High blood pressure is dubbed “the silent killer” because it doesn’t have telltale symptoms but increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney damage, and vision loss. All fruits and vegetables help to prevent and control the condition but two juices, beetroot and purple grape, are especially beneficial.
In clinical trials, each juice has been found to lower blood pressure in a different way. Beet juice works almost immediately, with effects lasting up to 24 hours. In the case of purple grape juice, effects are more subtle, kicking in over a longer period of time.
There are two other differences: Grape juice is inexpensive, easy to buy in any supermarket, and most people like the taste. Beet juice costs a lot more, is almost impossible to find, and is an acquired taste, but its nutritional advantages shouldn’t be ignored.
How Beets Beat Hypertension
Beetroots (the bulbs of the vegetable) are high in nitrates. When mixed with saliva in the mouth, the nitrates convert to nitric oxide, a gas that is naturally produced in our bodies. Nitric oxide lowers blood pressure by helping blood vessels to relax, and it reduces blood clotting and inflammation within arteries. Nitroglycerine tablets, used by people with angina, basically do the same thing but in a much more concentrated way.
In 2008, British researchers found that drinking two cups of beetroot juice significantly reduces blood pressure. More recently, the same researchers, at Queen Mary University of London, gained a better understanding of the mechanism and found that just one cup of the juice produces benefits.
In the study, published in the American Heart Association journal “Hypertension,” one 8-ounce cup of beet juice lowered blood pressure within one to two hours, with the largest drop after three to four hours and lesser effects lasting up to 24 hours. Blood tests also showed that the juice protects the lining of blood vessels and reduces clotting.
Eating beets is also beneficial, if they’re cooked the right way. According to study author Amrita Ahluwalia, Professor of Vascular Biology at Queen Mary's William Harvey Research Institute in London, England, beets should be steamed, roasted or microwaved. Boiling beets will destroy the beneficial nitrates.
The beet juice used in the British study (www.beet-it.com) is not available in the United States. If you have a juicer, you can make your own and keep it for up to two or three days in the fridge. Or, try Biotta Juices (www.biottajuices.com). For taste, you can add a little apple juice.
Purple Grape Juice's Gradual Benefits
In a study of Welch’s purple grape juice, drinking an average of 12 ounces daily significantly lowered blood pressure within 12 weeks. The juice appears to dilate blood vessels.
Other studies show that purple grape juice can prevent high blood pressure, improve memory, lower risk for diabetes and heart disease, and improve resistance to infection. And, despite the fact that grapes naturally contain sugar, in studies, juice drinkers have not gained weight.
The impact of grape juice on blood pressure is not nearly as dramatic as that of beetroot. However, if you replace some soda with 100-percent purple grape juice, without added sugars, you’ll be heading in the right direction.
Close to one in three American adults suffers from high blood pressure, and another third of adults has blood pressure that is elevated but not sufficiently to be considered, in medical terms, “high.” Drinking purple grape and beetroot juices and adding beets to your vegetable menu can help to put you in the healthier minority.
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