Top Benefit of Beet Juice Is a Healthy Brain

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More news about the benefit of beet juice…a new study finds that it increases blood flow to the brain in older adults, suggesting this beverage might help fight dementia.
Beet roots do have high concentrations of nitrates that are changed into nitrites by good bacteria in the mouth. In the body, nitrites open blood vessels in the body, and this increases blood flow and oxygen to places that need it.
This was the first study to find that nitrites do increase blood flow to the brain. We’ve seen from earlier, high profile work that drinking beet juice can bring down blood pressure, but no one had looked at how the beverage impacts perfusion (or blood flow) to the brain. As we age there are parts of the brain that are poorly perfused, and this is believed to be linked to dementia and poor thinking abilities.
The team examined how dietary nitrates affected 14 men and women, 70 and older, over a four-day time span.
On the first day the participants reported to the lab after a 10-hour fast, filled out a health status report and had either a high nitrate or low nitrate breakfast. The high nitrate meal included a 16-ounce serving of beet juice. They were then sent home with meals and snacks for the day that matched their assigned diets.
On the second day after another fast, the subjects came back to the lab and ate the assigned breakfast. An hour later an MRI scan made recordings of the brain while blood tests checked levels of nitrates in the body. On the last two days of the study the subjects switched diets and repeated the process.
According to the MRI scans, after eating a high nitrate diet the older subjects had increased blood flow to the white matter of the frontal lobes, the part of the brain commonly associated with the degeneration that brings on dementia or other thinking difficulties.
A daily glass of beet juice appears to be a simple, ordinary way to boost blood flow to your brain and keep it healthier, sharper as you age.
High amounts of nitrates are naturally a part of beets as well as celery, cabbage and leafy greens like spinach. While beet juice isn’t something you’re likely to see at your corner supermarket, you’ll find it in some health shops or through online sources.
The only downside to beet juice seems to be the taste – it’s not easy to take for many people. It can be pretty bitter.
You might want to start with a small amount, diluted 4:1 with water or another type of juice like carrot, celery or cucumber. There are also recipes for combination juices available online. Of course while a glass is good… too much isn’t. Too much beet juice can bring some unpleasant side effects like stomach cramps, diarrhea or pink/purple colored urine.

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