{"id":27589,"date":"2025-07-23T17:25:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=27589"},"modified":"2025-07-23T17:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:25:41","slug":"why-older-adults-should-drink-beetroot-juice-new-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/why-older-adults-should-drink-beetroot-juice-new-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Older Adults Should Drink Beetroot Juice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new study from the University of Exeter reveals that drinking beetroot juice can lower blood pressure in older adults by altering their oral microbiome, offering a natural way to improve cardiovascular health.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b0ffac9c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice could significantly reduce blood pressure in older adults, thanks to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to a new study from the University of Exeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0891584925008068\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the research compares the responses of older and younger adults to beetroot juice consumption. The study highlights that while a high-nitrate diet is known to lower blood pressure and reduce heart disease risk, the underlying mechanisms in different age groups have been less understood \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The University of Exeter study, funded by a BBSRC Industrial Partnership Award, discovered that older individuals who consumed concentrated beetroot juice \u201cshots\u201d twice daily for two weeks experienced a notable drop in blood pressure. This effect was absent in the younger group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trial involved 39 adults under 30 and 36 adults aged 60-70. Participants underwent a two-week regimen of nitrate-rich beetroot juice followed by a nitrate-free placebo juice, with a two-week washout period in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers employed bacterial gene sequencing to analyze oral bacteria before and after the trial. Changes in the oral microbiome were observed in both age groups but were distinct in older adults. The older participants had a significant decrease in the harmful bacteria <em>Prevotella<\/em> and an increase in beneficial bacteria like <em>Neisseria<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The older group, who initially had higher average blood pressure, showed marked improvement after consuming the nitrate-rich juice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe know that a nitrate-rich diet has health benefits, and older people produce less of their own nitric oxide as they age. They also tend to have higher blood pressure, which can be linked to cardiovascular complications like heart attack and stroke. Encouraging older adults to consume more nitrate-rich vegetables could have significant long-term health benefits,&#8221; corresponding author Anni Vanhatalo, a professor of human physiology at the University of Exeter, said in a news release. &#8220;The good news is that if you don\u2019t like beetroot, there are many nitrate-rich alternatives like spinach, rocket, fennel, celery and kale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The findings suggest that dietary nitrate from vegetables could suppress harmful oral bacteria, enhancing the conversion of nitrate to nitric oxide \u2014 essential for healthy blood vessel function and blood pressure regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis 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,&#8221; added co-author Andy Jones, a professor of applied physiology at the University of Exeter. &#8220;This paves the way for larger studies to explore the influence of lifestyle factors and biological sex in how people respond to dietary nitrate supplementation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lee Beniston, an associate director for industry partnerships and collaborative research and development at BBSRC, highlighted the broader implications of the study, adding: \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.exeter.ac.uk\/faculty-of-health-and-life-sciences\/beetroot-juice-lowers-blood-pressure-in-older-people-by-changing-oral-microbiome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">University of Exeter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice could significantly reduce blood pressure in older adults, thanks to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to a new study from the University of Exeter. Published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the research compares the responses of older and younger adults to beetroot juice consumption. The study [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,12],"tags":[118],"class_list":["post-27589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-nutrition","category-health","tag-university-of-exeter"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice could significantly reduce blood pressure in older adults, thanks to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to a new study from the University of Exeter. Published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the research compares the responses of older and younger adults to beetroot juice consumption. The study&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27589"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27609,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27589\/revisions\/27609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}