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Drinking specific vegetable juice could reduce older adults’ blood pressure, study finds
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Beetroot juice, which is rich in nitrates, has been linked to changing the community of bacteria living in the mouth.
Now, a new study has found that drinking this juice could reduce older adults’ blood pressure.
Researchers at the University of Exeter compared the response of both younger and older participants to the juice and published the study in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
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Thirty-nine participants under age 30, plus 36 individuals in their 60s and 70s, were split into two separate two-week phases.
One group consumed nitrate-rich beetroot juice shots daily, while the other group — a placebo group — received a version without nitrates. Each group had a “wash-out period” between phases to reset their systems.
Research reveals dietary nitrates from beetroot juice could improve certain adults’ vascular health. (iStock)
Researchers practiced bacterial gene sequencing to identify which microbes were present in the participants’ mouths before and after each treatment.
Older adults who drank nitrate-rich beetroot juice had fewer mouth bacteria called Prevotella, which is linked to inflammation, and more helpful bacteria like Neisseria.
“Foods that are high in dietary nitrates such as leafy greens, beets and lettuce can help lower blood pressure.”
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel told Fox News Digital that nitrates lead to lower blood pressure by improving flexibility, decreasing resistance in blood vessels and lowering inflammation.
The patients started the study with higher blood pressure, which went down after the beetroot juice — but blood pressure didn’t change with those in the placebo group.
“We know that foods that are high in dietary nitrates such as leafy greens, beets and lettuce can help lower blood pressure,” said Siegel.
Older adults who drank nitrate-rich beetroot juice had fewer mouth bacteria called Prevotella, which is linked to inflammation, and more helpful bacteria like Neisseria. (Natasha Breen/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
He added, “Nitrates are converted to nitric oxide by your body. Nitric oxide is a key molecule in vascular health as it promotes the vessels to dilate and thus reduces blood pressure.”
Co-author Andy Jones, a professor at the University of Exeter, said in a press release that the study shows that “nitrate-rich foods alter the oral microbiome in a way that could result in less inflammation, as well as a lowering of blood pressure in older people.”
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Lee Beniston, an associate director of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, said the “research is a great example of how bioscience can help us better understand the complex links between diet, the microbiome and healthy aging.”
“By uncovering how dietary nitrate affects oral bacteria and blood pressure in older adults, the study opens up new opportunities for improving vascular health through nutrition,” Beniston added.
“As we age, our levels of bioavailable nitric oxide lower, so it makes sense that we see more of a benefit in consuming dietary nitrates in older patients.” (iStock)
Both researchers shared that more research is needed.
Siegel noted that “as we age, our levels of bioavailable nitric oxide lower, so it makes sense that we see more of a benefit in consuming dietary nitrates in older patients.”
He said the study does support the well-established belief that a good diet, high in fresh fruits and vegetables, can help manage many chronic medical conditions.
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Anyone with high blood pressure or other medical conditions should check with doctors or medical experts before making dietary changes. The same applies to those taking medication.
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A dangerous substance dubbed “gas station heroin” continues to alarm medical professionals, with more states making moves to restrict or ban tianeptine.
Fourteen states have officially classified the tricyclic antidepressant as a Schedule I controlled substance.
Connecticut is the latest state to crack down, officially banning the sale and use of the substance starting on Wednesday.
HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE AVAILABLE IN STORES ACROSS THE NATION
Tianeptine, which can produce euphoria in higher doses, can be more potent than morphine and addictive opioids, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Some countries have taken steps to restrict how tianeptine is prescribed or dispensed, and have even revised the labels to warn people of its potential addictive qualities.
Tianeptine can be more potent than morphine and addictive opioids. (iStock)
Misuse of tianeptine can cause severe adverse health effects, including respiratory depression, severe sedation and death, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Some companies market the drug as an aid for pain, anxiety and depression, or as a means of improving mental alertness in a pill, powder, salt or liquid form.
The products are typically sold at convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops and online retailers, and go by names like Tianaa, ZaZa, Neptune’s Fix, Pegasus and TD Red.
Connecticut is the 15th state to classify tianeptine as a Schedule I controlled substance. (Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said in a press release that the schedule change is a necessary step to combat addiction.
“With false marketing that led consumers to believe these are safe products, and with candy-like flavor options, these substances posed a clear threat to those battling substance-use disorder and our youngest residents,” she added.
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The Nutmeg State also added Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), 7-hydroxymitragynine, Bromazolam, Flubromazolam, Nitazenes and Phenibut to the schedule classification.
Earlier this month, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary penned a letter sounding the alarm on what he called a “dangerous and growing health trend.”
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“I am very concerned,” Makary wrote. “I want the public to be especially aware of this dangerous product and the serious and continuing risk it poses to America’s youth.”
New York-based Robert Schwaner, M.D., vice chair of system clinical affairs at Stony Brook Emergency Medicine, told Fox News Digital that the FDA has never approved tianeptine as a dietary supplement.
“As with heroin and other opioids, significant mu-opioid receptor stimulation ultimately results in a loss of respiratory drive and subsequent cardiac arrest.” (Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office)
“The euphoria at low doses is primarily due to increased serotonergic activity from its serotonin reuptake effects. With increasing doses, the mu-opioid receptor stimulation may become lethal,” said Schwaner. “As with heroin and other opioids, significant mu-opioid receptor stimulation ultimately results in a loss of respiratory drive and subsequent cardiac arrest.”
Schwaner said he believes the substance requires national regulation due to its addictive qualities.
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“Acting at the same receptor as opioids, tianeptine has the potential for an individual to develop tolerance, subsequent dependence and withdrawal from its use,” he cautioned.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.
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