The blood pressure lowering effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice in older people may be due to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to the largest study of its kind. When the older adults drank a concentrated beetroot juice ‘shot’ twice a day for two weeks*, their blood pressure decreased – an effect not seen in the younger group. Nitric oxide is key to healthy functioning of the blood vessels, and therefore the regulation of blood pressure. They also tend to have higher blood pressure, which can be linked to cardiovascular complications like heart attack and stroke. Each group spent two weeks taking regular doses of nitrate-rich beetroot juice and two weeks on a placebo version of the juice with nitrate stripped out.