Many medal winners were powered by “nothing more sinister than” little shots of concentrated beetroot juice.

In a study in the UK, 100 per cent of people suffering from acute high blood pressure saw it go down significantly within hours of drinking a cup of beetroot juice. Importantly, blood pressure remained lower up to 24 hours later.

The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation, was lead by Amrita Ahluwalia, professor of vascular biology at the William Harvey Research Institute (Barts Hospital, London) and has been published in Hypertension, the Journal of the American Heart Association.

A sample of eight women and seven men with systolic blood pressures varying from 140 to 159mm Hg were given 250ml of organic beetroot juice in a double blind crossover trial using a placebo (a depleted nitrate beetroot juice made especially for the project). An average reduction of 10mm Hg was recorded in those drinking the nitrate rich juice, with both systolic and diastolic blood pressures being lowered. The effect was most pronounced three to six hours after drinking the juice.

The results will be particularly welcomed by people with high blood pressure who prefer to use natural products to control the condition. High blood pressure has been linked with cardiovascular disease – the world’s biggest killer – a cause of strokes and heart attacks.

The beetroot juice supplied had a naturally high nitrate content. The research has clearly identified that this nitrate level is the reason it is so effective at lowering blood pressure.

This nitrate (NO3) converts into nitrite (NO2) though interaction with enzymes in saliva which can be stored in body tissues where it can be reduced further to Nitric oxide (NO) in the blood system. Nitric oxide is a signalling molecule that widens blood vessels, increasing blood flow and so reducing blood pressure. This also increases the blood supply and thereby oxygen supply to the muscles enabling them to work more efficiently.

Beetroot juice has already been attracting a lot of attention from the sports world as Boris Johnson discovered to his surprise when congratulating David Weir, winner of the Paralympic marathon and four gold medal winner. In fact many medal winners from many nations were powered by “nothing more sinister than” little shots of concentrated beetroot juice.