Expert reveals cheap 'powerhouse' food that'll help you live longer

Staying fit and healthy while living a modern lifestyle is a struggle.

We're up at the crack of dawn - if not before it - and grabbing a quick on-the-go breakfast before heading to work.

Then, after a full day at work, we're knackered and convenience is more often than not king, whether that's a ready meal or heading out to a restaurant.

Good luck if you try and fit in going to the gym too, with it simply feeling overwhelming to many of us to go as often as we should.

Not to mention our health suffers too.

But it's easy - and cheap - to make little changes early on while we're still young that could see your risk of heart attacks and other ailments, such as strokes, lowered significantly.

Research has shown that around half of adults over the age of 20 have elevated or high blood pressure.

And having high blood pressure in your 30s can be associated with an increased risk of brain problems in your retirement years.

One piece of advice comes from one of the country's best-known medics, Dr Michael Mosley.

The TV presenter and journalist is well known for popularising a form of intermittent fasting called the 5:2 diet.

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This is where two days of the week are spent consuming just 600 calories a day while on the other five, you eat a normal balanced diet.

He also presents Channel 4's Michael Mosley: Secrets of Your Big Shop.

In his most recent episode, focus on how to control blood pressure and inflammation was a key issue as he changed the rich diets of members of the public.

You can have life-changing qualities, he says, if you introduce one particular vegetable to your diet.

What we're talking about here is beetroot.

The purple veg includes a substance called nitrates that our bodies transform into nitric oxide.

When this is in our bodies, it will improve circulation to your limbs and as a result can help to lower your blood pressure.

On top of this, it could bring down the chance of experiencing a heart attack or stroke by up to 10 percent.

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Like stress, high blood pressure is a 'silent killer' and can directly cause heart disease; heart attacks; strokes; heart failure; peripheral arterial disease; aortic aneurysms; kidney disease; and vascular dementia.

Speaking on the Channel 4 show, Dr Mosley said: "Beetroots are particularly rich in nitrates. The nitrates are converted by the bacteria in your saliva into nitric oxide and of course that causes the expansion in your blood vessels and therefore greater blood flow to your extremities.

"Love it or hate it, this purple powerhouse has been shown in clinical trials to be an effective way to reduce blood pressure and also improve athletic performance.

"It’s also packed with inflammation-reducing antioxidants making it ideal for anyone concerned about heart health."

You can pick up a packet of beetroot for less than a £1 in most shops. Give it a go.

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In 2022, Dr Mosley also said the benefits from a consistent beetroot consumption also includes 'enhanced athletic ability'.

The flavour could be why many of us avoid the purple stuff as it's very earthy and on it's own, not amazing.

To counter this, Dr Mosley suggests combined it with apple, celery and a little ginger.

"And as for the vegetable, well you can incorporate it into risottos, burgers, bread and even cake - it goes well with chocolate," he says.