Beetroot juice and blood vessel function in HIV
What it found
Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice improved a measure of blood vessel function in both healthy people and people with HIV.
The improvement was seen 120 minutes after drinking it.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood vessel function at start
Before any drink, the healthy group had better flow-mediated dilation than the HIV group in both sessions.
Beetroot juice improved dilation
Flow-mediated dilation improved 120 minutes after beetroot juice in both the HIV and healthy groups.
Placebo had no effect
There was no change in flow-mediated dilation after the placebo drink in either group.
Pulse wave velocity unchanged
Pulse wave velocity showed no differences between groups, time points, or drinks.
What the authors conclude
“Our findings showed that nitrate-rich BJ ingestion acutely improved vascular function in healthy and HIV-infected patients.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice quickly improved blood vessel function in both healthy people and people with HIV.
- They state that this is the first time beetroot juice has been shown to acutely improve endothelial function in HIV-infected patients.
How it was done
HIV is linked to lower nitric oxide availability and poorer blood vessel function. Nitrate-rich beetroot juice has been shown to quickly raise nitric oxide and improve blood vessel function in healthy people and those at high risk of heart disease.
Thirteen people with HIV (average age 36) and 18 healthy people (average age 27) had blood vessel tests before and 120 minutes after drinking beetroot juice or a placebo.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial only looked at one dose and measured effects up to 120 minutes later, so it cannot show what happens with longer use.
- The study was small, so the results may not apply to all people with HIV or all healthy people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Calgary, Canada; Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The paper
- Title
- Acute supplementation with beetroot juice improves endothelial function in HIV-infected individuals
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Nogueira Soares R, Machado-Santos AP, Barros-Santos E, Vieira De Oliveira G, Murias JM, Alvares TS (2021). Acute supplementation with beetroot juice improves endothelial function in HIV-infected individuals. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme. doi:10.1139/apnm-2020-0498PubMed 32866396DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error