Beetroot Juice and Postprandial Vascular Activity

The Effects of Beetroot Juice on Postprandial Vascular Activity After a High-fat Meal in Overweight and Slightly Obese Men

Increased postprandial lipemia may increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases. An important mechanistic link between lipemia following a high-fat meal and adverse cardiovascular events is lipid-mediated endothelial activation. Therefore, it is important to identify nutrients that can neutralize this acute vascular disturbance.

The investigators hypothesize that beetroot juice, a food rich in inorganic nitrate, could improve vascular activity during the postprandial phase.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged between 18 and 70 years
• Quetelet-index between 28-35 kg/m2
• Mean serum triacylglycerol ≤1.7 mmol/L
• No indication for treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs according to the Dutch Cholesterol Consensus
• No current smoker
• No diabetic patients or individuals receiving antidiabetic medication
• No familial hypercholesterolemia
• No abuse of drugs
• Less than 21 alcoholic consumptions per week
• Stable body weight (weight gain or loss <3 kg in the past three months)
• No use of medication known to affect serum lipid metabolism
• No severe medical conditions that might interfere with the study, such as high blood pressure, epilepsy, asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, auto inflammatory diseases and rheumatoid arthritis
• No active cardiovascular disease like congestive heart failure or recent (<6 months) event (acute myocardial infarction, cerebro vascular accident)
• Willingness to stop the consumption of foods rich in nitrates 3 weeks before the start of the study. Vegetables such as beets, celery, radishes, turnips and spinach are rich in nitrates
• Willingness to give up being a blood donor (or having donated blood) from 8 weeks before the start of the study, during the study and for 4 weeks after completion of the study
• No difficult venipuncture as evidenced during the screening visits

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women
• Quetelet-index between <28 or >35 kg/m2
• Mean serum triacylglycerol ≥1.7 mmol/L
• Indication for treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs according to the Dutch Cholesterol Consensus
• Current smoker
• Diabetic patients or individuals receiving antidiabetic medication
• Familial hypercholesterolemia
• Abuse of drugs
• More than 21 alcoholic consumptions per week
• Unstable body weight (weight gain or loss >3 kg in the past three months)
• Use of use of medication known to affect serum lipid metabolism
• No severe medical conditions that might interfere with the study, such as high blood pressure, epilepsy, asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, auto inflammatory diseases and rheumatoid arthritis
• Active cardiovascular disease like congestive heart failure or recent (<6 months) event (acute myocardial infarction, cerebro vascular accident)
• Use of an investigational product within the previous 1 month
• Not willing to stop the consumption of foods rich in nitrates 3 weeks before the start of the study
• Not willing to give up being a blood donor (or having donated blood) from 8 weeks before the start of the study, during the study or for 4 weeks after completion of the study
• Not or difficult to venipuncture as evidenced during the screening visits