The Real Benefits of Beetroot

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Beetroot juice has gained popularity for its potential to improve athletic performance and endurance. Rich in nitrates, beetroot juice is converted by your body into nitric oxide (NO), a compound that relaxes and widens blood vessels. This allows oxygen-rich blood to flow more efficiently to your muscles, enhancing performance and stamina. But how much of this is backed by research, and what results can you realistically expect from adding beetroot juice to your routine?

Benefits of Beetroot

Boosting Athletic Performance and Recovery

Beetroot juice is particularly effective for aerobic activities, such as swimming, running, and cycling. Recreational athletes often report enhanced endurance, improved muscle efficiency, and reduced muscle soreness. These benefits can help you push through longer workouts and recover more easily, especially for moderate-intensity, prolonged exercises.

However, beetroot juice doesn’t show the same advantages for high-intensity, anaerobic activities like sprinting or weightlifting. Studies suggest that the benefits are more pronounced for less active individuals or recreational athletes, as elite athletes already produce ample nitric oxide naturally. For example, research involving elite cyclists, runners, and water polo players found no significant performance improvements from beetroot supplementation.

Beetroot’s effect on muscle recovery is mixed. While it doesn’t seem to accelerate recovery in the first 48 hours after exercise, some small improvements have been observed after 72 hours.

Additionally, beetroot juice does not appear to enhance performance for individuals with specific health conditions. For instance, studies on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) found no significant exercise capacity improvements compared to a placebo.

Beetroot juice can be a valuable tool for improving aerobic performance in recreational or less active individuals. It may enhance endurance, efficiency, and overall workout capacity for steady-state activities. However, its benefits are less significant for elite athletes, high-intensity workouts, or individuals with certain health conditions.

Lowering Blood Pressure

Beetroot juice may help lower blood pressure, particularly for healthy individuals without hypertension. Research from meta-analyses of small studies suggests that drinking beetroot juice daily can lead to modest reductions in blood pressure—about 4 mmHg in systolic pressure and 1 mmHg in diastolic pressure. To see these effects, you’d need to consume around 500 mL of beetroot juice daily for at least two weeks.

However, the evidence becomes less clear for those with diagnosed hypertension. Studies on hypertensive patients show mixed results. For example, supplements containing beetroot have not demonstrated significant blood pressure-lowering effects compared to a placebo. Pregnant patients with hypertension and adults already taking blood pressure medications also didn’t experience meaningful reductions in blood pressure when consuming nitrate-rich beetroot juice.

Surprisingly, even beetroot juice with nitrates removed produced similar outcomes, hinting that its benefits might involve compounds beyond nitrates. Although there’s speculation that other compounds in beetroot might contribute to its effects, this remains a theory without conclusive evidence.

In summary, beetroot juice can be a helpful addition for healthy individuals aiming to maintain lower blood pressure. However, for those with established hypertension, its effects are limited and should not replace traditional medications. Instead, think of beetroot as a complementary option to support overall heart health.

Heart Health

Beetroot juice has been examined for its potential benefits on heart health, particularly due to its ability to lower blood pressure. However, the evidence for broader cardiovascular advantages is underwhelming. A meta-analysis of clinical studies found that beetroot consumption doesn’t significantly impact triglycerides or other blood lipid levels when compared to control groups. In a small trial involving patients with coronary heart disease, beetroot supplementation showed slight improvements in some measures of cardiovascular function. Unfortunately, these changes were not clinically meaningful, as they didn’t translate into measurable improvements in heart-related outcomes.

So, while beetroot might help maintain healthy blood pressure, it doesn’t show strong evidence of supporting heart health in individuals with existing cardiovascular issues.

Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, beetroot doesn’t appear to be particularly effective. In one study, overweight participants who incorporated beet leaf powder into their diet experienced a minor reduction in LDL cholesterol, but there was no difference in body weight compared to those who followed the diet without beetroot supplementation. Similarly, a study on overweight adults following a calorie-restricted diet found that drinking concentrated beetroot juice daily did not result in additional weight loss compared to the control group.

In summary, while beetroot juice offers some health benefits, particularly for blood pressure, it isn’t a reliable solution for improving heart health in people with cardiovascular disease or for aiding in weight loss.

How to Take Beetroot Juice Properly

If you want to enjoy the benefits of beetroot, drinking beetroot juice is your best option. Research suggests that consuming between ¼ cup and 2 cups daily—equivalent to the juice from 1 to 6 medium-sized beets—is the most effective approach. While beetroot gel has also been studied, it’s not widely available. Powdered beetroot or beet leaf extracts, such as those sold in large bags or small capsules, haven’t been researched as extensively, so their effectiveness remains uncertain.

If you decide to use beetroot powders, here’s a simple conversion to help: 10 grams of beetroot juice is roughly equivalent to 1 gram of beetroot powder. This means that ¼ to 2 cups (60 to 480 grams) of juice would translate to about 6 to 48 grams of powdered beetroot. Be cautious with combination supplements, though, as most don’t contain enough beetroot to provide measurable benefits. Instead, opt for a dedicated beetroot product for better results.

It’s worth noting that powdered beetroot may not be as effective as fresh juice. The process of turning beetroot into powder can reduce its nitrate content and other nutrients, making its effectiveness depend heavily on how the powder was processed. For the best results, freshly squeezed beetroot juice is your safest bet.

If you’re incorporating a lot of beetroot into your diet, don’t be surprised if you notice a harmless side effect: reddish-colored urine or stools. This is completely normal and nothing to worry about. However, there is one potential concern to keep in mind—beetroot’s high oxalate content. Oxalates are compounds that, in theory, might increase the risk of kidney stones for people prone to them. Although there aren’t any documented cases of beetroot juice causing kidney stones, it’s a good idea to consume beetroot alongside dairy or a calcium supplement. Calcium binds to oxalates in the digestive tract, reducing the risk of kidney stone formation.

Summary

Beetroot juice has strong evidence supporting its benefits for improving aerobic exercise performance, such as cycling, and offering modest blood pressure reductions for healthy adults. However, it’s not particularly effective for anaerobic activities, like weightlifting, and has limited benefits for heart health or cardiovascular disease. If you’re considering powdered beetroot, keep in mind that it may not provide the same advantages as fresh juice. For the best results, stick to freshly squeezed beetroot juice whenever possible.

Top supplement choices

• Beetroot (caps) – 10 to 20 caps / day
• Beetroot (powder) – 1 to 2 tsp / day

Learn more about

• Best exercises to lose belly fat
• Other weight loss supplements

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