Beet juice turned out to be an important helper for the heart and blood vessels

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Beetroot juice can reduce harmful inflammation in the blood vessels that increases the risk of a heart attack, especially in people with coronary heart disease. This drink increases the level of nitric oxide, which regulates blood pressure and has anti-inflammatory properties. Scientists from Queen Mary University of London came to this conclusion.

A group of researchers studied 114 healthy volunteers. Some of them received a vaccine against the abdominal type to temporarily increase inflammation in the blood vessels, while others were given a cream that caused small blisters to appear on the skin. After that, the participants of the experiment drank 140 ml of beetroot juice every morning for a week. Half of them drank juice with a high nitrate content, and the other half drank a drink without nitrates.

As a result, it turned out that those who received the vaccine and consumed juice with nitrates had higher levels of nitric oxide in their blood, urine and saliva. They also had lower levels of circulating white blood cells, indicating a reduction in inflammation. In addition, beetroot juice helped restore the function of the endothelium, the cells that line the inside of all blood vessels. In another group, skin blisters healed faster also in those who drank nitrate-rich beetroot juice. The number of inflammatory leukocytes was lower in just three days.

Researchers suggest that the increase in nitric oxide levels after consuming nitrate-rich beetroot juice helped speed up the volunteers' recovery. In their opinion, such a drink can be a great helper for people with coronary heart disease. Their characteristic persistent inflammatory process in the blood vessels is due to the fact that the level of nitric oxide decreases as a result of the disease.

“Inflammation is vital to protect the body from injuries and infections. However, in people with coronary heart disease, persistent inflammation can worsen the blockage of arteries, worsening their condition and increasing the risk of a heart attack. Our study shows that a daily glass of beetroot juice may be one way to replenish our diet with inorganic nitrates that will help stop harmful inflammation,” said Dr. Asad Shabbir, one of the authors of the study.