Another day, another superfood

Could beetroot be the next superfood? QUT researchers have set out to answer this question, and they’ve called for volunteers to assist.

The study will examine whether beetroot juice could improve vascular health, including blood coagulation and boosting immune cells, in older people.

Dr Oliver Neubauer, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, explained that beetroot juice is naturally rich in nitrate, and recent discoveries have shown the benefits of dietary nitrate to humans.

“Dietary nitrate elicits anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulative and anti-thrombotic effects, all of which are beneficial for the health of blood vessels.

“Our study is the first to investigate the immediate effects of beetroot juice on factors affecting vascular health, particularly blood clotting, the body’s immune cells characteristics, blood pressure and inflammatory issues in mature-aged people.

Dr Neubauer is seeking healthy men and women aged between 60 and 70 to take part in the world-first project. All they have to do is have blood samples taken before and after drinking beetroot juice.

“If they are eligible to participate we then need them to come to our laboratories on two separate occasions over a two-week period. On each visit they will have blood and heart activities measured and blood collections taken at three and six hours after drinking either nitrate-rich or nitrate-depleted beetroot juice.”

He added that while there was some loss of nitrate in washing, peeling and/or cooking beetroots, the health benefits remained high and the same applied to other nitrate-rich foods such as leafy green vegetables.

“Beetroots, like all fruit and vegetables, have multiple benefits, but the fact they are rich in nitrates puts them into the ‘superfood’ category,” he said.

For more information and to participate in the study, email oliver.neubauer@qut.edu.au or kyle.raubenheimer@qut.edu.au.