Beetroot
EVIDENCE: MODERATEAlso sold as: Beta vulgaris, beet root powder, beetroot extract, dietary nitrate
Beetroot provides nitrates used by the body to make nitric oxide. Trials have found modest blood-pressure and recreational-exercise benefits using grams of powder or concentrated nitrate preparations. Those results do not establish benefits from amounts measured in tens of milligrams.
Compiled by iSupplementReviews editorial team ·Updated 2026-10-13 · 5 sources
- Type
- Botanical root / nitrate source
- Studied dose
- ~3–10 g powder or 300–800 mg nitrate/day
- Best form
- nitrate-standardized concentrate or juice — the number that matters is mg of nitrate, not mg of beetroot
- Our rating
- MODERATE — Several human trials — limits in size, duration, or independence
What is beetroot?
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) is a root vegetable rich in dietary nitrate. The body converts nitrate to nitrite and then nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels relax. This is the basis for its blood-pressure, blood-flow, and exercise claims.
The forms that matter
| Form | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrate-standardized concentrate/shot | Stated mg of nitrate | The studied form — the only label that tells you the active dose |
| Juice powder | Dehydrated juice | Decent nitrate density, variable |
| Whole-root powder | Ground beet | ~1–2% nitrate — gram doses needed |
| Blend-quantity powder | Tens of mg | Delivers essentially no nitrate |
The spectrum is huge: at ~1–2% nitrate by weight, the gap between a studied dose and a token label amount is two orders of magnitude.
Where does it come from?
A cultivated vegetable: the same beets on your plate. (Spinach and arugula are richer nitrate sources per gram; beetroot just owns the marketing.)
How does beetroot work in the body?
Dietary nitrate → (oral bacteria) → nitrite → (stomach and tissues) → nitric oxide. NO relaxes vascular smooth muscle: improving blood flow, lowering blood pressure modestly, and reducing muscle’s oxygen cost. Demonstrated detail worth knowing: antibacterial mouthwash kills the oral-bacteria step and measurably blunts the effect, proven in trials (Govoni 2008).
What is beetroot claimed to do?
Lower blood pressure, boost endurance and exercise efficiency, improve “blood flow” (the euphemism for erectile support in male formulas), and support cardiovascular health.
What does the research show?
| Claim | Evidence | Dose studied | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure | Meta (Siervo 2013) + HTN trial (Kapil 2015) | ~300–800 mg nitrate | Real — ~4–8 mmHg |
| Exercise efficiency (recreational) | Multiple trials (Bailey 2009) | ~300–600 mg nitrate | Small benefit |
| Elite-athlete performance | Trials mostly finding no benefit (Boorsma 2014) | same | Little to none |
| Erectile function | Mechanistic only | — | Unproven |
| Endurance adaptation | Mixed | — | Weak |
Blood pressure — the real finding
Siervo et al. (2013, J Nutr meta): ~4–5 mmHg systolic reduction across nitrate trials. Kapil et al. (2015, Hypertension) pushed further: hypertensive patients on daily beetroot juice for 4 weeks showed ~7–8 mmHg clinic-BP drops that persisted, one of the more impressive dietary-intervention results in the literature.
Exercise — real for weekend warriors
Bailey et al. (2009): nitrate loading cut the oxygen cost of moderate exercise ~19%: same work, less oxygen. The follow-on literature added the key nuance (Boorsma 2014: elite runners saw nothing); the benefit lives in recreational athletes with room to improve.
What doesn’t beetroot do?
It doesn’t treat ED (no direct trials), doesn’t help elite athletes, and, the label-relevant fact, tens of milligrams of powder delivers near-zero nitrate. The mechanism is dose-gated: under ~300 mg nitrate-equivalent it simply doesn’t activate.
What dose was studied?
| Goal | Dose | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure | ~300–800 mg nitrate | ~250–500 mL juice or 3–10 g powder |
| Exercise efficiency | ~300–600 mg nitrate | concentrated shot or ~5 g powder |
| Blend reality | ~30 mg beetroot | ~0.5 mg nitrate — nothing |
Side effects
Beeturia: red urine/stool in ~10–15% of people, harmless but startling. Otherwise mild: digestive upset at large doses; kidney-stone caution for the oxalate-prone.
Drug interactions
Additive BP-lowering with blood-pressure drugs (mild); caution combining high-nitrate supplements with ED drugs or angina nitrates: additive low blood pressure is the theoretical risk.
Who should not take beetroot?
Kidney-stone formers (high oxalate), hypotensive people at high doses, and anyone stacking it with nitrate medications.
What the authorities say
There’s no NIH sheet; this is a food-ingredient review built on the sports-cardiology literature. Regulators treat beetroot as food; the EFSA nitrate ADI (3.7 mg/kg) is the only ceiling anyone cites, and supplement doses sit far below it.
What to know about beetroot
Beetroot has modest human blood-pressure and exercise benefits at the studied nitrate amounts. Compare nitrate content and preparation as well as weight. Findings from grams of powder do not establish the same effects from tens of milligrams in a blend.
Frequently asked questions about Beetroot
Does beetroot lower blood pressure?
Modestly, yes. A meta-analysis (Siervo et al., 2013) found ~4–5 mmHg systolic reductions from nitrate supplementation, and Kapil et al. (2015) showed ~7–8 mmHg sustained drops in hypertensive patients on daily juice. Real effect, driven by dietary nitrate → nitric oxide.
Does beetroot improve athletic performance?
For recreational athletes, a little. Trials (Bailey et al., 2009) show the oxygen cost of exercise drops roughly a fifth after nitrate loading. In elite athletes the benefit shrinks toward zero (Boorsma 2014: no effect in elite runners); their physiology is already optimized.
How much beetroot do you need for nitric oxide benefits?
The studied range is ~300–800 mg of actual nitrate, equivalent to ~3–10 g of decent powder or concentrated shots. That's the critical number: a blend hiding ~30 mg of beetroot delivers essentially no nitrate; the mechanism can't switch on.
Is beetroot good for erectile function?
The mechanism is plausible (nitric oxide drives erections) but there are no direct human trials showing beetroot treats ED; it's mechanistic extrapolation, not evidence.
Why does beetroot turn urine red?
Beeturia: the beet pigment (betacyanin) passes through in ~10–15% of people. Completely harmless, but famously alarming if you're not expecting it.
References
- [1]Siervo M et al. — Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice on blood pressure: meta-analysis (J Nutr, 2013)
- [2]Kapil V et al. — Dietary nitrate lowers blood pressure in hypertension, sustained trial (Hypertension, 2015)
- [3]Bailey SJ et al. — Dietary nitrate reduces O2 cost of exercise (J Appl Physiol, 2009)
- [4]Boorsma RK et al. — Beetroot juice in elite runners: no performance effect (Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2014)
- [5]Hord NG et al. — Food sources of nitrates and nitrites (Am J Clin Nutr, 2009)
Products we reviewed containing Beetroot
Based on recorded labels or seller-described formulas. Inclusion does not establish a match to the strains, preparations or amounts studied here; check each review's disclosure limits.