Raw beets are safe to eat for most people. They’re nutrient-dense, crunchy, and actually retain more of certain beneficial compounds than cooked beets do. That said, a few groups need to be cautious: people prone to kidney stones, those with irritable bowel syndrome, and anyone who skips proper washing.
What You Get From Eating Beets Raw
A 100-gram serving of raw beets contains about 5.1 grams of sugar and a solid dose of fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamin C. The glycemic index of cooked beets sits at 64, which is moderate, and raw beets score lower because cooking breaks down cell walls and makes sugars more accessible.
The real advantage of eating beets raw is preserving their betalains, the pigments responsible for that deep red-purple color. Betalains act as antioxidants in the body, and boiling beets reduces their betalain content by 9% to 29% depending on the variety. Roasting causes less loss than boiling since the pigments aren’t leaching into water, but raw beets preserve the most.
Raw beets are also rich in inorganic nitrates, which your body converts into nitric oxide. This compound relaxes blood vessels and can lower blood pressure. A meta-analysis in Frontiers in Nutrition found that beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by about 5 mmHg on average in people with hypertension, with clinical measurements showing reductions as large as 7.7 mmHg. While that research used juice rather than whole raw beets, the nitrate source is the same.
Oxalates and Kidney Stone Risk
This is the most important caution. Beets are classified as a very high oxalate food, containing roughly 76 mg of oxalate per half cup. Oxalates bind with calcium in the body to form calcium oxalate crystals, the most common type of kidney stone. If you’ve had kidney stones before or your doctor has flagged high oxalate levels in your urine, raw beets are worth limiting or avoiding entirely.
Cooking beets in water can pull some oxalates out, which is why boiled beets are sometimes recommended over raw for stone-prone individuals. If you don’t have a history of kidney stones and your kidney function is normal, the oxalate content in beets is not a practical concern at typical serving sizes.
Digestive Side Effects
Raw beets are tougher to digest than cooked ones. The cell walls haven’t been softened by heat, and the fiber is fully intact. For most people, this is a benefit since fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria. But if you have irritable bowel syndrome or small intestine bacterial overgrowth, raw beets can trigger real discomfort.
Beets are high in FODMAPs, specifically fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides. These are fermentable sugars that your small intestine absorbs poorly. Instead, bacteria in your colon ferment them, producing gas, bloating, cramping, and sometimes diarrhea. If you’re following a low-FODMAP diet, beets are categorized as high-FODMAP on the Monash University scale and should be eaten in small portions or avoided during the elimination phase.
Even people without IBS can experience gas or mild bloating when eating a large amount of raw beets for the first time. Starting with a small serving, half a medium beet grated into a salad, lets you gauge your tolerance.
Beeturia: The Harmless Color Change
About 10% to 14% of people notice pink or red urine after eating beets. This is called beeturia, and it’s completely harmless. The red pigments pass through your digestive tract without being fully broken down, tinting urine and sometimes stool. Researchers have linked it to factors like stomach acidity and genetics, but it has no medical significance. The main risk is mistaking it for blood and panicking. If you’ve recently eaten beets, that’s almost certainly the explanation.
Food Safety and Preparation
Because beets grow underground, they come into direct contact with soil, which can harbor bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes. Past listeriosis outbreaks in the U.S. have been linked to raw vegetables, and Listeria thrives in soil, water, and decaying plant matter. This doesn’t mean raw beets are dangerous, but it does mean washing matters more than with above-ground produce.
Scrub beets thoroughly under running water, using a vegetable brush to remove embedded soil. You don’t need to peel them. The skin contains extra fiber and nutrients, and as long as the beets are free of pesticides and well-scrubbed, the peel is perfectly edible. If you’ve bought conventionally grown beets and are concerned about chemical residues, peeling is a reasonable precaution. Wash your cutting board, knife, and hands with soap and warm water afterward, just as you would with any raw produce.
Simple Ways to Eat Raw Beets
Raw beets have a crisp, slightly earthy flavor that works best when sliced thin or grated. A mandoline or box grater turns them into delicate shreds that are easy to chew and digest. Common preparations include shredding raw beets into salads, spiralizing them as a noodle substitute, or blending them into smoothies. Pairing them with something acidic like lemon juice or vinegar brightens the earthy taste and makes them more palatable if you’re new to the flavor.
Golden beets tend to be milder and slightly sweeter than red varieties, making them a good starting point. They also won’t stain your hands, cutting board, and countertop the way red beets will. If you’re working with red beets, wearing gloves and using a surface you don’t mind temporarily dyeing purple saves cleanup time.