"Drinking a glass of beet juice may have an immediate impact on lowering blood pressure https according to a new study. The study shows that within hours of drinking it beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure the top number in a blood pressure reading by an average of  points among a small group of healthy men https Researchers say that drop may seem small but on a public health level a reduction like that would equate to a  reduction in deaths due to heart disease https Its promising that we can see an effect from a single dose says researcher Leah Coles PhD a research fellow at the Baker IDI Heart https and Diabetes https Institute in Melbourne Australia. That effect might be even greater over the long term if they are drinking it day upon day. Beetroot Benefits Previous studies have shown that beet juice also known as beetroot juice can lower blood pressure in a laboratory setting. But researchers say this is the first study to look at the effects of adding beet juice to a heathy persons diet without making any other diet or lifestyle changes. The results appear in Nutrition https Journal. In the study  men and  women drank either . ounces of a beet juice beverage consisting of about threefourths beet juice and onefourth apple juice or a placebo https juice. They were then monitored for  hours. The same procedure was repeated two weeks later with those who drank the placebo on the first round receiving beetroot juice on the second. Among both men and women the results showed a trend to lower systolic blood https pressure six hours after drinking the beet juice. But when researchers limited their analysis to men only they found a significant reduction of about . points among those who drank the beetroot juice. Previous studies have also suggested that beetroots blood https effects may not be as strong in women. In this case Coles says it may be partially explained by the fact that the women in the study tended to be older and many were on prescription medications https such as oral contraceptives https Nitrates Behind Blood Pressure Effect Experts say its the high concentration of nitrates in beets that are responsible for the benefits. In a lengthy biological process nitrates from dietary sources like beets and leafy green vegetables are converted to nitric oxide within the body. The nitric oxide then relaxes blood vessels and dilates them which helps the blood flow more easily and lowers blood pressure. Whether from foods or from juice you are seeing a consistent effect of nitrates in lowering blood pressure says registered dietitian Norman Hord PhD MPH an associate professor at College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University in Corvallis Ore. Its probably the most potent bloodpressurelowering component of the diet. Hord says previous studies have found more impressive reductions in blood pressure of up to  points when researchers measured blood pressure within three hours of drinking beet juice. Although more research is needed to better understand the longterm effects of nitrates on blood pressure Hord says eating a diet rich in nitrates from natural sources like beets and leafy green vegetables is good advice. Its an approach to eating thats similar to the DASH Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension https diet which has been proven to lower blood pressure. The DASH diet https emphasizes eating more fruits vegetables and lowfat dairy foods along with whole grains fish poultry and nuts while limiting saturated fat https and cholesterol https These food patterns have been shown to lower blood pressure Hord says. Research now shows nitrates are probably responsible for at least part of that effect."