Q. Your article on beet juice for hypertension was fascinating. I have had incredible results with freeze-dried beet juice from the health-food store. I have reduced the need for my blood pressure medicine, lisinopril, by 50 percent.
One caution: this is potent stuff. I spent some time adjusting my dose with many daily blood pressure checks. For me, just one-eighth teaspoon of the powder in a small amount of water works within two hours. If I take too much, my blood pressure goes too low.
A. British investigators captured headlines when they announced that drinking two cups of beet juice daily lowered blood pressure by about 10 points (Hypertension, March 2008). Since then, scientists have done studies in animals that indicate beets may also help undo some of the damage from high cholesterol (American Journal of Physiology–Heart & Circulatory Physiology, May, 2009).
Anyone who tries beet juice should be as cautious as you were in monitoring blood pressure. We don’t think this is a substitute for medication, and you should discuss this approach with your physician to see if your medication needs adjusting.
