A new study offers delicious news for older adults: sipping beetroot juice might help lower your blood pressure and it all starts with the tiny bacteria in your mouth.
Conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter, the study explored the surprising connection between our oral microbiome, the billions of microbes living on our tongue, and heart health. The team gathered 75 healthy volunteers, including both young adults and seniors, and tested how different treatments impacted their blood pressure and bacteria. Over several weeks, participants consumed either nitrate-rich beetroot juice, a nitrate-free placebo, or used antiseptic mouthwash.
The results? Beetroot juice made a big impact, but only for the older adults.
While both young and older participants showed an increase in a key blood vessel-relaxing compound called “nitrite” after drinking beetroot juice, only the seniors experienced a significant drop in blood pressure, about 4 mmHg on average. That’s enough to meaningfully lower the risk of stroke or heart disease.
But how does beetroot juice do it?
Turns out, our mouth bacteria play a starring role in turning natural nitrate (found in vegetables like beetroot and spinach) into nitrite, which helps keep our blood vessels relaxed and healthy. The scientists discovered that, in older adults, beetroot juice helped shift their oral microbiome in a healthier direction: it increased helpful bacteria like Neisseria and Rothia, and reduced others like Prevotella and Veillonella, the latter being linked to inflammation and conditions like heart disease and pneumonia. These “bad” bacteria use nitrate in less helpful ways, reducing its effects on blood pressure. The beetroot juice effectively pushed the balance towards the good bugs.
Interestingly, using antiseptic mouthwash (the kind that kills bacteria) appeared to reduce helpful bacteria and even impaired measures of blood vessel function in younger volunteers. This finding suggests that killing off too many bacteria might actually be counterproductive, especially for those relying on natural nitrate from food.
The takeaway? Your daily diet and your oral hygiene products might have a bigger say in your heart health than you thought. For older adults in particular, adding more nitrate-rich foods like leafy greens or beetroot juice to the menu could naturally support blood pressure without medication.
It’s a powerful reminder: sometimes, the path to better health begins with what’s on your plate and the bacteria in your mouth.
