Cardiovascular disease kills over 110,000 people every year in the UK alone. More than 25% of the world’s adult population is hypertensive, and it has been estimated that this figure will increase to 30% by 2025. Dr Buteyko cured himself of life-threatening hypertension that did not respond to medical treatment by learning to breathe normally. This laid the foundation for his life’s research work and eventually to the respiratory & lifestyle training system that is now called the Buteyko Method. So where is the beetroot connection? A study published in the US Journal Hypertension showed that beetroot juice is as

Buteyko Method or Beetroot, the Hypertensive's Choice

effective as nitrate tablets in reducing blood pressure. Amrita Ahluwalia, author of the study and professor of vascular pharmacology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry said they had now proved why. The research shows that the inorganic nitrate content in beetroot is changed into the gas nitric oxide when eaten. This gas keeps the blood vessels open and relaxed and keeps blood pressure down. Here is the connection; we produce nitric oxide when we breathe up to 50% of it is produced in our nasal passages only when we breathe through our noses. There is a strong correlation between hypertension and hyperventilation and the most common factor found in people with these conditions is that they mouth breathe. Hence less nitric oxide is produced. There are however many more physiological consequences of hyperventilation that also raise blood pressure ( spasm of smooth muscle, reduced oxygen delivery of blood, etc) that may be found in other articles. See this article for more details< http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10433877.stm> The conclusion is those with hypertension might be able to reduce their blood pressure by eating more beetroot or if they don’t like beetroot, they could learn how to breathe normally  instead!