Daily dosing versus single, acute dose may be more effective
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FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Beetroot juice (BRJ) improves submaximal aerobic endurance and blood pressure in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF), according to a small study published online Feb. 10 in JACC: Heart Failure.
Joel Eggebeen, from the Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues treated 20 HFPEF patients (average age, 69 years ) in an initial cross-over design comparing a single, acute dose of BRJ (6.1 mmol nitrate) to a nitrate-depleted, placebo BRJ. During the second week, all patients consumed BRJ for an average of seven days of daily dosing.
The researchers found that submaximal aerobic endurance improved 24 percent after one week of daily BRJ dosing (P = 0.02), but was not affected by the single, acute dose of BRJ, compared to placebo. Both dosing schemes significantly reduced resting systolic blood pressure and increased plasma nitrate and nitrite.
“One week of daily dosing with BRJ (6.1 mmol inorganic nitrate) significantly improves submaximal aerobic endurance and blood pressure in elderly HFPEF patients,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the nutrition and pharmaceutical industries.