Beets are one of the most effective foods for lowering blood pressure naturally. In a clinical trial published by the American Heart Association, patients with hypertension who drank about one cup (250 mL) of beetroot juice daily for four weeks saw meaningful reductions in blood pressure compared to those drinking a placebo. The benefit comes from beets’ unusually high concentration of natural nitrates, which your body converts into a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels.
How Beets Lower Blood Pressure
Beets contain high levels of dietary nitrate, a compound found in root vegetables and leafy greens. When you eat or drink beets, the nitrate enters your bloodstream and concentrates in your saliva. Bacteria living naturally in your mouth then convert that nitrate into a related compound called nitrite. This is a critical step: humans don’t have the enzymes to make this conversion on their own, so the bacteria in your mouth are doing essential work.
Once you swallow, the nitrite gets absorbed into your bloodstream, where it’s further converted into nitric oxide through a series of chemical reactions. Nitric oxide is the key player. It signals the smooth muscle in your blood vessel walls to relax, which widens both arteries and veins. Wider blood vessels mean less resistance to blood flow, and less resistance means lower blood pressure. This pathway works independently of your body’s other blood-pressure-regulating systems, which is part of why it’s so effective as a dietary addition.
How Much You Need to Drink
The most well-studied dose is 250 mL (roughly one cup) of beetroot juice per day. In the AHA-published trial, this amount delivered approximately 6.4 millimoles of nitrate daily, enough to produce sustained blood pressure reductions over four weeks in people already diagnosed with hypertension. Participants drank one serving each day, and the juice used was a concentrated beetroot product, not a diluted vegetable blend.
That one-cup-per-day dose is a reasonable target if you’re using store-bought beetroot juice, though nitrate content varies between brands. Look for 100% beetroot juice or concentrated “shots” specifically marketed for their nitrate content, as these tend to be more consistent. Some products list nitrate content on the label, which makes comparison easier.
Juice vs. Whole Beets vs. Powder
Raw beets contain substantial nitrate, with studies measuring an average of about 986 mg/kg. But how you prepare them matters. Boiling beets reduces their nitrate content by roughly 35%, because nitrate is highly water-soluble and leaches out during cooking. The heat softens the plant tissue, allowing more nitrate to escape into the cooking water. If you’re eating beets primarily for blood pressure benefits, raw beets or roasted beets (which retain more nitrate than boiled) are better choices than boiled.
Concentrated beetroot juice delivers nitrate in a more predictable, measurable dose than whole beets, which is why most clinical trials use juice. You’d need to eat a fairly large serving of whole beets to match the nitrate in one cup of concentrated juice. That said, whole beets still contribute meaningful amounts, especially eaten raw in salads or lightly roasted.
Beetroot powder supplements are widely available, but their nitrate content is less standardized than juice. Processing methods, storage conditions, and manufacturing practices all affect how much active nitrate remains in the final product. If you go the powder route, choose a brand that lists nitrate content per serving so you can compare it to the doses used in clinical research.
One Important Step: Don’t Kill the Bacteria
Because the nitrate-to-nitrite conversion happens in your mouth via oral bacteria, anything that disrupts those bacteria can blunt the effect. Antibacterial mouthwash is the biggest culprit. If you’re using a strong antiseptic mouthwash daily, it may significantly reduce your body’s ability to process the nitrate from beets into its blood-pressure-lowering form. This doesn’t mean you should stop brushing your teeth, but it’s worth knowing that the chlorhexidine-based mouthwashes commonly recommended by dentists can interfere with this pathway.
Who Should Be Cautious
If you’re already taking blood pressure medication, adding a daily dose of beetroot juice can create an additive effect. Your blood pressure could drop lower than intended, which carries its own risks, including dizziness, fainting, and fatigue. This doesn’t mean you can’t drink beet juice, but it’s worth discussing with whoever prescribes your medication so they can monitor your levels or adjust your dose if needed.
People prone to calcium oxalate kidney stones should also pay attention. Beetroot juice contains between 54 and 70 mg of oxalate per 100 mL. At a daily dose of 250 mL, that’s a significant addition to your total oxalate intake. Oxalate binds with calcium in the kidneys to form the most common type of kidney stone. If you’ve had kidney stones before or have been told you’re at risk, this is a real consideration, not a minor footnote.
Beets will also turn your urine and stool a reddish or pink color. This is harmless but can be alarming if you’re not expecting it. It’s caused by pigments called betalains and has nothing to do with blood.
What Beets Can and Can’t Do
The evidence for beets lowering blood pressure is solid, particularly for people with existing hypertension. But beets are not a replacement for medication in someone with significantly elevated blood pressure. The reductions seen in clinical trials are meaningful, comparable to what some single-drug treatments achieve, but hypertension management often requires sustained, reliable control that dietary changes alone may not guarantee.
Where beets fit best is as part of a broader strategy. Combined with other nitrate-rich vegetables (spinach, arugula, celery), regular physical activity, reduced sodium intake, and appropriate medication when needed, daily beet consumption can be a genuinely useful tool. The research supports it, the mechanism is well understood, and the dose required is practical for most people.