Beetroot is the same species as sugar beet and Swiss chard: all three are cultivated forms of Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, bred from the wild sea beet. Sugar beet came much later, in the late 18th century, and a 2014 genome study put its share of the world’s sugar at nearly 30%.
The deep red color comes from betanin and related pigments called betalains. Some people see pink or red urine after eating beets, a temporary effect called beeturia that is said to affect 10 to 14% of people. In one study of 100 volunteers given a small dose of beetroot extract, 4 turned visibly red.
Beets are also one of the vegetables richest in nitrate. Bacteria on the tongue turn it into nitrite, and the body then makes nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels; in one trial, blocking those bacteria stopped the blood pressure drop. Most trials below used beetroot juice, concentrated shots or nitrate itself, and they say so on the card, so they do not always show what a plate of beets does.
Health benefits of beets
The top findings from 31 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★★Slightly lower blood pressureThe top number fell by 3.6 mm Hg (systolic) across 22 trials of beetroot juice. In people with high blood pressure, 11 trials found a fall of 5.3 mm Hg.
- ★★Small gains in exercise performanceA review of 33 studies found beetroot juice modestly improved sprint performance, mean power and maximal oxygen uptake. Dietary nitrate in general improved time to exhaustion but not most other measures.
- ★★No clear benefit for people with COPDAcross 8 trials in people with COPD, beetroot juice did not improve blood pressure, walking distance or cycling endurance. Only how hard exercise felt differed from placebo.
- ★Cooked beetroot lowered blood pressure in small trialsIn 24 people with high blood pressure, 250 g a day of cooked beetroot for 2 weeks lowered it. In young adults 100 to 300 g worked, but not in older adults.
- ★No lower blood pressure in type 2 diabetesTwo weeks of 250 mL beetroot juice a day did not lower blood pressure in 27 people with type 2 diabetes.
All 31 studies, strongest evidence first
Beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.6 mm Hg and diastolic by 1.3 mm Hg across 22 trials
Meta-analysis of randomized trials with 650 people in 47 juice groups and 598 in 43 control groups. The drop was larger in trials of 14 days or more (5.1 against 2.7 mm Hg for systolic) and at 500 mL a day (4.8 against 2.4 mm Hg at 70 to 140 mL). When the placebo was nitrate-free beetroot juice the drop was smaller, which the authors read as a hint that the juice works partly through something besides nitrate.
Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by 4.4 mm Hg in 16 small crossover trials
Meta-analysis of 254 people in trials lasting 2 hours to 15 days, each with only 7 to 30 people. Diastolic pressure fell 1.1 mm Hg, which was not statistically significant, and larger daily nitrate doses went with larger drops. It pools beetroot juice with nitrate salts, and the authors call for longer trials in people at higher cardiovascular risk.
In adults with hypertension, beetroot juice lowered clinic systolic blood pressure by 5.3 mm Hg
Meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials with 349 people whose clinic pressure was 140/90 or higher, using juice with 200 to 800 mg of nitrate a day. Clinic diastolic pressure and 24-hour pressure did not change significantly, results varied between trials, and the authors rate the certainty of the evidence low.
Nitrate from beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by about 5 mm Hg in people with hypertension, but not diastolic
Meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials with 218 people, using 70 to 250 mL of juice a day for 3 to 60 days. Systolic pressure fell 4.95 mm Hg, while diastolic changed by only 0.9 mm Hg, which was not significant. The authors rate the certainty moderate.
250 mL of beetroot juice a day for 4 weeks lowered clinic blood pressure by 7.7/2.4 mm Hg in people with hypertension
Double-blind trial in 68 patients, half of them already on treatment, comparing juice with nitrate-free juice. Ambulatory pressure fell 7.7/5.2 mm Hg, home pressure 8.1/3.8 mm Hg, and the effect did not fade over the 4 weeks. Blood vessel function improved by about 20% and arterial stiffness fell. The British Heart Foundation funded it.
Beetroot juice modestly improved sprint performance, mean power and maximal oxygen uptake in a 33-study meta-analysis
Standardized differences were 0.38 for high-intensity interval sprints, 0.43 for mean power and 0.30 for VO2max, with low variation between studies. The authors say athlete status, sport, dose and timing may change the effect and call the findings hypothesis-generating.
Across 20 meta-analyses, dietary nitrate improved time to exhaustion but not most other exercise measures
Umbrella review of 180 studies with 2,672 people, covering nitrate supplements in general, not beetroot alone. Time to exhaustion improved (a standardized difference of 0.33), more so with at least 6 mmol (372 mg) a day for more than 3 days. Distance, muscular endurance and peak power also improved, while other outcomes did not, and most included reviews were of low or critically low quality.
In people with COPD, beetroot juice did not improve blood pressure, walking distance or cycling endurance
Meta-analysis of 8 trials. Heart rate and maximal oxygen uptake did not change either, and only the rating of perceived exertion differed from placebo.
A week of nitrate-rich beetroot juice lowered 24-hour systolic blood pressure by 8 mm Hg in people with treated but uncontrolled hypertension
Crossover trial in 20 people (average age 62.5) who took 7 days of juice with 12.9 mmol of nitrate and 7 days of nitrate-depleted juice. Diastolic pressure fell 4 mm Hg. It was small and short.
250 g a day of cooked beetroot for 2 weeks lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension, though raw juice did better on cholesterol
Randomized crossover pilot in 24 people with hypertension, who had 250 mL a day of raw juice or 250 g a day of cooked beetroot, each for 2 weeks. Both forms improved blood pressure, blood vessel function and inflammation markers, while LDL and total cholesterol fell only with the raw juice. It was small and had no placebo.
100 to 300 g of cooked whole beetroot lowered blood pressure in young adults, but not in older adults
Crossover trial in 24 healthy adults (12 aged about 27, 12 aged about 64) who ate 100, 200 or 300 g of cooked beetroot (272, 544 and 816 mg of nitrate) or drank a potassium nitrate solution. Every dose lowered pressure in the young. In the older group only the potassium nitrate did, by 4.8/5.4 mm Hg, and older adults had lower blood nitrite, which may explain the gap.
500 mL of beetroot juice lowered blood pressure by up to 10.4/8 mm Hg about 3 hours later in healthy volunteers
Small acute study. Stopping mouth bacteria from turning nitrate into nitrite blocked the blood pressure drop, so that step matters. The juice also prevented blood vessel dysfunction after a short loss of blood flow in the forearm and reduced platelet clumping in lab tests.
A week of daily beetroot juice raised cycling endurance by 24% in older patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction
Study in 20 patients (average age 69). One dose of juice with 6.1 mmol of nitrate did not change endurance against a nitrate-depleted placebo, and the week-long phase had no placebo group. Resting systolic pressure fell with both dosing schemes.
Concentrated beetroot juice lowered mean arterial pressure by 8.2 mm Hg 4 hours later in people with chronic kidney disease, against 2.2 mm Hg with water
Pilot crossover trial in 17 patients who took juice with 300 mg of nitrate or water. A Doppler measure of kidney blood-flow resistance also fell, and potassium levels did not change. It was a single dose, and the control was water, not nitrate-free juice.
Two weeks of 250 mL beetroot juice a day did not lower blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes
Double-blind crossover trial in 27 patients (average age 67) against nitrate-depleted juice. Ambulatory systolic pressure differed by only 0.5 mm Hg (range 3.9 lower to 2.8 higher). Blood vessel function and insulin sensitivity did not improve either, although blood nitrite rose.
500 mL of beetroot juice a day for 6 days cut the oxygen cost of moderate exercise by 19% in 8 men
Double-blind crossover trial against blackcurrant cordial. In severe-intensity cycling, time to exhaustion rose from 583 to 675 seconds, and resting systolic pressure was 124 against 132 mm Hg. Only eight young men took part.
0.5 L of beetroot juice 2.5 hours before a ride improved cycling time trials by about 2.7 to 2.8%
Crossover trial in 9 club-level male cyclists against nitrate-depleted juice. Average power rose from 279 to 292 W in the 4 km trial and from 233 to 247 W in the 16.1 km trial, at the same oxygen use. It was small, and half a liter is a lot of juice.
140 mL of concentrated beetroot juice extended time to exhaustion by 14%, while 70 mL changed nothing
Crossover study in 10 healthy men who took 70, 140 or 280 mL of concentrated juice (4.2, 8.4 and 16.8 mmol of nitrate) 2.5 hours before cycling. The largest dose added no benefit over 140 mL (12% against 14%). Only men took part.
200 g of baked whole beetroot made runners 5% faster over the last 1.8 km of a 5 km run
Double-blind crossover trial in 11 recreationally fit adults, who ate beetroot with at least 500 mg of nitrate or cranberry relish 75 minutes before the run. Over the full 5 km the speed tended to be higher (12.3 against 11.9 km/h) but missed significance (P=0.06). This tested whole beetroot, not juice.
A single 140 mL shot of concentrated beetroot juice did not improve a 1-hour cycling time trial in trained cyclists
Double-blind crossover trial in 20 trained men against nitrate-depleted juice (8.7 mmol of nitrate), taken 2.5 hours before. Blood nitrite roughly doubled, yet time-trial power (275 against 278 W) did not differ.
Beetroot juice for 8 days did not improve a 1,500 m time trial in elite runners
Double-blind crossover trial in 8 male runners (1,500 m best about 3:56) who took 210 mL of juice with 19.5 mmol of nitrate, or a nitrate-free placebo, on day 1 and day 8. Times were 4:10.7 against 4:10.4 on day 1, and oxygen use did not differ. Two runners did improve by 5 to 7 seconds.
Beetroot juice for 3 days after a marathon did not reduce muscle damage or inflammation
Double-blind trial in 34 experienced marathon runners against an isocaloric placebo. Jump height and muscle strength fell after the race, and soreness, creatine kinase and CRP rose, with no difference between groups.
Beetroot juice raised knee muscle speed and power by roughly 5 to 9% in adults aged 65 to 79
Double-blind crossover trial in 16 older adults (average age 71), after one dose with 18.2 mmol of nitrate and after 2 weeks of daily juice. Blood pressure and oxidative stress markers did not change. The gains varied a lot between people.
13 weeks of beetroot juice did not change thinking skills or brain blood flow in overweight older adults
Pilot trial in 62 overweight or obese adults aged 60 to 75 who had 70 mL of juice twice a day, once a day, every other day or a nitrate-free placebo. No dose made a difference. The authors ask for larger studies with brain scans.
Only 0.28% of the red pigment in 500 mL of beet juice was recovered in urine in 6 women
Pilot study using juice with 362.7 mg of betalains. Recovery peaked after about 3 hours, and the half-life was 7.4 hours. The authors say either the pigments are poorly absorbed or the kidneys are a minor route out of the body.
Nitrate from 300 g of cooked beetroot was absorbed almost completely (106%)
Crossover study in 12 people who also had an intravenous dose, 300 g of cooked spinach (98%) and 300 g of raw lettuce (114%). Blood nitrite did not rise significantly. The aim was to assess nitrate exposure from vegetables.
Raw grated beetroot was linked to 7 of the 44 food-poisoning outbreaks reported in Finland in 2010
Review of the national outbreak registry: 124 cases among 623 people who responded. Eating raw beetroot went with ninefold higher risk of illness (relative risk 8.99, range 6.06 to 13.35), which began after about 40 minutes and lasted about 5 hours. No common germ or toxin was found, the samples had high bacterial counts, and outbreaks stopped after canteens were advised not to serve it raw.
Red urine after beetroot appeared in 4 of 100 volunteers given 60 mg of beetroot extract
Beeturia is said to occur in 10 to 14% of people. Urine recovery of the pigments varied from 0.06 to 0.54% and was not clearly split into two groups. Experiments in rats led the authors to suggest that stomach acidity and emptying speed may explain who turns red.
Beetroot juice had the most nitrate of four products: juice, chips, powder and cooked beetroot
Laboratory comparison. Juice also had the most sugar and phenolic compounds, while chips and powder had more antioxidant potential and organic acids. This measures the food, not people.
Pressure-cooking beetroot juice with its pulp cut nitrate by about 25% and betanin by 91%
Laboratory study of steaming, pressure cooking and open-pan cooking. Pressure cooking also lowered oxalates, tannins and calcium, which block iron absorption, and juice with pulp kept more folate than other forms. These are food measurements, not a study in people.
Beetroot juice for 4 weeks lowered blood fats and liver fat in rats with metabolic syndrome
Study in two rat models, not people. The juice also eased oxidative stress and left smaller visceral fat deposits, but did not change insulin sensitivity in muscle or fat tissue.
Who should be careful with beets
Most people can eat beets freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Kidney stones. Beets are a high-oxalate food: in a review of studies, beets were one of eight foods that raised urine oxalate in volunteers, and a 1999 review lists them with rhubarb and spinach. If you form calcium oxalate stones, ask your clinic or a dietitian how much to eat. For everyone else, the 1999 review says occasional high-oxalate foods are no problem, and soaking or cooking leaches some oxalate out.
- Blood pressure medicine or low blood pressure. Juice lowered pressure by about 4 to 5 mm Hg in trials, including in people already on treatment. The effect is modest, but if your pressure already runs low or you take medicine for it, tell your clinic about a daily juice habit.
- Red urine or stool. Beeturia is harmless, but it looks like blood. If you see red and have not eaten beets, see a doctor.
How to choose, store and eat beets
- Whole and cooked: 100 g of cooked beetroot gave 272 mg of nitrate in one trial, and 250 g a day of cooked beetroot lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension.
- Juice and shots: juice had the most nitrate of four forms in a lab test, and in one trial 70 mL of concentrated juice changed nothing in exercise tests while 140 mL did.
- Cooking: in a lab test, pressure-cooking juice with its pulp cut nitrate by about 25% and the pigment betanin by 91%, which is a lab measurement, not a trial in people.
Choose firm beets with smooth skins; small to medium ones are the most tender. Cut off the greens, leaving a bit of stem, and keep the roots in a bag in the fridge crisper for up to 3 weeks; the greens are edible and keep about a week. In Finland in 2010, raw grated beetroot was linked to several food-poisoning outbreaks, and canteens were advised not to serve it raw.
Sources
- Massey LK, Roman-Smith H, Sutton RA. Effect of dietary oxalate and calcium on urinary oxalate and risk of formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones. J Am Diet Assoc. 1993.
- Noonan SC, Savage GP. Oxalate content of foods and its effect on humans. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 1999.
- Kapil V, Khambata RS, Robertson A, Caulfield MJ, Ahluwalia A. Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients: a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Hypertension. 2015.
- Kerley CP, Dolan E, James PE, Cormican L. Dietary nitrate lowers ambulatory blood pressure in treated, uncontrolled hypertension: a 7-d, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. Br J Nutr. 2018.
- Watts AR, Lennard MS, Mason SL, Tucker GT, Woods HF. Beeturia and the biological fate of beetroot pigments. Pharmacogenetics. 1993.
- Beetroot. Wikipedia.
- Capper T, Clifford T, Taylor G, et al. Ageing modifies acute resting blood pressure responses to incremental consumption of dietary nitrate: a randomised, cross-over clinical trial. Br J Nutr. 2023.
- Asgary S, Afshani MR, Sahebkar A, et al. Improvement of hypertension, endothelial function and systemic inflammation following short-term supplementation with red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) juice: a randomized crossover pilot study. J Hum Hypertens. 2016.
- Wylie LJ, Kelly J, Bailey SJ, et al. Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013.
- Vasconcellos J, Conte-Junior C, Silva D, et al. Comparison of total antioxidant potential, and total phenolic, nitrate, sugar, and organic acid contents in beetroot juice, chips, powder, and cooked beetroot. Food Sci Biotechnol. 2016.
- Mundassery A, Ramaswamy J, Balachandran M, et al. Processing-induced modulation of nutraceutical and anti-nutritional profiles of beetroot variants targeting enhanced iron retention. Sci Rep. 2026.
- Jacks A, Toikkanen S, Pihlajasaari A, et al. Raw grated beetroot linked to several outbreaks of sudden-onset gastrointestinal illness, Finland 2010. Epidemiol Infect. 2013.
- Beets. Utah State University Extension.
History of beets
Every cultivated beet is believed to descend from the wild sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. A 2025 genome study found that cultivated beets are closer to Mediterranean sea beets than to Atlantic ones, and that the beets with fat storage roots share a common ancestor.
Beets were first grown for their leaves. They were domesticated in the ancient Middle East mainly for the greens, and Egyptians, Greeks and Romans grew them. Written records go back to the eighth century BC in Babylonia, and by the Roman era people probably grew them for the roots as well. Charred beet remains from Roman sites in Germany are some of the best physical evidence.
In the Middle Ages beets were used as medicine, especially for problems of digestion and blood. Bartolomeo Platina recommended eating beetroot with garlic to cancel the garlic breath. In the mid-17th century, beetroot juice was used to color wine.
The sweet side of the beet took longer. In 1575 the French agronomist Olivier de Serres noted that boiled beetroot gives a juice like sugar syrup, but cane sugar was cheaper and tasted better. In 1747 Andreas Marggraf in Berlin extracted sugar from beets, finding 1.3 to 1.6% of it, and his student Franz Karl Achard opened the first beet sugar factory in Silesia in 1801. Sugar beet itself arose in the late 18th century from crosses of chard and fodder beet.
Trouble importing cane sugar during the Napoleonic wars pushed the beet sugar industry across Europe. By 1840 about 5% of the world’s sugar came from sugar beets, and by 1880 more than half. The red table beet kept its place in the kitchen, from Eastern European borscht to the pickled slices in an Australian burger. Home gardeners in World War II also grew it as a rough guide to soil acidity, since good growth meant the soil was not too acidic.
Sources
- Dohm JC, Minoche AE, Holtgräwe D, et al. The genome of the recently domesticated crop plant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). Nature. 2014.
- Dhiman AS, Taliadoros D, Stukenbrock EH, et al. Signatures in domesticated beet genomes pointing at genes under selection in a sucrose-storing root crop. BMC Biol. 2025.
- Beetroot. Wikipedia.
- Sugar beet. Wikipedia.
Frequently asked questions about beets
Is beetroot good for you?
For most people, yes. Raw beets have 43 kcal, 2.8 g of fiber and 109 µg of folate (27% of the daily value) per 100 g. Beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.6 to 5.3 mm Hg in meta-analyses of trials, but the certainty is low to moderate and most trials used juice, not whole beets.
Does beetroot juice lower blood pressure?
Yes, modestly. Meta-analyses of trials found systolic drops of 3.6 to 5.3 mm Hg, and 250 mL a day for 4 weeks lowered clinic pressure by 7.7/2.4 mm Hg in 68 people with hypertension. Diastolic pressure changed little, and 2 weeks of juice did not lower pressure in 27 people with type 2 diabetes. If you take blood pressure medicine, tell your clinic.
Are beets high in sugar?
Not especially. Raw beets have 6.8 g of sugar per 100 g, or 5.5 g in one beet (82 g), alongside 2.8 g of fiber and 43 kcal per 100 g. No study here tested blood sugar after eating beets.
Why do beets turn urine red?
The red pigments, betalains, can pass into urine and stool. This beeturia is said to affect 10 to 14% of people, and 4 of 100 volunteers turned visibly red after a small dose of extract. It is harmless, but see a doctor if you see red and have not eaten beets.
Does beetroot juice improve athletic performance?
It may help some people, but the results are mixed. 140 mL of concentrated juice extended time to exhaustion by 14% in 10 men, and 0.5 L improved cycling time trials by 2.7 to 2.8% in 9 cyclists. A single shot did not improve a 1-hour time trial in 20 trained cyclists, and 8 days did not help elite 1,500 m runners. A 2026 meta-analysis of 33 studies found small gains in sprint performance and VO2max.
How many beets can you eat a day?
No study here sets an ideal amount. Trials used 100 to 300 g of cooked beetroot as single servings and 250 g a day for 2 weeks, plus 70 to 500 mL of juice a day. If you form kidney stones, the oxalate in beets is the main reason to keep portions modest.
Are raw or cooked beets healthier?
Neither is clearly better. In a 24-person pilot, 250 g a day of cooked beetroot and 250 mL a day of raw juice both improved blood pressure, but only the juice lowered LDL cholesterol. In a lab test, pressure-cooking juice with its pulp cut nitrate by about 25% and betanin by 91%, while cooking in general leaches some oxalate.
Are beets bad for your kidneys?
Not for most people. Beets are high in oxalate, which matters if you form calcium oxalate stones. In a pilot of 17 people with chronic kidney disease, concentrated juice lowered blood pressure 4 hours later and did not change potassium, but one dose is not long-term safety. Ask your care team if you have kidney disease.