Beetroot juice supplement found to lower blood pressure, improve exercise capacity in people with COPD (Lowers BP 4.5 pts)

Medical Xpress / European Respiratory Society / European Respiratory Journal ^ | Dec. 19, 2023 | Nicholas Hopkinson

[ConservativeMind]

A 12-week course of daily beetroot juice supplement for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lowered blood pressure and improved how far patients could walk in six minutes in research.

COPD includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, causes breathing difficulties and severely limits people's capacity for physical activity.

The new research tested a concentrated beetroot juice supplement that is high in nitrate against a beetroot juice placebo.

Professor Nicholas Hopkinson said, "There is some evidence beetroot juice as a source of nitrate supplementation could be used by athletes. Higher levels of nitrate in the blood can increase the availability of nitric oxide, a chemical that helps blood vessels relax. It also increases the efficiency of muscles, meaning they need less oxygen to do the same work."

The new study included 81 people with COPD and whose systolic blood pressure measured higher than 130 millimeters of mercury (mmHg. As well as monitoring patients' blood pressure, researchers tested how far patients could walk in six minutes at the beginning and end of the study.

Participants were randomly allocated to either receive the 12-month course of nitrate-rich beetroot supplement (70 milliliters of concentrated beetroot juice containing 400 milligrams of nitrate once a day) or the placebo.

Researchers found that those taking the nitrate-rich supplement experienced an average reduction in systolic blood pressure of 4.5mm/Hg compared to those taking the placebo. There was also an average increase of around 30 meters in how far patients could walk in six minutes for those taking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice.

Professor Hopkinson said, "At the end, we found that the blood pressure of people taking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice drink was lower and their blood vessels became less stiff. The juice also increased how far people with COPD could walk in six minutes compared to placebo."

[ConservativeMind]

Beet root juice can be helpful for some with breathing difficulties, reducing blood pressure and increasing walking distance.

[ConservativeMind]

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[ConservativeMind]

An interesting study on relative amounts of nitrate across many brands of beet juice products:

What's in Your Beet Juice? Nitrate and Nitrite Content of Beet Juice Products Marketed to Athletes

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8512783/

Knudsen and Lakewood Organic were far better than other options, but most other options would suffice.

[lee martell]

I am interested in this possible health advantage, since I probably have COPD. I know I have asthma.
I like pickled beets once or twice a year, but can’t see filling a juice glass or even a coffee cup.
Maybe there are supplementary capsules that offer the same dosage, as there are for garlic or turmeric.

[Bikkuri]

bookmark

[thinden]

bbb

[stars & stripes forever]

Several organic options here:

https://www.vitacost.com/productsearch.aspx?t=beetroot&mp=1

[libh8er]

It’s the Nitric Oxide. Foods rich in nitric oxide or a NO supplement will reduce bp.

[Osage Orange]

Try Beetle Juice....

[Taxman]

ping

[whitney69]

They need to be careful here as bronchitis and Emphysema are two different illnesses and are normally treated differently with diffeent drugs.

Emphysema is a lung condition where the air sacs — or alveoli — become damaged. These air sacs supply oxygen to the blood, so when they are damaged, less oxygen can enter the blood. Chronic bronchitis is a lung condition that destroys tiny hairs, called cilia, in the airways of the lungs. The airways then become inflamed and narrower, making breathing difficult and hard to expell mucus.

Not all drugs used for one are good for the other. Anti-histamines are an example. They can cause drying of the air passages too much, making breathing difficult, as well as causing difficulty coughing up excess mucus. The mucus is a problem with bronchitis (asthma) but not as much with emphazema which is a damage of a different type that is elevated with excess mucus.

wy69

[lee martell]

Thanks. I see it’s rather inexpensive, at $8. or $12 per container of pills.
In many cases, beets can’t be beat.

[DeplorablePaul]

I take the super beets supplement advertised on TV for lowering my blood pressure. Seems to work. In the past I would guzzle 32 oz beet juice before a bp test. That worked too but was hard to swallow.

[matthew fuller]

Yes, there is a choice of supplemental caps, as well as powder. Beet is one of the eight ingredients is low-sodium V-8 as well.

[coloradan]

Just say NO to certain medical problems.

[liberalh8ter]

I was talking with my son yesterday and he told me he's been drinking beet juice to lower his blood pressure. He's dropped from consistent 140’s to consistent 120’s. He did offer the caveat of red stained urine and feces as he wasn't aware of that at first and it did freak him out, LOL.