Remember how columnists and cartoonists pilloried our previous health minister for punting beetroot? She may have been wrong about other things, but in the past few years some rather elegant science has provided support for the idea that beetroot is a miracle vegetable.
It all started in 2008 when a group of researchers at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry found that drinking 500ml of beetroot juice every day resulted in a significant reduction of blood pressure.
Natural therapists of one stripe or another had been advising Âclients to drink juiced beetroot for years, but until this research came out any Âbeneficial effects had been attributed to the antioxidants that are abundant in all richly coloured vegetables and fruit (tomatoes, carrots, red grapefruit and the like).
But the team found that the stuff doing the job was actually nitrate, a substance that was converted to nitrite when mixed with saliva in the mouth. They proved this by asking one group of brave volunteers to avoid swallowing their own saliva for several hours after drinking the beetroot juice.
Because hypertension or high blood pressure is a growing Âproblem around the world, it was not long before another group of scientists, from the University of Exeter, took up the quest. In 2009 they showed that drinking beetroot juice did not just lower your blood pressure, it also boosted your stamina. Athletes, always keen on any legal means of improving performance, were Âinterested to read that the beetroot juice regimen could help one exercise up to 16% longer.
How was the juice achieving this result? The team found that nitrates reduced oxygen uptake in the Âmuscles, making exercise less tiring. They suspected that the nitrate in the beetroot was converting to nitric oxide and set out to demonstrate this.
And, by 2010, they were able to show that a dietary supplement that achieved the same thing — boosting nitric oxide in the body — had the same result: significantly increased ability to exercise (for about 20% longer).
What is it about the nitrite-nitrate-nitric oxide chain of events that is so good for us? Apparently it reduces the amount of oxygen needed by muscle tissue during exercise. But it also helps to open up the blood vessels, improving and increasing blood flow. Which gave other scientists more ideas to test.
They looked at the impact of beetroot juice on the functioning of the brain, which is so dependent on blood flow — as we age, parts of our brain get less blood flow, which is thought to contribute to worsening function and even dementia. Lo and behold, they found that beetroot juice did indeed improve blood flow to the brain.
Many organisations caring for the elderly and a host of athletes — including some premier league soccer stars and cycling professionals are beginning to look into the benefits of beetroot, and the University of Exeter team is planning to Âinvestigate the implications for people with less efficient cardiovascular systems, such as the elderly. They believe that the promise of the amazing vegetable will hold true for them as well, promising a better quality of life for people with Âcompromised heart or lung function.
Nitrites are found in other vegetables too, including celery, Âcabbage and other leafy green vegetables such as spinach and some lettuces. Which is good news, says Matthew Ballenden of Fresh Earth Food Store in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, who has been a fan of juicing for years and includes beetroot juice in many of his juices. “Beetroot juice can be a bit intense by itself. I like to juice it with celery, cucumber, carrot and pineapple.”
Another suggestion is to juice a few beetroot with an apple and an orange for a refreshing sweet drink. It has been shown that you do not have to drink as much as 500ml – 250ml will do just as well. The science tells us the benefits of drinking the juice daily are huge and the side effects, it seems, are zero.