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Juice can help you live a long life
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Scientists from the British University of Exeter have discovered additional beneficial properties of freshly squeezed beetroot juice. They have proven that regular consumption of such juice helps improve the oral microbiome, strengthen blood vessels and even improve cognitive ability in older people.
Root vegetables, particularly beets, as well as celery, lettuce, and spinach, contain inorganic salts of nitric acid. Microorganisms present in the oral cavity transform such salts into nitrite, the progenitor of nitric oxide, an active neurotransmitter, and a compound that regulates vascular tone. As we age, the body's production of nitric oxide decreases, which leads to a deterioration in the functioning of the cardiovascular system and a loss of cognitive abilities.
The specialists conducted a study involving 26 elderly patients without obvious deviations in health, with normal blood pressure, leading an active lifestyle. The participants were divided into two groups: the first group was given beetroot juice containing natural nitric acid salts for ten days. The other group received a placebo drink, which had to be drunk twice a day.
Upon completion of the project, the scientists compared blood pressure and the quality of the oral microbiome in two groups of participants. In the first group, a decrease in the number of pathogenic microorganisms in the mouth was found - in particular, there were fewer bacteria that caused the development of cardiovascular pathologies, cognitive impairment, and systemic inflammatory processes. In addition, the first group's systolic pressure decreased by about 5 mm Hg, which also indicates the positive effect of beetroot juice.
Representatives of the second group did not show any significant changes.
The authors of the study are confident that the results obtained can become an important link in planning healthy aging. If the diet regularly includes products enriched with natural inorganic salts of nitric acid, then in a short period of time it will be possible to qualitatively improve the oral microbiome. Moreover, scientists strongly recommend that all elderly people adhere to a plant-based diet. This is necessary to slow down the aging process of the heart and blood vessels, to support cognitive ability at any age.
A little earlier, specialists had already conducted a study comparing the composition of bacteria in the oral cavity of young and old people, sick and healthy people. But this was the first time that scientists conducted an experiment concerning the consumption of products with natural nitrates.
Source of information: The University of Exeter