Try beetroot juice and exercise training to support heart health

Recruiting

What is this trial?

This study is testing whether beetroot juice can help improve how well your heart and blood vessels work when combined with exercise training. After menopause, women's hearts don't respond to exercise as well as they used to, partly because of lower estrogen levels. Researchers want to see if drinking beetroot juice—which contains natural compounds that support blood vessel health—might help your body get better cardiovascular benefits from regular exercise.

As women age and go through menopause, their risk of heart disease increases and their blood vessels become less healthy. While exercise is one of the best ways to prevent heart problems, it seems to work better in men than in postmenopausal women. This study explores whether adding this natural supplement to exercise could give women the same heart-protective benefits that men get.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

you are a postmenopausal woman between 45 and 65 years old
you have not been exercising regularly (no more than 2 hours per week) in the past 3 months
you have normal blood pressure or only mild high blood pressure that is medically treated
you are generally healthy without serious conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, or diabetes
your weight is within a healthy range (BMI between 18.5 and 30)

You likely don't qualify if…

you are already very physically fit or exercise more than 2 hours per week regularly
you have serious heart, kidney, lung, or metabolic diseases
you are currently taking hormone replacement therapy containing estrogen
you are vegan or vegetarian, or eat more than 5 servings of vegetables daily
you smoke more than 5 cigarettes per day or drink more than 70 grams of alcohol per week

What participation looks like

You would join a 12-week program where you exercise regularly under supervision while drinking either beetroot juice or a placebo juice every day (70 mL, about 2.4 ounces). Half of the participants will receive the real beetroot juice with natural compounds, while the other half receives juice without these compounds—neither you nor the researchers will initially know which group you're in. The study will measure your heart and blood vessel function, blood pressure, and fitness before, during, and after the program.

Beetroot juice and exercise training for heart health in midlife women

What is this trial?

Do you qualify?

What participation looks like

Trial locations(1 site)