Beetroot Supplement Benefits: What the Research Actually Shows

If you've spent any time on supplement shelves lately, you've probably noticed beetroot popping up everywhere — from athlete-focused powders to general wellness capsules. It's gone from a humble side dish to one of the most talked-about ingredients in natural health, and for good reason. Beetroot is one of the few foods backed by a growing body of human clinical research, particularly around circulation, exercise performance, and antioxidant support.

But what makes beetroot special isn't just the deep red colour or the earthy taste. It's the nitrates packed inside, which your body uses to make nitric oxide — a tiny molecule with a big job in your cardiovascular system. Add in powerful plant pigments called betalains, plus minerals like potassium and magnesium, and you've got a root vegetable that punches well above its weight.

In this guide, we'll break down what the research actually shows about beetroot supplements, who tends to benefit most, and the practical things to think about before adding one to your routine. Let's dig in.

What Are Beetroot Supplements, Exactly?

Beetroot supplements are concentrated forms of the common red beet (Beta vulgaris). Instead of eating several whole beets a day to get a meaningful dose of the active compounds, you can take a capsule, powder, or juice that delivers the goodness in a much smaller serving.

Most beetroot supplements come in one of three forms:

• Capsules with concentrated beetroot powder — usually a "10:1" or "20:1" extract, meaning it takes 10 to 20 grams of fresh beetroot to make 1 gram of the powder inside
• Beetroot juice powder — dehydrated juice that you mix into water
• Pre-made beetroot juice shots — popular with athletes for a quick pre-workout dose

Each form has trade-offs around taste, convenience, sugar content, and how well the active compounds are preserved. We'll cover those choices in a separate guide, but for now, just know that concentrated capsules are usually the easiest way to get a daily dose without the strong earthy flavour or extra sugars from juice.

The Star Ingredient: Nitrate and the Nitric Oxide Pathway

Beetroot's most famous claim to fame is its natural nitrate content. Nitrates are compounds found in soil and absorbed by certain plants — beets, leafy greens like spinach and arugula, and a few others. On their own, nitrates don't do much. But once they enter your body, something interesting happens.

How Your Body Turns Nitrate Into Nitric Oxide

When you swallow a nitrate-rich food or supplement, the nitrate is absorbed into your bloodstream and then concentrated in your saliva. Friendly bacteria living on your tongue convert that nitrate into nitrite. Once swallowed again, the nitrite travels into your stomach and is further converted into nitric oxide (NO) — a small but mighty signaling molecule.

Why does this matter? Nitric oxide tells the smooth muscles in your blood vessel walls to relax. When those muscles relax, your blood vessels widen — a process called vasodilation. Wider blood vessels mean blood, oxygen, and nutrients can flow more easily throughout your body. [1]

Why This Matters for Circulation

Healthy circulation is something most of us take for granted until something feels off — cold hands and feet, low energy, or sluggish recovery after exercise. The nitrate-to-nitric-oxide pathway has been studied in dozens of human clinical trials, and the findings consistently show that dietary nitrate from beetroot may help support healthy blood vessel function and circulation. [2]

For example, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy older adults found that drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice for four weeks led to measurable improvements in flow-mediated dilation — a standard test of how well blood vessels expand and respond. [3]

Beetroot and Exercise Performance

If you ask a runner or cyclist about beetroot, they'll likely have heard the buzz. Beetroot has earned its reputation as a natural ergogenic aid — meaning something that may help support physical performance.

The science here is some of the most robust in the entire supplement world. A large meta-analysis pooling 80 randomized, placebo-controlled crossover studies in young, healthy adults found that nitrate supplementation (mostly from beetroot juice) produced a small but statistically significant improvement in exercise performance compared to placebo. [4]

What the Research Suggests Beetroot May Help With

• Endurance and time-to-exhaustion — staying active longer before fatigue sets in
• Oxygen efficiency — your muscles may use oxygen more efficiently during exercise
• Recovery from intense workouts — research suggests beetroot juice may speed up strength recovery and reduce muscle soreness in the days following hard exercise [5]

Interestingly, the benefits seem most noticeable in recreational athletes and active everyday people — not always elite athletes, whose bodies are already highly optimized. So if you're someone who works out a few times a week, hikes on weekends, or wants a little extra support for an active lifestyle, beetroot may be worth a closer look.

Beyond Nitrates: The Power of Betalains

Nitrates get most of the attention, but they're not the only thing beetroot brings to the table. Beetroot is also one of the richest natural sources of betalains — the bright red and yellow plant pigments that give beets their unmistakable colour.

Betalains are powerful antioxidants. In simple terms, antioxidants help neutralize unstable molecules called free radicals, which can build up from everyday stressors like pollution, intense exercise, and processed foods. Reviewing the research, betalains have been shown to support the body's natural antioxidant defences and may help moderate inflammation pathways. [6]

This dual benefit — nitrates for circulation and betalains for antioxidant support — is part of why beetroot stands out from many single-compound supplements. You're getting a whole-plant package rather than just one isolated ingredient.

Other Nutrients in Beetroot

Beetroot also naturally contains small amounts of:

• Potassium — an essential mineral involved in fluid balance and muscle function
• Magnesium — supports hundreds of processes in the body, including muscle and nerve function
• Folate — a B-vitamin important for cell health
• Polyphenols and flavonoids — additional plant compounds with antioxidant properties

Worth noting: in supplement form, the amounts of these vitamins and minerals are usually modest, so think of beetroot as a "bonus" source rather than your primary mineral supplement.

Beetroot at a Glance: Key Compounds and Their Roles

Compound	What It Does	Why It Matters
Nitrate	Converts to nitric oxide in the body	May support healthy circulation and exercise performance
Betalains (betanin, vulgaxanthin)	Plant pigments with antioxidant activity	Help neutralize free radicals and support antioxidant defences
Polyphenols and flavonoids	Additional plant antioxidants	Contribute to overall antioxidant capacity
Potassium and magnesium	Essential minerals	Support fluid balance, muscle function, and nerve signaling
Folate	B-vitamin	Important for cell health and metabolism

Who Might Benefit From a Beetroot Supplement?

Based on the available research, beetroot supplements have been most studied in the following groups:

• Recreationally active adults — those who exercise regularly and want natural support for endurance and recovery
• Older adults — research suggests benefits for circulation may be more pronounced as we age, since the body's natural nitric oxide production tends to decline over time
• Anyone looking for a natural source of antioxidants — the betalain content makes beetroot a useful addition to a plant-rich diet
• People who don't eat many nitrate-rich vegetables — if leafy greens and beets aren't a regular part of your meals, a supplement can help fill the gap

That said, beetroot isn't a fit for everyone. People with kidney stone history (specifically calcium-oxalate stones) should talk to a healthcare provider, since beets are high in oxalates. Anyone on blood pressure medication, blood thinners, or with a chronic health condition should also check in with their doctor before starting any new supplement.

What to Look for in a Quality Beetroot Supplement

Not all beetroot supplements are created equal. Here are a few things worth checking on the label:

1. Organic sourcing — beets are root vegetables and can absorb whatever's in the soil. Choosing organic helps reduce exposure to synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
2. Concentration ratio — a "10:1" or "20:1" extract means the powder is concentrated, so you get more of the active compounds in a smaller capsule.
3. Minimal fillers — look for clean ingredient lists without unnecessary additives, artificial colours, or preservatives.
4. Third-party testing — reputable brands test for heavy metals, microbes, and purity.
5. Transparent labelling — the dosage of beetroot per capsule and the form (whole root vs. extract) should be clearly stated.

How to Take Beetroot Supplements

Most beetroot capsule products suggest taking the daily dose with water, ideally with a meal. If you're using it for exercise support, many studies have used the supplement 2 to 3 hours before activity, since that's when nitrite levels in the blood tend to peak after consumption.

A few practical tips:

• Be consistent — like most natural supplements, beetroot tends to show its best results with regular daily use over weeks, not from a single dose.
• Don't be alarmed by colour changes — beetroot can turn urine and stool pink or red. This is called beeturia, it's harmless, and it happens to roughly 10–14% of people.

References

1. Lundberg, J. O., Carlström, M., Larsen, F. J., & Weitzberg, E. (2011). Roles of dietary inorganic nitrate in cardiovascular health and disease. Cardiovascular Research, 89(3), 525–532. View Study
2. Bahadoran, Z., Mirmiran, P., Kabir, A., Azizi, F., & Ghasemi, A. (2017). The nitrate-independent blood pressure-lowering effect of beetroot juice: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Advances in Nutrition, 8(6), 830–838. View Study
3. Jones, T., Dunn, E. L., Macdonald, J. H., Kubis, H. P., McMahon, N., & Sandoo, A. (2019). The effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure, microvascular function and large-vessel endothelial function: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study in healthy older adults. Nutrients, 11(8), 1792. View Study
4. Senefeld, J. W., Wiggins, C. C., Regimbal, R. J., Dominelli, P. B., Baker, S. E., & Joyner, M. J. (2020). Ergogenic effect of nitrate supplementation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 52(10), 2250–2261. View Study
5. Jones, L., Bailey, S. J., Rowland, S. N., Alsharif, N., Shannon, O. M., & Clifford, T. (2022). The effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice on markers of exercise-induced muscle damage: A systematic review and meta-analysis of human intervention trials. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 19(6), 749–771. View Study
6. Clifford, T., Howatson, G., West, D. J., & Stevenson, E. J. (2015). The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients, 7(4), 2801–2822. View Study