Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure in older people by changing oral microbiome, study shows

Medical Xpress / University of Exeter / Free Radical Biology and Medicine ^ | July 23, 2025 | Anni Vanhatalo et al

[ConservativeMind]

The blood pressure-lowering effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice in older people may be due to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to the largest study of its kind.

Nitrate is crucial to the body and is consumed as a natural part of a vegetable-rich diet. When the older adults drank a concentrated beetroot juice shot twice a day for two weeks, their blood pressure decreased—an effect not seen in the younger group.

The new study provides evidence that this outcome was likely caused by the suppression of potentially harmful bacteria in the mouth.

An imbalance between beneficial and harmful oral bacteria can decrease the conversion of nitrate (abundant in vegetable-rich diets) to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is key to healthy functioning of the blood vessels, and therefore the regulation of blood pressure.

The study recruited 39 adults aged under 30, and 36 adults in their 60s and 70s.

Each group spent two weeks taking regular doses of nitrate-rich beetroot juice and two weeks on a placebo version of the juice with nitrate stripped out. Each condition had a two-week "wash out" period in between to reset. The team then used a bacterial gene sequencing method to analyze which bacteria were present in the mouth before and after each condition.

In both groups, the make-up of the oral microbiome changed significantly after drinking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice, but these changes differed between the younger and older age groups.

The older age group experienced a notable decrease in the mouth bacteria Prevotella after drinking the nitrate-rich juice, and an increase in the growth of bacteria known to benefit health, such as Neisseria. The older group had higher average blood pressure at the start of the study, which fell after taking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice, but not after taking the placebo supplement.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[ProtectOurFreedom]

You are right about anti-bacterial mouthwashes. You need to sustain healthy, "good" bacteria in the mouth.

Certain mouthwashes, particularly those with broad-spectrum antimicrobial ingredients, can disrupt this balance by indiscriminately killing both beneficial and harmful bacteria, leading to dysbiosis (an imbalance in the microbial community).

Broad-spectrum antimicrobial mouthwashes can reduce beneficial bacteria critical for nitrate-to-nitrite conversion, impacting nitric oxide production and potentially raising blood pressure. They may also increase the risk of systemic conditions like prediabetes or diabetes, as seen in a longitudinal study of overweight patients.

You generally want to avoid the following unless otherwise recommended by your doctor:
* Alcohol-Based Mouthwashes (e.g., Listerine Cool Mint)
* Chlorhexidine (CHX)-Based Mouthwashes
* Hydrogen Peroxide-Based Mouthwashes
* Mouthwashes with Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) (e.g., Scope)
* Mouthwashes with Artificial Additives (e.g., Parabens, Polysorbates, Artificial Colors, PEGs)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

A side benefit is beet juice has plenty of nitrates and is thus a vasodilator. Nitrates increase nitric oxide (NO) levels, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow, a key factor in achieving and maintaining erections. Erectile dysfunction (ED) often stems from impaired blood flow, and NO is critical for the vasodilation needed for erection.

Drink your beet juice, guys — lower BP AND better, er, um, ...

[frank ballenger]

I like your honesty. Funny.

Now I’m thinking of Monty Python actors in dresses.

[frank ballenger]

The lovely and talented Dana Loesch told us so. Who listened?

[DAC21]

I wonder if the Brits consider a “shot” the same we do, one ounce? 20 grams of carbs for 8 oz, I’m trying to keep the carb count down.

[tired&retired]

I buy the powder and add it to a breakfast smoothie.

[tired&retired]

Same here with an even bigger drop.

My Dr was insisting I take BP medicine. I refused, even though it was sky high. It’s now in the range of 120/75. Actually low for my age.

I think the magnesium supplements helped the most.

[Sirius Lee]

Real men say beet taproot vegetable plant juice.

[ckilmer]

COME ON YOU SONS OF BITCHES, DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER?!

///////
You ever been to old folks homes. People in wheelchairs drooling and out of it for ten years?

Modern science is keeping people alive for an extra 10 years or more.

But in way too many cases those last 10-15 years are awful and mostly worthless.

That’s what what people want to avoid.

Better to live until you die. And die all at once.