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Fruits & Vegetables
Beetroot
Beta vulgaris
Beetroot was grown for its leaves for most of its history. The swollen red root that everyone now eats was bred later, in Europe, from a plant that people once picked for greens.
Benefits
Beetroot juice brings blood pressure down, and it does more where the reading started high.
A shot beforehand lengthens how long you can hold a hard effort. The gain shows in ordinary trainers rather than in elite athletes.
What It Is Known For
The gains turn up in ordinary trainers, and reviews say plainly that elite athletes do not get them.
Nothing has ever tested it, and there is nothing here that could be measured.
It is the pigment passing through, and it goes with the next meal.
Key Active Compounds
The compound the root is measured by.
The red pigments of the root.
How to Take It / Use It
Drink a glass of beetroot juice, or a shot of concentrate, once a day. Give it a few weeks before judging it.
Take it two to three hours before you train, not on the way out of the door.
Why It Works
The body turns beetroot's nitrate into nitrite and then into nitric oxide, the signal a blood vessel reads as let go. Nitrite rises in the blood after a glass, and the pressure falls in the same people.
Cautions
Beetroot turns urine and stools pink or red for a day, and it is only the pigment passing through.
Beetroot is high in oxalate, so anyone who has had a stone should keep to modest amounts.
It lowers blood pressure, so it adds to the effect of medicine already doing that.
Where It Comes From
Beta vulgaris grew wild along the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, where people gathered the leaves. The swollen red root was bred in Europe and only became common food in the last few centuries.
How We Choose It
We check every product so you don't have to. A beetroot only makes our list if:
- The label says how much nitrate is in it. Nitrate is the part that was measured. No number means nobody looked.
- One ingredient: beetroot. Not a blend with apple or berry juice to make it drinkable.
- Not from concentrate reconstituted with sugar. Read the list rather than the front of the bottle.
- No gummies or pre-workout blends. The nitrate is rarely stated and usually low.
If no product meets these standards, we don't list one. No exceptions for affiliates.
See our picks
Sources2
- Effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure in hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 2024. Meta-analysis
- Beetroot juice supplementation and physical performance: a systematic review. Nutrients, 2025. Systematic review