Last updated October 9, 2026 • Reviewed by Dr. A. Reviewer, M.Sc. Nutrition • Based on peer-reviewed sources
RCTBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite
Webb AJ, Patel N, Loukogeorgakis S, et al. · Hypertension 2008 · PubMed
- n
- 14
- Dose
- 500 ml juice (~1,400 mg NO₃⁻)
- Duration
- Acute (24 h)
−10.4 mmHg systolic
A single 500 ml dose reduced systolic BP within 2.5 h, peaking ~3 h post-ingestion. The effect was abolished when subjects avoided swallowing saliva, implicating oral bacterial nitrate reduction.[Webb et al., 2008 4]
Limitations: Small sample, healthy normotensive volunteers, acute single-dose design.
RCTAthletic Performance & VO₂ Max
Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O₂ cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans
Bailey SJ, Winyard P, Vanhatalo A, et al. · J Appl Physiol 2009 · PubMed
- n
- 8
- Dose
- 500 ml/day (~340 mg NO₃⁻)
- Duration
- 6 days
+16% time to exhaustion
Six days of beetroot juice reduced steady-state O₂ uptake during moderate cycling by ~19% and extended high-intensity exercise tolerance versus a blackcurrant placebo.[Bailey et al., 2009 10]
Limitations: Male-only, n=8, crossover with non-nitrate-depleted placebo.
RCTBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients: a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
Kapil V, Khambata RS, Robertson A, et al. · Hypertension 2015 · PubMed
- n
- 68
- Dose
- 250 ml/day (~400 mg NO₃⁻)
- Duration
- 4 weeks
−7.7 mmHg systolic (24 h ABPM)
Daily juice produced sustained BP reductions in drug-treated and untreated hypertensives, with a 20% improvement in flow-mediated dilation and reduced arterial stiffness. No tolerance developed.[Kapil et al., 2015 2]
Limitations: Four-week duration; single-centre; long-term outcomes not assessed.
RCTBrain & Cerebral Blood Flow
Acute effect of a high nitrate diet on brain perfusion in older adults
Presley TD, Morgan AR, Bechtold E, et al. · Nitric Oxide 2011 · PubMed
- n
- 14
- Dose
- ~770 mg NO₃⁻/day
- Duration
- 2 days
↑ frontal white-matter perfusion
A high-nitrate diet increased regional cerebral perfusion (MRI arterial spin labeling) in frontal lobe white matter — areas associated with executive function.[Presley et al., 2011 11]
Limitations: Pilot-scale sample; perfusion surrogate rather than cognitive outcome.
Meta-AnalysisBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Siervo M, Lara J, Ogbonmwan I, Mathers JC · J Nutr 2013 · PubMed
- n
- 254
- Dose
- Varied across trials
- Duration
- 2 h – 15 days
−4.4 mmHg systolic
Pooled trials showed a consistent drop in systolic pressure; diastolic changes were smaller and not significant.[Siervo et al., 2013 1]
Limitations: Mostly short trials in healthy, normotensive volunteers.
RCTBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Physiological role for nitrate-reducing oral bacteria in blood pressure control
Kapil V, Haydar SMA, Pearl V, et al. · Free Radic Biol Med 2013 · PubMed
- n
- 19
- Dose
- Chlorhexidine mouthwash twice daily
- Duration
- 7 days
+2 to +3.5 mmHg systolic
Killing mouth bacteria with antiseptic mouthwash lowered blood nitrite and raised blood pressure, showing oral bacteria are part of how dietary nitrate works.[Kapil et al., 2013 7]
Limitations: Small sample; healthy volunteers; tested mouthwash rather than juice.
RCTExercise Performance
Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships
Wylie LJ, Kelly J, Bailey SJ, et al. · J Appl Physiol 2013 · PubMed
- n
- 10
- Dose
- 70, 140 or 280 ml concentrate
- Duration
- Acute
BP drop peaked ~2–4 h; 140 ml ≈ 280 ml for performance
Blood pressure fell in a dose-dependent way, but doubling from 140 to 280 ml gave no extra exercise benefit.[Wylie et al., 2013 5]
Limitations: Very small sample of young, recreationally active men.
RCTBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Absence of an effect of high nitrate intake from beetroot juice on blood pressure in treated hypertensive individuals
Bondonno CP, Liu AH, Croft KD, et al. · Am J Clin Nutr 2015 · PubMed
- n
- 27
- Dose
- High-nitrate beetroot juice daily
- Duration
- 1 week
No significant BP change
In people already well treated with blood-pressure medication, a week of beet juice did not lower pressure further — a useful counterpoint to positive trials.[Bondonno et al., 2015 16]
Limitations: Short duration; participants already on medication.
Meta-AnalysisBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Nitrate derived from beetroot juice lowers blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Benjamim CJR, Porto AA, Valenti VE, et al. · Front Nutr 2022 · PubMed
- n
- 218
- Dose
- 70–250 ml/day across trials
- Duration
- 3–60 days
−4.95 mmHg systolic
Pooled data from 7 trials (218 patients) in people with high blood pressure found beet juice lowered systolic pressure by about 5 mmHg, with no significant change in diastolic pressure.[Benjamim et al., 2022 13]
Limitations: Trials varied in dose, duration and medication use.
Meta-AnalysisBlood Pressure & Hypertension
Effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure in hypertension according to European Society of Hypertension Guidelines: systematic review and meta-analysis
Grönroos R, Eggertsen R, Bernhardsson S, Praetorius Björk M. · Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2024 · PubMed
- n
- 349
- Dose
- 200–800 mg nitrate/day across trials
- Duration
- Varied
−5.31 mmHg systolic
Pooled data from 11 trials (349 patients) found daily beet juice lowered clinical systolic blood pressure by about 5.3 mmHg, with no sign of tolerance developing; diastolic and 24-h BP were not significantly affected.[Grönroos et al., 2024 12]
Limitations: Mixed trials; GRADE certainty of evidence rated low.
RCTExercise Performance
Dietary nitrate supplementation improves exercise performance and decreases blood pressure in COPD patients
Berry MJ, Justus NW, Hauser JI, et al. · Nitric Oxide 2015 · PubMed
- n
- 15
- Dose
- Single dose of beetroot juice
- Duration
- Acute
Longer exercise time; resting systolic BP −8.2 mmHg
In people with COPD, a single dose of beet juice modestly extended submaximal exercise time and lowered resting systolic blood pressure by 8.2 mmHg versus placebo.[Berry et al., 2015 35]
Limitations: Small, single-dose crossover study.
RCTExercise Performance
Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on a 30-s High-Intensity Inertial Cycle Ergometer Test
Domínguez R, Garnacho-Castaño MV, Cuenca E, et al. · Nutrients 2017 · PubMed
- n
- 15
- Dose
- 70 ml beetroot juice (~5.6 mmol nitrate), single dose
- Duration
- Acute
+6% peak power in 30-s sprint
A single 70 ml dose of beet juice before a 30-second all-out cycling test increased peak power by 6% and average power in the first 15 s by 6.7%, versus placebo.[Domínguez et al., 2017 36]
Limitations: Small sample; one type of sprint test.
RCTRecovery & Strength
The effects of beetroot juice supplementation on indices of muscle damage following eccentric exercise
Clifford T, Bell O, West DJ, Howatson G, Stevenson EJ · Eur J Appl Physiol 2016 · PubMed
- n
- 30
- Dose
- Beetroot juice after exercise and on following days
- Duration
- 3 days
Less soreness; faster jump recovery
After 100 drop jumps, beet juice reduced muscle soreness and helped jump performance recover faster than placebo.[Clifford et al., 2016 21]
Limitations: Small study in young men; one exercise model.
Meta-AnalysisRecovery & Strength
Effects of beetroot-based supplements on muscular endurance and strength in healthy male individuals: systematic review and meta-analysis
Evangelista JF, Meirelles CM, Aguiar GS, Alves R, Matsuura C. · J Am Nutr Assoc 2024 · PubMed
- n
- 27 studies
- Dose
- 316–985 mg nitrate/day, 2–3 h before exercise
- Duration
- Acute to short-term
Endurance SMD 0.31; strength SMD 0.26
Beet-based supplements slightly improved muscular endurance (16 studies) and overall strength (18 studies), with the strength benefit driven mainly by better performance in a fatigued state.[Evangelista et al., 2024 18]
Limitations: Men only; varied protocols and doses.
RCTMetabolic & Other
The effects of Mediterranean diet and beetroot juice on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized clinical trial
Fateh HL, et al. · Front Nutr 2023 · PubMed
- n
- 180
- Dose
- Beetroot juice alongside a Mediterranean diet
- Duration
- Multi-week
Improved liver markers (diet + juice)
Combining beet juice with a Mediterranean diet improved some liver markers, but the design cannot separate the juice's effect from the diet's.[Fateh et al., 2023 27]
Limitations: Diet changed at the same time as juice.
RCTMetabolic & Other
Effects of concentrated beetroot juice consumption on glycemic control, blood pressure, and lipid profile in type 2 diabetes patients
Karimzadeh L, Sohrab G, Hedayati M, et al. · Ir J Med Sci 2023 · PubMed
- n
- 46
- Dose
- 24 ml concentrated beetroot juice daily
- Duration
- 12 weeks
No significant change in glucose, BP or lipids vs. control
Twelve weeks of 24 ml/day concentrated beet juice did not improve glycemic measures, blood pressure or lipid profile versus control in type 2 diabetes, after adjusting for baseline values.[Karimzadeh et al., 2023 28]
Limitations: Single, open-label trial of n=46; results may not apply to whole beets or larger doses.