“Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure.”
Beetroot juice lowers the top blood pressure number by a few points on average, based on mostly small, short trials.
Daily beet juice gives a small drop in the top blood pressure number, a few points on average. It is a food add-on, not a replacement for blood pressure medicine.
If you try daily beet juice, check your blood pressure at home before you start and again after a few weeks.
Two reviews of randomized trials agree that nitrate-rich beet juice lowers the top (systolic) blood pressure number by about 4 to 5 points. Confidence is Limited because the trials were small and short, results varied, and the bottom number and 24-hour readings did not clearly change.
Beetroot juice lowers the top blood pressure number by a few points on average, based on mostly small, short trials. In 11 trials of 349 adults with high blood pressure, daily beet juice lowered clinic systolic pressure by about 5 points, while diastolic and 24-hour readings did not clearly change.
An earlier review of 16 short trials (254 people, lasting 2 hours to 15 days) found systolic pressure about 4 points lower with nitrate or beet juice, and diastolic about 1 point lower, which could be chance. Higher daily nitrate doses gave bigger drops. The 2024 review used beet juice with 200 to 800 mg of nitrate a day and saw no sign that the effect wore off, but it rated its evidence low certainty.
- 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. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. 2024;34(10):2240-2256. DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2024.06.009. PMID: 39069465
- Siervo M, Lara J, Ogbonmwan I, Mathers JC. Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Nutrition. 2013;143(6):818-826. DOI: 10.3945/jn.112.170233. PMID: 23596162