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Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate)
What it’s good for
Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate) for High Blood Pressure
Strong2 studies · 2 supporting · 0 against
Your body turns the nitrate in beetroot into a compound that relaxes and widens blood vessels.
Dose: 300–600 mg
Tested as: beetroot juice providing ~300-600 mg (5-10 mmol) nitrate/day, single dose or daily for up to 12 weeks; some trials used up to ~1000 mg/day
Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate) for Low Stamina
Mixed2 studies · 1 supporting · 1 against
Lowers the oxygen cost of exercise, so you can keep going longer at the same effort.
Dose: 300–600 mg
Tested as: beetroot juice or nitrate salts providing ~300-600 mg (5-10 mmol) nitrate, taken acutely 2-3 hours before exercise or daily for 3-15 days; larger umbrella data suggest thresholds of ≥6 mmol/day (~370 mg) for chronic protocols
Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate) for Muscle Soreness
Evidence2 studies · 2 supporting · 0 against
May improve blood flow and dull the ache, without actually reducing the muscle damage.
Dose: 300–500 mg
Tested as: beetroot juice providing ~300-500 mg nitrate/day, typically started before and continued for several days after strenuous/eccentric exercise
Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate) for Brain Fog
No Benefit2 studies · 0 supporting · 2 against
How it was tested: No significant change in working memory or information processing speed.
More blood flow to the brain would be expected to sharpen thinking. That is the theory.
Dose: 45–140 mg
Tested as: same trials as above: acute chewable beetroot tablets (45-82.5 mg nitrate, with vitamin C/betaine) and 13-week pure beetroot juice (70-140 mL/day) in older adults
Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate) for Poor Memory
No Benefit2 studies · 0 supporting · 1 against
How it was tested: 13 weeks of beetroot juice, at three doses, changed neither thinking nor blood flow to the brain.
Meant to work through more blood flow to the brain, though that was not measured directly.
Dose: 45–140 mg
Tested as: acute trial: chewable tablets with 45-82.5 mg nitrate PLUS 200 mg vitamin C and 100 mg betaine (not nitrate alone); chronic trial: pure beetroot juice, 70-140 mL/day (up to ~2x70 mL) for 13 weeks in older adults
Beetroot (Dietary Nitrate) for Chronic Inflammation
No Benefit1 study · 0 supporting · 1 against
How it was tested: A week of beetroot juice changed none of the inflammation markers measured.
Meant to calm inflammation through the compound that relaxes blood vessels.
Dose: 300–400 mg
Tested as: nitrate-rich beetroot juice providing ~300-400 mg nitrate/day for 1 week, versus nitrate-depleted beetroot juice placebo