Beetroot juice and blood vessel function in people with HIV
What it found
Drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice improved how well arm blood vessels widened two hours later, in both healthy people and people living with HIV.
A placebo drink made no difference.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood vessel widening improved
Two hours after drinking beetroot juice, the arm blood vessels of both groups widened more than they did before the drink. The placebo drink caused no change in either group.
Arterial stiffness unchanged
A measure of how stiff the arteries were stayed about the same after both the beetroot juice and the placebo. There was also no difference between the healthy group and the HIV group.
Blood pressure unchanged
Blood pressure readings did not change 120 minutes after drinking the beetroot juice or the placebo in either group.
Mouth bacteria conversion
When participants held a small amount of beetroot juice in their mouths for 5 minutes, saliva tests showed it turned into nitrite. People with HIV produced less nitrite in their mouths than the healthy group.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice quickly improved blood vessel function in people living with HIV and in healthy adults.
- Their findings suggest that eating vegetables high in nitrate might help treat or prevent blood vessel problems linked to HIV.
- The authors advise that more research is needed to look at the long-term effects of taking nitrate on blood vessels in people with HIV.
How it was done
People living with HIV often have problems with their blood vessels and lower levels of a protective molecule called nitric oxide. The authors wanted to see if beetroot juice, which is rich in nitrate that the body can turn into nitric oxide, could quickly improve blood vessel function in these patients.
Thirteen people living with HIV and 18 healthy adults took part in this trial. Each person drank either 140 mL of beetroot juice or a lookalike placebo on separate days, at least one week apart. Researchers measured how well their arm blood vessels widened before drinking and again 120 minutes later.
What it can’t tell you
- This trial only looked at what happened 120 minutes after a single drink.
- It cannot show whether drinking beetroot juice regularly would keep improving blood vessel function over time.
- The dose used was relatively low, so scientists do not yet know if a larger amount would change blood pressure.
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
- Full text
- 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-2020-0498Free full textPubMed 32866396DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error