Beetroots are the swollen, bulbous roots of the plant Beta vulgaris, a member of the amaranth family that likely originated from wild maritime beets growing along European coastlines. They’re one of the most nutrient-dense root vegetables you can eat, packing meaningful amounts of potassium, fiber, and folate into relatively few calories. A cup of cooked beets contains just 75 calories, 3.4 grams of fiber, and 519 milligrams of potassium, which is more potassium than a medium banana. Beyond basic nutrition, beets contain compounds that actively influence blood pressure, inflammation, and exercise performance in ways few other vegetables can match.
What Makes Beets Unique
The deep crimson color of a common beetroot isn’t just for show. That pigment comes from compounds called betalains, which are divided into two types: betacyanins (the red-purple ones) and betaxanthins (yellow). Betalains function as potent antioxidants, neutralizing harmful molecules in the body that contribute to cell damage over time. Both laboratory and human studies have confirmed their strong anti-inflammatory properties, to the point that researchers consider them viable candidates for use alongside conventional anti-inflammatory treatments.
Beets are also one of the richest dietary sources of inorganic nitrates. When you eat beets, your body absorbs these nitrates in the small intestine, circulates them to the salivary glands, and converts them into nitrite. From there, the nitrite is further converted into nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels. This is the mechanism behind most of the cardiovascular and athletic benefits beets are known for.
Blood Pressure and Heart Health
The nitrate-to-nitric-oxide pathway has a measurable effect on blood pressure. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in Frontiers in Physiology, drinking beetroot juice lowered central (aortic) systolic blood pressure by 5.2 mmHg within 30 minutes compared to placebo. That may sound modest, but a sustained drop of that size is clinically meaningful and comparable to what some blood pressure medications achieve.
This effect works because nitric oxide signals the smooth muscle lining your blood vessels to relax, reducing resistance to blood flow. The benefit is most pronounced in the hours immediately following consumption, though regular intake over days and weeks appears to sustain the effect.
Beets and Exercise Performance
The same nitric oxide pathway that lowers blood pressure also improves how efficiently your muscles use oxygen during exercise. When your blood vessels dilate, more oxygen-rich blood reaches working muscles, and the muscles themselves may use that oxygen more economically.
Research from the National Strength and Conditioning Association identifies 8 millimoles of nitrate as the optimal dose for performance benefits. That’s roughly 70 milliliters (about 2.3 ounces) of concentrated beetroot juice, the kind sold in small bottles at health food stores. The timing matters: consuming it 2 to 2.5 hours before exercise produces the best results for both moderate and high-intensity efforts. The benefits are most noticeable in endurance activities like running, cycling, and rowing, where oxygen efficiency directly determines how long you can sustain effort.
Common Varieties
Red beets are the variety most people picture, but they’re far from the only option. Golden beets have a milder, slightly sweeter flavor and contain the highest concentration of beta-carotene among common varieties. Chioggia beets, sometimes called candy-stripe beets for their alternating red and white rings, have the highest sugar content, with free sugars primarily composed of sucrose ranging from about 4.7 to 5.8 grams per 100 grams. All three varieties share the same general nutritional profile, though golden beets contain far fewer betalains (and won’t stain your cutting board).
Boiled beets have a glycemic index of 64, placing them in the medium range. But their glycemic load, which accounts for how much carbohydrate you actually get in a typical serving, is only 5. That’s very low. In practical terms, this means beets raise blood sugar far less than their GI number alone might suggest, because you’d have to eat an unusually large amount to get a significant glucose spike.
How Cooking Affects Nutrients
Not all cooking methods treat beet nutrients equally. Raw beets contain about 49.5 milligrams of betalains per 100 grams. Steaming and boiling in water preserve betalains best, retaining roughly 32 milligrams per 100 grams. Oven-baking drops the level to about 29.5 milligrams, a loss of around 40%. Pressure cooking is the worst option for betalain retention, destroying nearly 60% of these compounds.
If maximizing the antioxidant content matters to you, steaming is your best bet. If you’re primarily after the nitrate content for blood pressure or exercise benefits, raw beets or beetroot juice are the most direct routes, since juice delivers a concentrated dose without any cooking losses.
Side Effects Worth Knowing About
The most common and most startling side effect of eating beets is beeturia: urine or stool that turns pink or red. It’s harmless and happens because betalain pigments pass through digestion without being fully broken down. The likelihood of beeturia depends partly on the acidity of your digestive system. Research has shown that oxalic acid in the gut prevents betalain from being decolorized, which is why vinegar-pickled beets cause beeturia more often than boiled beets. Some older studies linked beeturia to iron deficiency, though later research has been inconsistent on that connection.
A more meaningful concern involves oxalates. Beetroot juice contains 60 to 70 milligrams of oxalate per 100 milliliters, which is substantial. Oxalate binds with calcium in the body to form calcium oxalate crystals, the most common type of kidney stone. If you have a history of kidney stones, drinking large volumes of beet juice (500 milliliters or more per day) could contribute meaningfully to your daily oxalate load. This doesn’t mean you need to avoid beets entirely, but portion awareness matters if you’re prone to stones.
Ways to Eat Beets
Raw beets can be peeled and grated into salads or slaws, where their earthy crunch pairs well with citrus dressings, goat cheese, or walnuts. Roasting concentrates their natural sugars and softens the earthy flavor that some people find off-putting when beets are raw. Cut them into wedges, toss with oil, and roast at around 400°F (200°C) for 35 to 45 minutes until tender.
Steaming is the nutritionally optimal method and takes about 15 to 20 minutes for medium-sized beets. The skins slip off easily after cooking. Pickled beets are a staple in Eastern European and Scandinavian cuisines, and beet greens (the leafy tops) are edible and nutritious in their own right, similar to Swiss chard. For the most concentrated dose of nitrates, juicing raw beets or buying pre-made beetroot shots delivers the compounds in their most bioavailable form.