According to a study published in the journal ‘Redox Biology’, beets – and other foods including lettuce, spinach and celery – are rich in inorganic nitrates, and many oral bacteria play a role in converting nitrates to nitric oxide, which controls helps in. Blood vessels and neurotransmission (chemical messages in the brain). The study highlights that nitric oxide production is lower in older people, and is associated with poorer vascular (blood vessel) and cognitive (brain) health. In the new study by the University of Exeter, 26 healthy older people participated in two ten-day supplement periods: one with nitrate-rich beet juice and the other with nitrate-free placebo juice, which they drank twice a day. (image: iStock)
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