βThe Beetroot Science Institute
Basics · 5 min read

Are Beets Good for You? Benefits of Beets, Explained

Are beets healthy? What beets contain, the benefits with the strongest evidence, and who should be careful — in plain English, with sources.

Last updated October 9, 2026 • Reviewed by Dr. A. Reviewer, M.Sc. Nutrition • Based on peer-reviewed sources

Short answer: Yes, for most people. Beets are a low-calorie vegetable rich in fiber, folate and dietary nitrate.[USDA, 2018 33; Cleveland Clinic 38]

Key takeaways

What's inside a beet

Raw beets are mostly water and carbohydrate, with fiber, folate, potassium and manganese.[USDA, 2018 33]

Beets are one of the richest common food sources of inorganic nitrate, alongside leafy greens such as spinach and arugula.[Hord et al., 2009 8]

Benefits with real evidence

Pooled trials show beet juice lowers systolic blood pressure by about 4–5 mmHg on average.[Siervo et al., 2013 1]

A daily glass kept blood pressure lower for four weeks in people with high blood pressure.[Kapil et al., 2015 2]

Nitrate reduces the oxygen cost of exercise, which can improve endurance.[Bailey et al., 2009 10; Jones, 2014 3]

Claims with weaker evidence

Claims about the liver, blood sugar, brain health and cancer are mostly based on lab, animal or small early studies.[Zamani et al., 2021 32; Karimzadeh et al., 2023 28; Tan et al., 2021 31]

Who should be careful

Beets contain oxalate, so people with a history of calcium-oxalate kidney stones may need to limit large servings.[Shah et al., 2024 52; Mafra et al., 2022 29]

Pink or red urine after eating beets (beeturia) is usually harmless, but can be linked to low iron.[Sauder et al., 2023 50]

Educational information only — not medical advice. Talk to your clinician before changing your diet or medication.

References16 peer-reviewed sourcesShow all
  1. 1.Siervo M, et al. Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nutr. 2013;143(6):818–826. View source
  2. 2.Kapil V, et al. Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients. Hypertension. 2015;65(2):320–327. View source
  3. 3.Jones AM. Dietary nitrate supplementation and exercise performance. Sports Med. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S35–S45. View source
  4. 8.Hord NG, Tang Y, Bryan NS. Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90(1):1–10. View source
  5. 10.Bailey SJ, et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2009;107(4):1144–1155. View source
  6. 28.Karimzadeh L, et al. Effect of concentrated beetroot juice on glycemic control, blood pressure and lipids in type 2 diabetes. Ir J Med Sci. 2023;192(3):1143–1153. View source
  7. 29.Mafra D, et al. Beetroot as a possible therapy for chronic kidney disease. Nutr Rev. 2022;80(5):1041–1061. View source
  8. 31.Tan ML, Hamid SBS. Beetroot as a potential functional food for cancer chemoprevention: a narrative review. J Cancer Prev. 2021;26(1):1–17. View source
  9. 32.Zamani H, et al. The benefits and risks of beetroot juice consumption: a systematic review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2021;61(5):788–804. View source
  10. 33.USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Basic Report 11080: Beets, raw. Release April 2018. View source
  11. 37.British Heart Foundation. Can beetroot juice lower blood pressure? Heart Matters magazine. View source
  12. 38.Cleveland Clinic. Beets: health benefits and nutrients. Health Essentials. View source
  13. 45.Senefeld JW, et al. Ergogenic effect of nitrate supplementation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020. View source
  14. 50.Sauder HM, et al. Beeturia. StatPearls. NCBI Bookshelf. 2023. View source
  15. 52.Shah A, et al. Hyperoxaluria. StatPearls. NCBI Bookshelf. 2024. View source
  16. 54.Wang X, et al. Current dietary and medical prevention of renal calcium oxalate stones. 2024. View source

Claims marked [*] are awaiting a verified source.