Beetroot Juice (Nitrites)
Brief description
Nitrate is a naturally occurring ion found in leafy vegetables, including spinach, kale, collards and beetroot.
Beetroot juice (BRJ) has been researched within the sports community to enhance performance – due to its high concentration of nitrates. There is also some evidence to suggest it may improve blood pressure.
Evidence base
Physical Performance: A meta-analysis of 73 trials (in healthy adults >18years) found that supplementation with nitrites (beetroot juice, nitrate tablet/capsule/beetroot crystals, non-beet foods (pomegranate extract, watercress, red radish) and other (dissolved betaine, high nitrate diet, nitrate-rich gels, sodium nitrate dissolved in water) was able to improve the following: power output, time to exhaustion and distance travelled. Overall, findings suggested an improvement in endurance exercise performance(1).
Other systematic reviews seem to reinforce these findings(2-4).
Blood Pressure: Nitrite supplementation may also reduce systolic blood pressure however research quality appears to be low-moderate(5, 6).
Recommended serving & duration.
The effective dosage for improving performance during time-to-exhaustion tests is 70 to 500 mL of beetroot juice (providing approximately 250 to 1,000 mg, or 4 to 17 mmol, of nitrate) taken 2 to 3 hours before exercise(1).
Daily ingestion of 200-800 mg of nitrate from BRJ may reduce clinical systolic BP in hypertensive individuals with no sign of development of tolerance(5)
Please be aware that dosage of nitrites will vary between supplements.
Safety & tolerability
Please be aware that nitrite containing supplements may interact with other blood pressure lowering medication. This also includes medications for heart failure and erectile dysfunction.
Please consult with a healthcare professional if you have any doubt about nitrite supplements.
The current acceptable the daily intake over an entire lifetime of a human that appears to be without adverse effects or harm to health — for nitrate is 3.7 mg per kilogram of body weight per day (equivalent to 222 mg/day in a 60 kg person).
Nitrate supplements, are not typically taken with food in the studies that have tested their effects. However, their efficacy in the presence vs. the absence of food has not been examined(7).
References
Gao C, Gupta S, Adli T, Hou W, Coolsaet R, Hayes A, et al. The effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on endurance exercise performance and cardiorespiratory measures in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021;18(1):55.Domínguez R, Cuenca E, Maté-Muñoz JL, García-Fernández P, Serra-Paya N, Estevan MC, et al. Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Athletes. A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017;9(1).Tan R, Cano L, Lago-Rodríguez Á, Domínguez R. The Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Explosive Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(2).Rojas-Valverde D, Montoya-Rodríguez J, Azofeifa-Mora C, Sanchez-Urena B. Effectiveness of beetroot juice derived nitrates supplementation on fatigue resistance during repeated-sprints: a systematic review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2021;61(20):3395-406.Grönroos R, Eggertsen R, Bernhardsson S, Praetorius Björk M. Effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure in hypertension according to European Society of Hypertension Guidelines: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024;34(10):2240-56.Benjamim CJR, Porto AA, Valenti VE, Sobrinho A, Garner DM, Gualano B, et al. Nitrate Derived From Beetroot Juice Lowers Blood Pressure in Patients With Arterial Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Nutr. 2022;9:823039.Examine.com. Nitrate 2025 [Available from: https://examine.com/supplements/nitrate/?show_conditions=true#dosage-information.
