Beetroot Juice May Protect Against Brain Aging Beyond Exercise Alone
Introduction
Beetroot juice has been lauded in recent years as having potential cardiovascular benefits as well as enhancing exercise capacity.
A new study in the Journal of The Gerontological Society of America by Petrie et al [1] suggests that a combination of BOTH exercise and beetroot juice provide added benefits beyond just exercise alone when it comes to antiaging activity on the aging brain.
The authors summarise it very well in their conclusions:
Older adults who exercised and consumed BRJ demonstrated greater consistency within the motor community and fewer secondary connections with the insular cortex compared with those who exercised without BRJ. The exercise + BRJ group had brain networks that more closely resembled those of younger adults, showing the potential enhanced neuroplasticity conferred by combining exercise and BRJ consumption.
Unfortunately this is not an open access study but if you are interested the abstract does provide a good summary.
I'm aware that people have limited time for reading so I will keep this short and super simple - as always do let me know if I have the balance right though.
How Does Beetroot Juice Work?
It is believed that beetroot juice acts by raising nitric oxide (NO) levels.
NO is a compound that can relax the smooth muscle in the walls of arteries, leading to improved blood flow and reduced blood pressure (which can reduce the amount of work your heart needs to do).
This is likely what makes it such a potent combination with exercise.
In simple terms the NO makes it easier for the blood to get into your muscles (including your heart).
It doesn't just affect muscles though and this study suggests these changes in blood flow may have positive effects on the brain too.
Methods
Twenty-six subjects with a mean age of 65.4 years were given a six week course of either exercise and a beetroot juice supplement or exercise and placebo.
The placebo that was used was an identical beetroot juice supplement which had the nitrate content reduced to insignificant levels.
The exercise consisted of three 50 minute walking sessions per week for the six week period.
MRI (magnetic resonance) imaging was used to analyse brain function and connectivity before and after the intervention period.
Metabolic activity (MET) was determined using graded exercise tests.
Tests were also performed to measure nitrite/nitrate levels post consumption of the beetroot juice supplements.
Results
Put simply the main finding seems to be that the active intervention group had brains that were more consistent with a younger age group on MRI scanning.
Of particular interest to me is the fact that the intervention group had REDUCED interconnectivity between the somatomotor cortex and insular regions.
The insula is involved in integrating a variety of inputs from the body and other brain regions, in this case it is particularly relevant to integrating information for mobility/movement.
It is believed that reduced mobility ENHANCES such connections possibly as an attempt by the brain to adapt to reduced sensory/motor inputs.
A reduction in connectivity is therefore consistent with a more youthful and healthy brain.
Finally although there appeared to be some metabolic improvements as assessed by the exercise testing these did not reach statistical significance - this may be due to the short intervention period.
Problems
There are two major problems here:
- Tiny Sample Size.
- Short Duration of Intervention.
We often run into the issue of small sample size. It brings up the issue of repeatability and this is further compounded by the short intervention period here.
The short duration of the intervention may also be responsible for the metabolic measurements not reaching statistical significance.
These kinds of issues are common in medical research due to the high costs involved and we must always take them into consideration when assessing studies.
On a side note testing of nitrite/nitrate levels did show a significant increase in blood levels in those who consumed the "active" (nitrate-rich) beetroot juice supplement but not in those consuming the placebo version. This is what we would expect but it is good to have confirmation.
The analysis of brain activity and connectivity using the MRI scans is beyond my level of expertise (as I am not a medical physicist) so I can't really comment on that from a technical standpoint.
Conclusion
This research suggests that supplementing exercise with beetroot juice may help to restore more youthful brain activity and connectivity in older subjects BEYOND what can be achieved with exercise alone.
This adds to existing body of evidence on beneficial effects from beetroot juice consumption on exercise and cardiovascular health.
As is often the case this study requires further confirmation using larger sample sizes and longer intervention periods. This is an encouraging start though.
Thank you for reading
References
- Petrie, Meredith, W. Jack Rejeski, Swati Basu, Paul J. Laurienti, Anthony P. Marsh, James L. Norris, Daniel B. Kim-Shapiro, and Jonathan H. Burdette. 2016. “Beet Root Juice: An Ergogenic Aid for Exercise and the Aging Brain.” The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, November. doi:10.1093/gerona/glw219.
All uncredited images are taken from my personal Thinkstock Photography account. More information can be provided on request.
This is valuable information, my friend. I had no notion of this. I have always consumed juices of different fruits, but never beets. And I did not know about its benefits. I usually add beets to meals, but from now on I'll start to try making juices. Thanks for the information. Cheers!
@tincho
You're welcome mate.
Personally I find them hard to eat due to the sourness but it seems I should try to find ways to get around this! I had been using the juice (even though I don't like the taste) before going to the gym and it does seem to help a lot with exercise but you can never be sure how much of that is placebo effect.
Incidentally how do you eat the beetroots - do you cook them on there own or as part of a dish?
Also forgot to say if you want to repost any of these in spanish feel free.
I think the important thing is to have a balanced diet of all foods. And divide the meals into 6 a day. Less quantity in more servings. And honestly I had never thought to drink the beet as juice. It is one more food that I can add to my diet to have more variety.
On the beet root, here we use them in many ways, you can make them roasted or in a risotto. There are even beet-flavored ice creams in here. I eat them as often as I can, but varying with other foods.
Thanks for offering me the repost. With spanish-trail (as part of steemtrail) what we do is to encourage Spanish-speaking writers. And sincerely I do not encourage, to translate your texts, because my English is very bad. I use translators to write and I do not want to do it wrong. It's something I do not feel safe about. But I really appreciate you letting me know.
Yes definitely.
I will need to look up some recipes then - not sure I would like the ice-cream though!
OK no problem :)
@thecryptofiend I love beetroot juice but I actually just take them a week before that menstrual cycle to pacify the hormonal chaos :D
#til beetroot may actually protect against brain aging, thank you . It's pretty sweet though so I always add ice or warm water during winter haha.
Just bake them - with peel and all - no earthy smell and just sweet or boiled with peel like that of a potato would give the same effect but boil only what you can eat and store in the fridge for two days - it goes bad pretty fast refrigerated and all.
Cool thanks!
thank you @thecryptofiend for this valuable information! What very often is unnoticed is the fact, that not only the beetroot itself is very healthy and nutricious but also the leaves of the root, that contain high amounts of minerals, vitamins and enzymes! You find a recipe for a tasty beetrootleave smoothie with banana and mango here.
Cool thank you I will take a look - the smoothie might be a more palatable way for someone like me to take it!
don't say that! beetrootjuice is sooo delicious! Add some apple and ginger, perfect!
Selected & shared by @drinks here: Introducing - Exploring drinks around on steemit.com!
Thank you.
I love it but it stains like crazy!
Yes I spilt some on on of my exercise shirts and nothing gets it out.
I guess I have to start to take notes about everything good of gerontological something... :-)
Lol it is hard to keep up for sure!
Thanks for sharing.
Information is very useful to cure diseases, and also maintain health
Upvote and resteem.
@thecryptofiend
Thank you :)
Welcome.
😍😘
Hi @thecryptofriend, thanks for the very informative post.
Must it be beetroot juice, or will normal beetroot do the same job?
I think normal beetroot would work too but you would need to eat more of it to get the same amount of nitrate - which is what we think causes the effect.
Thanks for the reply
You're welcome.
A combination of healthy food, exercise and a positive basic attitude is the guarantee for a long life. Thank you for your report....
Yes that is always good advice. Thank you!
you are welcome 👍🌺😎
thanks we need to look after our health
Yes for sure!
I'm not really worried about my brain. I think I may have the mind of a 15 year old. But does beetroot juice happen to work on knees? Mine feel like they are 90!
I don't think it would do anything for your knees.