Beetroot juice and blood pressure in young Black and White adults
What it found
In a small trial in people, beetroot juice lowered resting systolic blood pressure by a similar amount in young Black and White adults, but the drop was seen in males and not females.
What they found
Studies in people
Resting blood pressure
Beetroot juice lowered resting brachial systolic blood pressure by about 4 mmHg in both Black and White adults compared with placebo. The drop was similar in both groups.
Sex difference
The reduction in blood pressure was seen in males but not in females. This was true for brachial and central blood pressure measures.
Nitrate and blood pressure
Regardless of race or sex, larger increases in plasma nitrate after drinking beetroot juice were linked to larger drops in brachial systolic blood pressure.
Arterial stiffness
Beetroot juice did not change arterial stiffness at rest or during physical stress.
Blood pressure during stress
Beetroot juice did not affect blood pressure responses during handgrip exercise or post-exercise circulatory occlusion.
Social factors
Black participants reported more ethnic discrimination, had more irregular sleep, and ate less fiber and calcium than White participants. Discrimination explained a substantial part of the higher resting blood pressure in Black participants.
What the authors conclude
“acute BRJ supplementation reduced systolic BP by a similar magnitude in young Black and White adults, an effect that was driven by males.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that acute beetroot juice supplementation reduced brachial systolic blood pressure by a similar magnitude in young Black and White adults, an effect driven by males.
- They state that reductions in brachial systolic blood pressure were associated with increases in circulating nitrate, irrespective of race or sex.
- They note that racial differences in social determinants of health and lifestyle may contribute to elevated blood pressure in Black compared with White participants.
How it was done
Black Americans have the highest blood pressure in America, and one possible reason is lower nitric oxide availability. The authors wanted to see if beetroot juice, which provides dietary nitrate, could raise nitric oxide and lower blood pressure, especially in Black adults.
They studied 38 young adults (18 Black and 20 White, roughly half male and half female) in a randomised, placebo-controlled, blinded, crossover trial. Each person drank either 140 ml of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (about 12.8 mmol nitrate) or a nitrate-depleted placebo, and blood pressure, heart rate and arterial stiffness were measured at rest and during handgrip exercise and post-exercise circulatory occlusion.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a single dose of beetroot juice, so it cannot show what happens with longer-term use.
- The study was small and recruited mostly from a college campus, so the results may not apply to other groups.
- The trial cannot show whether beetroot juice prevents heart disease or other health problems.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NHLBI NIH HHS; NCATS NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- Declaration of interest None.
- Authors work at
- Georgia Southern University, USA; University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA; Auburn University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Acute beetroot juice reduces blood pressure in young Black and White males but not females
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Grosicki GJ, Flatt AA, Cross BL, et al (2023). Acute beetroot juice reduces blood pressure in young Black and White males but not females. Redox biology. doi:10.1016/j.redox.2023.102718Free full textPubMed 37120928DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error