Beetroot and Nitric Oxide: Benefits and Clinical Evidence
Does beetroot increase nitric oxide? Explore nitrate biology, blood pressure, exercise studies, doses and the differences between juice, powder and blends.
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Beetroot and nitric oxide are closely connected because beetroot is a natural source of inorganic nitrate. After absorption, some nitrate returns to the mouth through saliva, where certain bacteria convert it into nitrite. Further reactions can contribute to nitric-oxide generation, especially under particular tissue conditions. That is a plausible and well-investigated pathway, but the clinical effects depend on nitrate dose, preparation and individual health.
How beetroot contributes to nitric oxide production
Unlike oral L-arginine, which supplies the substrate for nitric-oxide synthase, beetroot mainly participates in the nitrate–nitrite–nitric-oxide pathway. These are complementary biochemical routes. Because nitrate-reducing oral bacteria are involved, antiseptic mouthwash can alter conversion in short experiments. The physiology does not mean that all beetroot products or doses produce equivalent changes in vascular function.
Which beetroot nutrients matter?
Beetroot contains nitrate, pigments known as betalains, fiber when eaten whole, and other vegetable components. The most studied mechanism behind acute changes in nitric-oxide metabolites is dietary inorganic nitrate. Its quantity can vary dramatically with cultivation, season, soil, processing and storage. The weight of beetroot powder on a label is not a measurement of its active nitrate content, and a proprietary blend's total weight does not tell you how many millimoles of nitrate it delivers.
What human trials show for blood pressure
A 2024 systematic review examined 11 randomized beetroot-juice trials involving 349 adults with hypertension. The pooled clinic systolic blood-pressure difference was −5.31 mmHg compared with control, with low certainty and moderate-to-high variation across studies. There was no significant pooled 24-hour blood-pressure benefit. A wider 2025 review of 75 randomized trials found modest average pressure and vascular-biomarker changes with dietary nitrate across varied formulations.
Individual studies are not uniformly positive. A four-week randomized trial in 68 adults found meaningful blood-pressure improvements with nitrate-rich versus depleted beetroot juice. By contrast, 27 people with treated hypertension had higher nitrate biomarkers without a corresponding improvement in home or ambulatory blood pressure. A 2024 trial in 15 older treated adults also found no improvement in vascular function or blood pressure. These discrepancies matter more than a single product's headline percentage.
Does beetroot improve exercise performance?
Some randomized trials show lower oxygen cost during submaximal exercise or improvements in specific endurance tests after standardized nitrate-rich beetroot juice. A 2025 umbrella review of 20 meta-analyses reported benefits for selected outcomes, but many others were neutral. Most included reviews had low or critically low methodology quality, and results often differed by training status. Elite endurance athletes cannot assume that the improvement seen in a recreationally active laboratory participant translates to their next race.
Juice, shots, powder and whole beetroot: what changes?
| Preparation | What it offers | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Whole beetroot | Food matrix, fiber and dietary variety | Nitrate amount is not standardized |
| Nitrate-rich juice | Most developed controlled intervention literature | Fluid volume, carbohydrates and dose vary |
| Concentrated beetroot shot | Convenient if nitrate is quantified | Formulation and assay should be checked |
| Beetroot powder | Portable, easily incorporated into food | Powder weight does not prove nitrate dose |
| Proprietary blend | Can combine several pathways | Individual quantities and product-specific outcomes may be unknown |
What doses have been studied?
Human experiments often provide several millimoles of inorganic nitrate, including protocols in the region of 5–11 mmol for exercise. At approximately 62 mg per mmol, that corresponds to roughly 310–682 mg of nitrate, not 310–682 mg of beetroot. Some protocols use a single serving a few hours before exercise, while others use daily consumption for several days or weeks. These are study exposures, not a universal personal dosing recommendation. Do not automatically apply the numbers to a supplement with unknown nitrate standardization.
What about the oral microbiome?
A 2025 age-comparative crossover study examined oral microbiome composition, nitrate-related metabolites and vascular responses. Its findings help explain why age and baseline oral microbiology may modify responses. Small mouthwash trials also demonstrate the nitrate-reducing role of oral bacteria. Do not discontinue a dentist-prescribed rinse simply to chase supplement-related biomarkers; good oral health remains important.
Beetroot compared with Nitralis
DoNotAge Nitralis contains a proprietary blend described in its published 2025 pilot as fermented beet, magnesium ascorbate and epimedium. The trial tested 400 mg daily for 30 days and reported higher semi-quantitative salivary test-strip readings than placebo. Today's retail serving is 800 mg daily. That biomarker trial is product-specific, but it did not measure blood pressure or endurance, and its nitrate amount has not been independently established from a current batch-specific certificate. The broader beetroot-juice studies should therefore remain separate from claims about Nitralis.
Safety and interactions
Whole beetroot can cause harmless red urine or stools in some people. Concentrated nitrate supplements may change blood pressure in susceptible users; consult a clinician if taking antihypertensives or living with symptomatic low blood pressure. Dietary inorganic nitrate is chemically distinct from prescription organic nitrates, which are contraindicated with PDE5 inhibitor medicines such as sildenafil. If you have kidney disease, pregnancy or significant cardiovascular disease, use individualized medical advice rather than supplement experimentation.
Frequently asked questions
Does beetroot increase nitric oxide in everyone?
Standardized nitrate interventions commonly increase nitrate and nitrite biomarkers, but downstream clinical effects vary and are not reliably predicted by a saliva-strip result.
How much beetroot powder equals one nitrate-rich juice?
There is no fixed conversion without laboratory analysis of the powder's nitrate concentration.
Is more nitrate always better?
No. Trial doses and safety depend on the intervention, user and outcome. Higher amounts are not proven to produce proportionally greater benefits.
Research references
Sources & article history
Sources (4)
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Plasma nitrate, dietary nitrate, blood pressure, and vascular health biomarkers: a GRADE-Assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Nutrition Journal. 2025;24(1):47.
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Effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure in hypertension according to European Society of Hypertension Guidelines: A systematic review and meta-analysis Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. 2024;34(10):2240–2256.
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Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients: a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study Hypertension. 2015;65(2):320–327.
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Dietary Nitrate Supplementation and Exercise Performance: An Umbrella Review of 20 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analyses Sports Medicine. 2025;55(5):1213–1231.