Researchers at Queen Mary University in London discovered that nitrates naturally found in beets are beneficial to your health.
They conducted a study in which people were asked to drink a 250 ml glass of beet juice a day. Study participants saw their blood pressure significantly decrease after only 24 hours.
Researchers compared people who drank a 250 ml glass daily to those who took nitrate tablets. They found that both methods were successful in lowering blood pressure.
The study was published in Hypertension, the journal of the American Heart Association.
Nitrates produce nitric oxide gas in the blood. This gas widens blood vessels and arteries and lowers blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Amrita Ahluwalia is a professor of Vascular Biology at the William Harvey Research Institute. The researcher commented: "Our previous study two years ago found that drinking beetroot juice lowered blood pressure; now we know how it works."