If you want to cultivate a healthy oral microbiome, one of the best things you can do is eat plenty of leafy green vegetables. Foods such as kale, spinach, beetroot and radishes contain high amounts of nitrate, which is gobbled up by Neisseria bacteria in our mouths. The microbes convert this nitrate into nitrite, which is then further changed by bacteria in the gut into nitric acid. Nitric acid circulates in the blood and acts to reduce blood pressure, benefiting cardiovascular health. For instance, in one trial, older adults who drank nitrate rich beetroot juice twice a day for two weeks saw their blood pressure fall.
