Beetroot
Summary
Beetroot juice supplies dietary nitrate, which the body converts to nitric oxide. An umbrella review found small gains in time-to-exhaustion and endurance tasks (grade B), with little benefit in well-trained athletes. In people with high blood pressure, beetroot juice lowered clinic systolic pressure by about 5 mmHg (grade C). Red urine is common and harmless.
Key facts
- Exercise time to exhaustion and muscular endurance (B), systolic blood pressure in hypertension (C)[2][3]
- 200–800 mg of nitrate a day for blood pressure; at least 372 mg (6 mmol) a day gave larger exercise gains[3][2]
- No measurable benefit in well-trained endurance athletes or in women-only studies, in one meta-analysis[7]
- Clinic systolic pressure fell about 5 mmHg in hypertension; 24-hour and home readings were less consistent[3][6]
- EFSA acceptable daily intake for nitrate: 3.7 mg per kg of body weight a day (about 260 mg for a 70 kg adult)[1]
- Pink or red urine after beetroot occurs in about 10–14% of people[8]
- 5 graded human outcomes on this page
- October 10, 2026
How it works
EstablishedDietary nitrate is reduced to nitrite and then to nitric oxide, a vasodilator; a trial in hypertension found improved endothelial function and lower arterial stiffness alongside lower blood pressure.[4]
What the human research says
Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form column shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.
At a glance: strongest evidence per outcome
| Outcome | Grade | Effect | Strongest evidence | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endurance | Grade B | Improved | Meta-analysis of 180 trials · n = 2,672 · 2025 | 1 row |
| Blood pressure | Grade C | Improved | Meta-analysis of 11 trials · n = 349 · 2024 | 4 rows |
Every graded row
| Outcome | Effect | Grade | Best evidence | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise performance (time to exhaustion, endurance, power) | Improved | Grade B | Meta-analysis · n = 2,672 · 2025 Participants in 180 studies pooled across 20 meta-analyses Form: Dietary nitrate, mostly beetroot juice · Dose: Larger gains with at least 6 mmol (372 mg) a day for more than 3 days · Duration: Single doses to multi-day loading Small improvements in time to exhaustion (SMD 0.33), distance covered, muscular endurance and peak power; no significant effect on other performance outcomes. Most included reviews were rated low or critically low quality. | 40085422 (opens PubMed)Source [2] |
| Clinic blood pressure in hypertension | Improved | Grade C | Meta-analysis · n = 349 · 2024 Adults with hypertension (clinic BP of 140/90 mmHg or higher) in 11 RCTs Form: Beetroot juice · Dose: 200–800 mg nitrate a day · Duration: Varied across trials Clinic systolic pressure fell 5.3 mmHg versus placebo; no significant effect on diastolic or 24-hour blood pressure. GRADE certainty low. | 39069465 (opens PubMed)Source [3] |
| Blood pressure with 1–6 weeks of nitrate | Mixed | Grade C | Meta-analysis · n = 325 · 2017 Adults in 13 RCTs Form: Inorganic nitrate or beetroot juice · Dose: Varied across trials · Duration: 1–6 weeks Systolic fell 4.1 and diastolic 2.0 mmHg overall, but only in clinic measurements; 24-hour ambulatory and home monitoring showed no significant change. | 28319596 (opens PubMed)Source [6] |
| Blood pressure after short-term nitrate | Improved | Grade C | Meta-analysis · n = 254 · 2013 Adults in 16 crossover RCTs Form: Inorganic nitrate or beetroot juice · Dose: Varied; higher daily nitrate linked to larger systolic drops · Duration: 2 hours to 15 days Systolic pressure fell 4.4 mmHg; the diastolic change (−1.1 mmHg) was not significant. | 23596162 (opens PubMed)Source [5] |
| Clinic, ambulatory and home blood pressure in hypertension | Improved | Grade C | RCT · n = 68 · 2015 Adults with hypertension, half untreated and half on medication Form: Beetroot juice versus nitrate-free beetroot juice · Dose: 250 mL/day · Duration: 4 weeks Clinic BP fell 7.7/2.4, 24-hour BP 7.7/5.2 and home BP 8.1/3.8 mmHg versus placebo juice, with no fading over 4 weeks; endothelial function improved about 20%. | 25421976 (opens PubMed)Source [4] |
Forms
| Form | Elemental % | Absorption (human data) | GI tolerance | Studied for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beetroot juice (regular or concentrated shots) | Varies[2][3][4] | No human absorption data in our sources; dietary nitrate is converted in the body to the vasodilator nitric oxide.[4] | Well tolerated in a 4-week trial; red urine is common.[4][8] | Exercise performance and blood pressure |
| Whole beetroot (food) | Varies[1][9] | No human absorption data in our sources.[1] | Red beet pigments can colour urine and stools.[9] | Not the form used in most trials |
Studied doses
Doses studied in human trials ranged from 200 to 800 mg/day of nitrate from beetroot juice for blood pressure, over single doses up to 6 weeks; exercise gains were larger at 372 mg/day (6 mmol) or more for longer than 3 days.[3][6][2]
Interactions
Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.
None found in our sources.
Who should be careful
- People on blood pressure medicines
- Beetroot juice lowered blood pressure further in people already on medication in a 4-week trial, so home readings may drop.[4]
- High daily nitrate intake
- EFSA puts the acceptable daily intake of nitrate at 3.7 mg/kg body weight; 400–800 mg/day from concentrated juice exceeds it for most adults.[1][3]
- Worry about red urine
- Beeturia is common (about 10–14%), more frequent in iron deficiency and malabsorption, and is not by itself a sign of harm.[8]
Talk to your pharmacist or clinician before starting a supplement, especially if you take prescription medicines.
Safety
Generally well tolerated as a food or juice.
- Beeturia
- Pink or red urine or stools after beetroot are common and reflect pigment passing through the gut.[8][9]
- Tolerability
- The 4-week hypertension trial reported that daily beetroot juice was well tolerated.[4]
- Nitrate limits
- EFSA confirmed a nitrate ADI of 3.7 mg/kg/day and noted that intake from all dietary sources may exceed safe levels for all age groups.[1]
How to read the label
- Label dose vs clinical doseBlood pressure trials used 200–800 mg nitrate a day; exercise gains were larger at 372 mg (6 mmol) or more. Many products list grams of beet, not nitrate.[3][2]
- Nitrate is the active partA meta-analysis pooled beetroot juice with other inorganic nitrate sources and found similar blood pressure effects.[5]
- Measurement mattersClinic blood pressure fell, but 24-hour and home readings did not change significantly in a meta-analysis of 1–6 week trials.[6]
Cost per studied dose, without the sales pitch
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Cost per studied dose
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Frequently asked questions
Does beetroot juice improve exercise performance?
Slightly. Pooled trials show small gains in time to exhaustion and endurance, mostly in recreationally active people rather than well-trained athletes.[2][7]
Does beetroot juice lower blood pressure?
In 11 trials in hypertension, clinic systolic pressure fell about 5 mmHg; diastolic and 24-hour readings did not change significantly.[3]
How much nitrate is used in studies?
200–800 mg/day for blood pressure; exercise gains were larger at about 372 mg (6 mmol) or more per day.[3][2]
Why is my urine red after beetroot?
Beeturia affects roughly 10–14% of people and is more common with iron deficiency; it reflects beet pigments passing through.[8]
Sources
- [1]Nitrites and nitrates added to food: EFSA re-evaluation confirms existing safe levels (news, 15 June 2017). European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2017. safety-communication
- [2]Dietary Nitrate Supplementation and Exercise Performance: An Umbrella Review of 20 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analyses.. Sports Med, 2025. meta-analysis
- [3]Effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure in hypertension according to European Society of Hypertension Guidelines: A systematic review and meta-analysis.. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2024. meta-analysis
- [4]Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients: a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.. Hypertension, 2015. RCT
- [5]Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. J Nutr, 2013. meta-analysis
- [6]Medium-term effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. J Hypertens, 2017. meta-analysis
- [7]Ergogenic Effect of Nitrate Supplementation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2020. meta-analysis
- [8]Beeturia and the biological fate of beetroot pigments.. Pharmacogenetics, 1993. observational
- [9]Beeturia and colonic oxalic acid.. QJM, 1995. observational
- [10]The Effect of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Endurance Exercise Performance in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. Sports Med, 2017. meta-analysis
What changed
- First draft. Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (title and year taken from the record) and abstracts read for the cited rows.
- Adversarial review pass: every evidence row re-read against its PubMed abstract. Official source opened before citing: EFSA news release of 15 June 2017 on the nitrite/nitrate re-evaluation (nitrate ADI 3.7 mg/kg bw/day). No ODS fact sheet, NCCIH page or EMA monograph exists for beetroot (NCCIH A–Z checked). Industry ties: in the 2015 hypertension trial (British Heart Foundation funded) author A. Ahluwalia is a director of Heartbeet Ltd (PMC4288952); the 2025 umbrella review declares no funding or relevant conflicts. A 2017 beetroot meta-analysis with an erratum (PMID 29141968) was not cited. Retraction, expression-of-concern, erratum and withdrawn checks on all 9 PMIDs: none flagged. Page set indexable. Independent browser review (4 parallel reviewers, every evidence row checked against its abstract and official sources on the Vercel preview) found: no issues (EFSA ADI and all rows verified).