Studies beetroot juice helps with heart failure

Patients with heart failure benefit from beetroot juice. A glass of juice should help to improve your stamina. This is the conclusion of a recent study.

Beetroot juice: healthy and delicious. Image: Printemps - fotolia

Beetroot is rich in inorganic nitrate, which can provide sustained vasodilatation and therefore increased performance.

A pilot study from the USA showed positive effects in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) after just one week with a glass of beetroot juice per day. Her aerobic endurance and systolic blood pressure improved significantly.

20 hypertonic HFPEF patients in NYHA stage 2 and 3 participated in the small study. They first received a one-time dose of beetroot or placebo juice in a cross-over design ... Afterwards, all participants took part in a one-week juice session. They received 70 ml of the beetroot juice daily. Per daily ration this contained 6.1 mmol nitrate.

After one week, aerobic endurance increased by 24% with submaximal exercise. There was no effect on performance compared to placebo in the previous single dose regimen. (Pm)