow people who suffer from coronary heart disease to reduce inflammation and therefore the risk of heart attack, according to a study by Queen Mary University of London, which has just been presented at the annual congress of the British Cardiovascular Society, which was held in Manchester (Great Britain).
Several studies have already shown that beetroot juice is an interesting drink for people who suffer from high blood pressure, thanks to its richness in inorganic nitrate, which beets absorb from the soil through their roots. Indeed, inorganic nitrate, converted into nitric oxide by the human body, allows relaxation and dilation of blood vessels. But the University of London researchers wanted to find out if this beneficial effect could also benefit people who suffer from coronary heart disease. This disease which affects the arteries of the heart and prevents it from being properly supplied with blood and oxygen, often leads to heart failure or infarction.
So they recruited 114 healthy volunteers. As explained the British Heart Foundation, 78 of them received a typhoid vaccine to temporarily increase inflammation in their blood vessels and 36 received a cream to produce more localized inflammation. These volunteers drank 140 ml of beetroot juice every morning for seven days. Half drank nitrate-rich juice while the other half drank nitrate-free juice.
Result : in the group with inflamed vessels, those who drank the nitrate-rich beetroot juice had higher levels of nitric oxide markers in their blood, urine and saliva compared to those who consumed the juice without the nitrate. The nitrate-rich juice also seemed to restore the function of the endothelium, the cells that line the inside of all blood vessels and are crucial for healthy blood vessel function.
“In people with coronary heart disease, persistent inflammation can worsen their condition and increase their risk of heart attack. Our research suggests that a daily glass of beetroot juice may be a way to introduce inorganic nitrate in our food and help interrupt this harmful inflammation” underlines the Dr Asad Shabbir, lead author of the study. The latter provides now to launch other clinical trials involving people with coronary heart disease to see if a diet high in nitrates has similar effects to those seen in healthy volunteers, and if it can reduce the risk of heart attack.
A daily glass of beetroot juice can reduce signs of inflammation in blood vessels that are known to be increased in people with coronary heart disease, according to research we’ve funded at @QMUL presented at #BCS2022@BritishCardioSohttps://t.co/mEiYU8ijZq
— BHF (@TheBHF) June 9, 2022
Source : Daily beetroot juice could help people with common heart conditionBritish Heart Foundation, June 2022
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