Can beetroot juice beat high blood pressure?

If you're interested in lowering blood pressure, you may want to consider trying to enjoy beetroot juice from now on. Researchers out of London have some compelling evidence which suggests a healthy dose of the reddish extract could help beat high blood pressure.

Half a liter was shown to reduce pressure within an hour! Test subjects were asked to drink water, or beetroot juice -- and all volunteers were healthy to begin with. The results point to nitrate being the cause of this drastic lowering of blood pressure, but spinach and lettuce also contain this compound.

Chemical reactions between nitrate and mouth bacteria caused the blood vessels to dilate. This had the effect of increasing blood flow, which in turn decreased pressure. Looks like it is time to pick up another healthy habit, but I wonder if nitrate supplements would have the same results?