Drinking a little less than 20 ounces of beetroot juice every day could help beat high blood pressure, according to a new study.
Healthy volunteers recruited for the study at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London were asked to drink approximately one British pint, equivalent to about 20 ounces in U.S. measurements, of beetroot juice or water, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
Those who had the juice started to show reductions in blood pressure after an hour. At about 2.5 hours, participants who had the juice began to show significant reductions in both their systolic and diastolic readings.
The effect was linked to the nitrate found in the beetroot, which reacted with bacteria in the mouth and resulted in blood vessels dilating to increase blood flow. This same effect has been seen in other fruits and vegetables high in nitrates.
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