Resting blood pressure of less than 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) Body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 35 Fasting blood glucose level of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) Hemoglobin A1C level of less than 6 percent Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level of less than 160 mg/dL Study participants first had their blood vessel function tested using ultrasound to monitor blood flow. They were then separated into two groups: Group A and Group B.
Women in Group A consumed one 70-milliliter (mL) bottle (2.36 ounces) of beetroot juice with the nitrates removed to serve as a placebo. In contrast, women in Group B consumed one 70-mL bottle of beetroot juice, which naturally contains high concentrations of nitrates of up to 11.
4 grams per liter. Both groups drank their assigned beetroot juice daily for seven days. On the eighth day, the participants had their blood pressure and pulse measured again, along with a repeat ultrasound to assess blood vessel function and blood flow.
After this initial phase, both groups underwent a two-week “washout” period, during which they did not consume any beetroot juice. Following the washout phase, the groups switched: Group A drank nitrate-rich beetroot juice, and Group B drank the placebo beetroot juice for seven days. On the eighth day, the same measurements were repeated.
Researchers found that blood flow improved by greater than or equal to 1 percent in both early and late postmenopausal participants after consu.