Growing beetroot to save your heart

It has been reported this week that scientists at Barts London School of Medicine have said that beetroot juice is as good as conventional drugs when it comes to lowering blood pressure.

According to the research, led by Professor Amrita Ahluwalia of the William Harvey Research Institute, just three hours after drinking 500ml of the juice (around five medium-sized beetroots) there is a significant difference in a persons blood pressure.

David Kelsall from Stoke-on-Trent suffered from high blood pressure and decided to give beetroot a try.

"I drank three bottles of liquidised beetroot a week," he said.

"Now, a few months later, it is under control and normal. I am still drinking the juice, and Im going to continue doing so. It may not help everyone, but its helped me."

With this in mind, if you suffer from high blood pressure, why not make your own pure juice drink from your home grown beetroots?

Its still not too late to sow seeds directly into the soil and you should be fine to do this until the end of July.

Post-July, beetroots can still be grown year round in a greenhouse or glasshouse meaning you can save on paying through the nose for branded juice.