Beetroot Juice Helps Lower High Blood Pressure

Russell Skinner, MD

High blood pressure is a rising concern for people. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1,000 people die every day in the US from health problems caused by high blood pressure.
The Risks Associated With High Blood PressureIt can contribute to medical problems such as:

• Coronary artery disease
• Stroke
• Blood clots
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Sleep apnea
• Heart attack

These are a few of the health concerns you need to be worried about if you have high blood pressure.

​Conventional Medicines For Hypertension
There are several medications that a doctor can prescribe a hypertension patient. These include thiazide diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), or calcium channel blockers to name a few.

It’s important to note that as with all medications, there are side effects. Common side-effects of high blood pressure medications include: cough, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, nausea, nervousness, rashes and more. Short-term and long-term side effects are the biggest reasons that many people are looking for natural ways to treat hypertension.

Natural Ways to Treat High Blood Pressure
Many patients are looking for ways to reduce the number of medications they are taking. Blood pressure can effectively be treated naturally by:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet- reduce the amount of sodium, sugar, fried foods, and processed foods. Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, and lean meats.
• Regularly exercise- increase the amount of cardio you do to get more blood pumping through your body.
• Maintain a healthy weight- being overweight or obese can lead to higher blood pressure.
• Drink beetroot juice regularly- studies have shown beetroot juice can lower high blood pressure.

Studies Find Beetroot Juice Reduces High Blood Pressure
A study was done by Prof. Amrita Ahluwalia that tested the effects of daily drinking beetroot juice on high blood pressure. In this double-blind trial (neither patient or clinician knew who was receiving the placebo), they concluded that drinking beetroot juice daily reduced the patients BP by 8/4 millimeters of mercury. They had them stop drinking it for 2 weeks and saw their blood pressure rise even higher than what was recorded at the start of the trial.

Beetroot juice is a complementary treatment for hypertension. It’s important to note that this should be used in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

How Much Beetroot Juice Should You Drink and How Often?
To reduce your BP, drink a ½ a cup of beetroot juice every day. Studies have shown that beetroot juice can reduce high blood pressure for 24 hours. It’s important to make this a part of your regular diet for it to be effective.

When you combine beetroot juice with other natural methods, you may be able to reduce your high blood pressure and stop taking medications. Patients that come into Family Health and Wellness of Plano, we work with them to meet their health goals. We provide them with natural options to help them get off of traditional medications.
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Sources:
1. Adv Nutr. 2017 Nov; 8(6): 830–838. Published online 2017 Nov 7. doi: 10.3945/an.117.016717
2. Can Fam Physician. 2008 Nov; 54(11): 1529–1533