ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Expert reveals cheap 'powerhouse' food that'll help you live longer

Home> News> Health

Published 13:09 6 Feb 2024 GMT

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

Up your consumption of this food to limit the risk of certain illnesses

Tom Earnshaw

Tom Earnshaw

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

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.

Advert

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.

Dr Michael Mosley.
Avalon/Channel 4

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.

Beetroots is really good for you.
Getty Stock Images

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.

Many people blend beetroot into smoothies.
Getty Stock Images

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.

Featured Image Credit: Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images/Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Topics: Health, UK News, Viral, World News, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tom Earnshaw
Tom Earnshaw

Tom joined LADbible Group in 2024, currently working as SEO Lead across all brands including LADbible, UNILAD, SPORTbible, Tyla, UNILAD Tech, and GAMINGbible. He moved to the company from Reach plc where he enjoyed spells as a content editor and senior reporter for one of the country's most-read local news brands, LancsLive. When he's not in work, Tom spends his adult life as a suffering Manchester United supporter after a childhood filled with trebles and Premier League titles. You can't have it all forever, I suppose.

X

@TREarnshaw

Recommended reads

Harry Potter stunt co-ordinator ‘still blames himself’ for incident that left actor paralysedSKYWoman on Metformin shares changes she noticed in three weeks as new study finds unexpected benefitTikTok/Cfrettsome40 runners smoked weed before using treadmill to see impact of smoking on exerciseYouTube/University of Colorado BoulderNikki Glaser explains why she allows boyfriend to sleep with other womenMichael Tran/AFP via Getty Images

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • TikTok/Cfrettsome
    an hour ago

    Woman on Metformin shares changes she noticed in three weeks as new study finds unexpected benefit

    It's been a big change for her

    News
  • YouTube/University of Colorado Boulder
    2 hours ago

    40 runners smoked weed before using treadmill to see impact of smoking on exercise

    The study revealed whether the drug enhances performance or not

    News
  • Getty Stock Image
    4 hours ago

    One-in-three students admit to taking part in bizarre new Gen Z sex trend

    You really do fear for the future of this planet...

    News
  • YouTube/Yoga With Paige
    4 hours ago

    Woman shares before and after of going 30 days without drinking alcohol

    Stopping drinking can change your body in unexpected ways

    News
  • Truth behind David Attenborough's major health choices that 'help you live longer'
  • Michael Mosley reveals polar opposite hacks to make you live longer in final TV appearance before death
  • Woman reveals surprising side effect after no longer taking Mounjaro
  • Free NHS Wegovy jabs made available to 1.2million if you have four specific health risks