Scientists Discover an Unexpected Way to Boost Beet Juice’s Blood Pressure Benefits

Improvements in the oral microbiome and increased saliva acidity appeared to enhance the body’s nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway.

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Scientists may have just found an unexpected way to boost blood pressure benefits. However, it involves chewing sugary gum, the very thing your dentist always tells you to avoid.

In a small study, healthy adults who chewed sugar-containing gum after drinking concentrated beetroot juice experienced a modest reduction in blood pressure, whereas those chewing sugar-free gum did not.

Rather than suggesting a new blood pressure remedy, the findings point to something more intriguing: What you eat may affect your oral chemistry—and how efficiently your body produces heart-protective nitric oxide.

A Small Study With an Interesting Signal

In the study conducted by researchers at King’s College London, participants drank 2.36 fluid ounces of beetroot juice, which contains approximately 400 mg of nitrate, about the amount found in a large spinach or lettuce salad. They then chewed either sugar-containing or sugar-free gum.

When participants chewed the sugar-containing gum, systolic blood pressure fell by an average of 2.7 mmHg and diastolic pressure by 1.9 mmHg. Those chewing sugar-free gum did not experience the same reduction.

The effect appeared to fade hours later. Researchers did not track participants beyond that window, so how long any benefit might last in the real world is still unknown.

“A reduction of about 2.7 to 1.9 mmHg may seem small, but even small reductions in blood pressure can be meaningful when it comes to reducing cardiovascular risk,” Dr. Sirisha Vadali, a board-certified cardiologist and advanced lipidologist who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times.

She described the findings as an interesting proof of concept rather than a practice-changing result, not something to weigh against established interventions such as exercise or the DASH diet.

Why Sugary Gum?

Nitrate-rich vegetables such as beets, spinach, and kale are already known to support healthy blood pressure.

Once nitrate from these foods is absorbed into the bloodstream, up to a quarter of it gets shuttled into the salivary glands and secreted back into the mouth. There, bacteria on the tongue convert it into nitrite, which is swallowed and absorbed into the bloodstream, where it can be converted into nitric oxide—a molecule that helps blood vessels relax and widen.

Researchers have long known that this process depends not only on dietary nitrate but also on the oral microbiome. Earlier studies have suggested that saliva acidity influences how efficiently oral bacteria perform this conversion. The King’s College London team set out to test the opposite question: Could making saliva more acidic enhance nitric oxide production?

Chewing gum turned out to be a convenient way to manipulate salivary pH.

The sugar-containing gum lowered salivary pH by about 1.4 units, while the sugar-free gum raised it by 0.38 units. Normal saliva sits around 6.7 to 7.4. The sugar-free gum made saliva slightly more alkaline, whereas the sugar-containing gum made it more acidic.

The shift in pH appeared to be relevant. Participants chewing sugary gum had 45 percent higher nitrite levels in their saliva and 25 percent higher levels in their bloodstream compared to when they chewed sugar-free gum, which tracked with the modest blood pressure drop.

“More acidity, more activity,” Dr. Andrew Webb, clinical senior lecturer in the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at King’s College London and corresponding author of the study, told The Epoch Times.

Making saliva more acidic after drinking beetroot juice appeared to enhance the body’s nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway, he said.

The findings may not be unique to sugar-containing gum, he said. “We anticipate that other methods of changing the pH would have an effect,” noting that coffee also lowers salivary pH.

Gum Isn’t the Answer

The researchers do not recommend routinely chewing sugary gum to lower blood pressure given the potential harmful effects of repeated sugar exposure on dental health.

“Overall, good dental hygiene appears to enhance nitrate conversion,” Webb noted, underscoring that oral health and the nitrate pathway are intertwined, not at odds.

Kara Siedman, a registered nutritionist dietitian and vice president of science and partnerships at ResBiotic Nutrition, cautioned against viewing sugary gum as a long-term strategy for improving nitric oxide production. Instead, she emphasized the importance of proper nutrition and habits that support a healthy oral microbiome.

“The oral microbiome is the second-largest microbial community in the body after the gut and plays a major role in whole-body health,” Siedman told The Epoch Times.

Supporting the Nitrate-Nitrite Pathway Naturally

Because of its central role in the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway, it’s important to support the bacteria doing that work without creating an environment that can harm teeth or gums, Siedman said.

She recommends eating nitrate-rich vegetables such as beets, arugula, spinach, and leafy greens. A 2024 review found that 200 to 800 mg of daily nitrate from beet juice was linked to an average 5 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure in people with hypertension, a far larger effect than the gum study observed.

Siedman recommends maintaining good oral hygiene, staying well hydrated, and supporting healthy saliva flow.

Avoid overuse of antiseptic mouthwash, noting that chlorhexidine-containing mouthwashes can block nitrate conversion by killing the bacteria responsible for it, Webb said. Studies have linked chlorhexidine mouthwash use to increases in blood pressure.

On the contrary, smoking, periodontal disease, aging, and shifts in hormones such as in menopause affect microbial balance and nitric oxide availability, Siedman said.

“Cardiovascular health should be approached holistically,” Vadali said. The broader takeaway is not that people should chew sugary gum to lower blood pressure, but that they should maintain a healthy oral microbiome.