Go Wise Beetroot bottle, organic beetroot powder capsules

Beetroot Supplements: Nitrates, Blood Flow and Exercise

Beetroot supplements are popular for one reason: nitrate. Beets are one of the richest food sources of inorganic nitrate, which your body turns into nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes blood vessels and helps blood flow. In controlled trials, concentrated beetroot juice has modestly lowered systolic blood pressure and improved endurance in some people, mostly recreational exercisers rather than elite athletes.

The catch is dose. Most of the good results come from juice that delivers a measured 300 to 700 mg of nitrate. A capsule of beetroot powder is a much smaller and less predictable amount, so it helps to know what the research used before you decide what to expect.

In brief

  • Beets are rich in nitrate, which the body converts to nitric oxide with help from bacteria in your mouth.
  • A 2013 meta-analysis of 16 trials found nitrate and beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by about 4.4 mmHg on average.
  • Exercise benefits show up most in recreationally active people, less so in elite athletes.
  • Studies mostly used about 2 cups of juice a day. Capsules contain far less, and the nitrate content of powder is rarely listed.
  • Pink urine after beets is common and harmless.

How beetroot nitrate works

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) is a root vegetable, and like spinach, arugula and celery it stores a lot of inorganic nitrate. Nitrate on its own does very little. The interesting part is what happens after you swallow it.

Once nitrate is absorbed, your salivary glands pull it back out of your blood and concentrate it in saliva. Bacteria on your tongue then convert it to nitrite, which you swallow again. From there, nitrite can be turned into nitric oxide, especially in tissues that are low on oxygen, such as working muscle. Nitric oxide signals the smooth muscle in blood vessel walls to relax, which widens the vessels.

That oral step matters more than you might think. In a small study of 19 healthy volunteers, a week of antiseptic chlorhexidine mouthwash cut oral nitrite production by 90% and plasma nitrite by 25%, and blood pressure rose by about 2 to 3.5 mmHg (Kapil et al., Free Radical Biology and Medicine 2013). If you use a strong antibacterial mouthwash every day, you may get less out of dietary nitrate.

What the evidence shows

Blood flow and blood pressure have the most data. A 2013 meta-analysis pooled 16 randomized crossover trials with 254 participants and found that inorganic nitrate or beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by about 4.4 mmHg compared with placebo. The effect on diastolic pressure was small and not statistically clear, and higher nitrate doses were linked to larger drops. The trials were short, from 2 hours to 15 days (Siervo et al., Journal of Nutrition 2013).

A longer trial followed 68 adults with high blood pressure for four weeks. Half drank 250 mL of beetroot juice a day and half drank the same juice with the nitrate removed. In the nitrate group, clinic blood pressure fell by 7.7/2.4 mmHg compared with placebo, endothelial function (how well the blood vessel lining responds) improved by about 20%, and the effect held over the four weeks (Kapil et al., Hypertension 2015). This was a study in patients, using juice with a measured nitrate dose, so it tells us about nitrate, not about any particular capsule.

Exercise results are more mixed. A systematic review of 23 studies in athletes concluded that beetroot juice can improve cardiorespiratory endurance, mainly by making exercise more efficient, so the same effort uses less oxygen. It also found contradictory data and noted that caffeine might blunt the effect (Domínguez et al., Nutrients 2017). The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements sums it up in a similar way: benefits look more likely in recreationally active people than in elite athletes (NIH ODS, Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance).

Dose, forms and how to take it

According to the NIH fact sheet, most studies used about 500 mL (2 cups) of beetroot juice, taken once about 2.5 to 3 hours before exercise or daily for up to 15 days. That provided roughly 5 to 11 mmol of nitrate, or about 310 to 682 mg, depending on the product. Benefits may last up to 24 hours after a dose.

Beetroot comes in a few forms:

  • Juice and concentrated juice "shots", often standardized to a set nitrate content. These match most of the research.
  • Powder in tubs, stirred into water or smoothies. Nitrate varies with the crop and processing.
  • Capsules of beetroot powder, which avoid the earthy taste and sugar but hold only a gram or two of powder.
  • Whole beets and other leafy greens, which are also good food sources of nitrate.

The honest summary: if you want to reproduce the exact exercise or blood pressure effects seen in trials, a standardized juice is the closest match. A capsule of beetroot powder is best thought of as a convenient way to add some beetroot to your day, alongside a diet that already includes vegetables. Like any daily supplement, it only helps if you take it consistently, and a few tricks for building a daily supplement habit can make that easier.

Who should be careful

Because dietary nitrate can lower blood pressure, check with your doctor first if you take blood pressure medication, nitrates such as nitroglycerin, or drugs for erectile dysfunction, since the effects could add up. The same goes if your blood pressure tends to run low.

Beets are also high in oxalate, so people who have had kidney stones may want to ask their doctor about regular high intake. If you are pregnant or nursing, talk to your healthcare provider before starting any supplement.

The most common side effect is harmless but surprising: pink or red urine, and sometimes red stool, from the beet pigments. The NIH fact sheet reports no safety concerns with moderate amounts of beetroot juice (about 2 cups a day) for several weeks.

Where Go Wise Beetroot fits

Go Wise Beetroot is a single-ingredient capsule: 1,300 mg of organic beetroot powder (Beta vulgaris, root) per serving of 2 veggie capsules, with 30 servings in a bottle of 60. It has no added sugar or flavouring, and it is vegan, gluten free and non-GMO. The label does not list a nitrate amount, so it is not a substitute for the juice doses used in trials. It is designed to support healthy blood flow and circulation as part of your daily routine, and if you take medication that affects blood pressure, speak with your physician before starting. Every batch is third-party tested by Eurofins for heavy metals and microbial contamination, and it is made in a GMP-certified facility.

Frequently asked questions

How long before exercise should I take beetroot?

Most exercise studies gave beetroot juice about 2.5 to 3 hours before activity, because that is roughly when blood nitrite peaks. Some studies also used daily intake for up to 15 days.

Why did my urine turn pink after eating beets?

Beets contain red pigments that some people pass in their urine or stool. It is harmless and is not blood, but if you are unsure, check with your doctor.

Is beetroot powder as effective as beetroot juice?

Nobody can say for sure, because most trials used concentrated juice with a measured amount of nitrate. The nitrate in powders varies by crop and processing, and many labels, including ours, do not state it.

Can I take beetroot with blood pressure medication?

Dietary nitrate can lower blood pressure a little, so it could add to the effect of blood pressure or nitrate medication. Talk to your doctor before starting.

References

This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing or taking other medication.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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