Many things in life can influence your blood pressure, like how often you run and do other forms of exercise, as well as the amount of stress that you’re under. But new research suggests that you might, to some degree, be able to counteract high blood pressure with a humble vegetable: the beetroot.
That’s the major takeaway from a study published in the journal What’s the healthiest bread for runners, at least. But why beetroot? And how much of it do you need to consume to really reap the health benefits? Here’s what you need to know, with expert insights from a doctor and two nutritionists.
What did the study find?
For the study, researchers recruited 39 people under the age of 30, plus 36 people in their 60s and 70s. They had the participants go through two different two-week phases: in one phase, they consumed nitrate-rich beetroot juice daily, while in the second phase, they consumed a placebo version of the drink with nitrates removed.
What everyone's reading
In case you’re not familiar with nitrates, they’re compounds of nitrogen and oxygen that occur naturally in soil, water, vegetables and processed meats. Nitrates in vegetables are converted to nitric oxide, which benefits heart health.
Between the two phases, the participants had a two-week ‘wash out’ period to reset their bodies. The researchers also used bacterial gene sequencing to find microbes that were in the participants’ mouths before and after each treatment phase. They took blood pressure readings, too.
Researchers ultimately found that participants’ oral microbiome changed dramatically after they consumed the nitrate-rich beet juice, but there were differences between the older and younger groups. The older group experienced a noticeable drop in the oral bacteria Prevotella after drinking beet juice, as well as an increase in good oral bacteria, like Neisseria.
The older group initially had higher average blood pressure readings at the beginning of the study, but their blood pressure dropped after they had the nitrate-rich beetroot juice. (But not after they had the placebo drink.)
How does beetroot help to lower blood pressure?
This isn’t the first study to link beetroot with lower blood pressure.
For starters, a scientific analysis published in 2022 found that people saw an improvement in their blood pressure consuming when they consumed 70ml, 140ml and 250ml of beetroot juice a day. Another analysis published in 2024 found that there was a ‘significant effect’ on systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) up to 90 days after participants had a daily dose of beetroot juice.
But why? Well, it’s a slightly complicated process. ‘Beetroot contain nitrates, which are converted to nitrites by good bacteria in the mouth,’ explains nutritionist and registered dietitian Sonya Angelone. ‘The nitrites-rich saliva is swallowed, where it is converted to nitric oxide in the stomach.’
For starters, a Cheng-Han Chen, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in the US. Here, the nitric oxide helps blood vessels to relax and widen, in a process called vasodilation. ‘This process improves blood pressure,’ he says.
The bacteria in your mouth matters as well. ‘Without the right balance of good bacteria in your mouth, the conversion of the nitrates in beetroot can’t happen, so you won’t get the blood pressure-lowering effects from beetroot or beetroot juice,’ says registered dietician Christy Brissette, owner of 80 Twenty Nutrition. ‘Eating a diet that is high in inorganic nitrates from beetroot and green leafy vegetables also seems to prevent the growth of unhealthy bacteria in the mouth, which could also help to lower blood pressure.’
What are the other health benefits of beetroot?
Beetroot actually has a lot going for it beyond blood pressure. In addition to being a good source of fibre, which is great for digestion and gut health, beetroot contains antioxidants that can help to reduce inflammation and lower your risk of chronic diseases. Nutrition tips for runners with chronic illnesses.
Another thing: beetroot may even give your running a little boost. As Angelone says, ‘beetroot may support athletic performance by enhancing the mitochondrial function – the energy producing structure in the cells’.
Various research supports this, too. A 2015 study published in the the unusual foods that can prevent muscle cramp, for instance, found that drinking beetroot juice for seven straight days was enough to generate faster sprint times. Meanwhile, for a 2018 study published in PLoS One, researchers asked elite distance runners to drink beetroot juice for fifteen consecutive days. Although this had no meaningful impact on their running economy, VO2 max or mechanical parameters, it did substantially improve the runners’ time to exhaustion.
How much beetroot should you eat?
According to Angelone, to get the health benefits from beetroot, it’s good to eat around 130g of the vegetable nearly every day.
Of course, if you have high blood pressure, Brissette says that it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about the lifestyle moves that you’re making to try to get that blood pressure back down. Dr. Chen also points out that eating beetroot or drinking beetroot juice can’t replace any blood pressure-lowering medication you may be on – but it can support your efforts. ‘The reductions in blood pressure are modest, but they are measurable,’ he adds.
Still, it’s important to point out that beetroot isn’t the only nitrate-rich vegetable out there. So, if beetroot isn’t for you, consider loading up on spinach, celery and kale to reap similar benefits.
