Amrita Ahluwalia, 41, the professor of vascular pharmacology at the William Harvey Institute, London, reported this week that drinking 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure.
Why beetroot? “The past five years have seen huge interest in the benefits of nitrate on blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Beetroot has a high nitrate level, as do green leafy vegetables like lettuce. But if you wanted to ingest beneficial levels of nitrate from lettuce, you would have to eat a head of it every day. That is not so enjoyable as beetroot juice.”
Isn’t that a matter of taste? “People fall into two clear groups – those who love beetroot and those who hate it. The hate-it people won’t touch it at all. My husband, a co-author of the study, is one. But I if you can persuade people to try it, they’ll come to like it.
You can take some of the heavy taste away by mixing it with apple juice.”
Is this work your life’s ambition? “My childhood passsion was really English literature and I always thought I’d be an author. Hardy’s Jude The Obscure is still my favourite. But being Asian, I lived with the idea of going into science or medicine. My father came from India and always hoped his children would be health professionals. Doing my PhD made me realise that I really do love the job that I do. So maybe my parents knew more about me than I knew myself.”
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When the white coat’s off “I love to cook. What I do for the majority of the weekend is cook for my two boys, aged 6 and 9. I worked in Italy for a while and it was my time there that got me into eating simple good food. I also love the opera. I got my husband into it, too. We’re off to see The Magic Flute next. It’s the drama and the melodrama I love – Italian opera is a lot like Indian movies.”
Have you patented your beetroot? “We’re told that it’s not possible.”