Beet juice has been shown to boost muscle performance for athletes. (You can read more about that here.)
Stronger Leg Muscles for Heart Failure Patients:
Now a study shows that it can also help improve muscle power in people with heart failure. The small study included nine people with heart failure. They were given either beet juice or a placebo beet juice that had the nitrate removed.
Two hours after drinking beet juice, their leg muscles had 13 percent more muscle power, while the placebo did not lead to improvement.
Circulation: Heart Failure, September, 2015
At this point, it is not clear whether people with heart failure should be encouraged to drink beet juice on a regular basis, nor what the appropriate dose might be. Perhaps people would benefit from the same dose that lowers blood pressure, approximately two cups a day.
Side Effects Were Not Reported:
In any event, the volunteers in this study did not suffer side effects such as overly low blood pressure or increased heart rate, so people with heart failure might want to try drinking some to get maximum benefits from exercise.
