Beetroot juice’s main claim to fame is nitrate, a naturally occurring compound your body converts into nitric oxide, which helps widen blood vessels and can modestly improve how efficiently your muscles use oxygen during exercise. It’s one of the better-studied “performance juices” in sports science, with a real body of research behind it, provided you drink it at the right time, which with beetroot matters more than with almost anything else in a juice bar.
Here’s what the research actually supports, a simple recipe if you want to make your own, and exactly when to drink it if performance is the goal.
What’s in beetroot juice?
Beetroot is unusually rich in dietary nitrate compared with most vegetables, and it’s this nitrate, rather than any vitamin or mineral, that drives most of beetroot’s research-backed reputation. Beyond nitrate, beetroot is a good source of folate, and it also provides manganese, potassium and betalains, the pigments responsible for its striking deep red colour, which have their own antioxidant properties.
The nitrate pathway is genuinely interesting physiology: nitrate from food is converted by bacteria in your mouth into nitrite, then further converted in your body into nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels. It’s the same broad pathway some heart medicines work through, though at a far gentler, dietary level.
The performance research: what it actually shows
This is beetroot juice’s best-studied application, and the evidence is genuinely solid for a food-based intervention.
Exercise performance and endurance
Studies suggest that beetroot juice taken before exercise may modestly improve endurance performance and reduce the oxygen cost of exercise, meaning the body can work at a given intensity using slightly less oxygen than usual. Some studies have shown measurable improvements in time-trial performance, though reviews describe the average effect as small. That’s not much in everyday terms, but it can matter in competitive sport.
Blood pressure
Beyond exercise specifically, nitrate-rich beetroot juice has also been shown in several trials to produce a modest, short-term reduction in blood pressure in both healthy adults and some people with elevated blood pressure. The effect is real but temporary, lasting hours rather than providing a lasting change. People with low blood pressure should check with a healthcare professional before increasing their intake.
Blood flow, nitric oxide and vascular health
The same nitric oxide pathway responsible for the performance benefits also supports healthy blood vessel function more broadly, which is an active area of ongoing research, including some interest in blood flow to the brain in older adults. This area is earlier-stage and less conclusively proven than the exercise research, so it’s worth treating as promising rather than settled.
Timing: why it matters so much with beetroot
Here’s the detail that makes beetroot juice different from almost every other juice. The nitrate-to-nitric-oxide conversion pathway takes time, and research usually has people drink beetroot juice around two to three hours before exercise, which gives the nitrate time to be converted and circulating. Drink it five minutes before a workout and you’re unlikely to get the same effect. Some studies instead gave it daily for several days, so a regular habit can work too.
If performance is specifically your goal, planning beetroot juice as part of your pre-workout routine two to three hours ahead, rather than as a last-minute addition, is what the research actually supports. Our broader guide to the best juice before a workout covers timing for juice more generally, and beetroot is the clearest example of why that timing conversation matters.
A simple beetroot juice recipe
If you want to try making your own at home, here’s a straightforward method:
- Wash and roughly chop two medium raw beetroots. No need to peel; a good scrub is enough, and the skin carries some of the betalains.
- Add one apple and half a lemon, peeled. The apple softens beetroot’s earthy intensity considerably, and the lemon brightens the whole thing.
- Juice everything together through a juicer. If using a blender, blitz with a splash of water, then strain through a nut-milk bag or fine sieve, pressing well.
- Taste and adjust. If the earthy taste is too strong, add a little more apple. If it needs sharpness, a touch more lemon.
- Drink within a day, ideally the same day you make it, for the best flavour.
This makes roughly two servings. If you’re using it ahead of exercise, remember the two-to-three-hour window above when deciding when to drink it.
The honest caveats
A couple of things are worth knowing before you make beetroot juice a regular habit. First, it can turn your urine, and sometimes your stools, pink or red, a harmless effect called beeturia that affects a minority of people. It looks alarming the first time and is completely benign. Second, beetroot is relatively high in oxalates, so anyone with a history of kidney stones should discuss regular beetroot juice with a doctor. Third, as with any juice, the fibre is largely left behind in pressing, so a sensible serving of around 150ml counts as a maximum of one of your 5-a-day. It isn’t a detox either; your liver and kidneys already handle that.
Two further points. The studies behind the performance claims usually used bigger doses than a single glass: around 500ml of juice, or about 70ml of concentrated shot, which deliver somewhere in the region of 300 to 400mg of nitrate. Homemade juice varies a lot in nitrate content, so one 150ml glass shouldn’t be expected to match the research. And if you take blood pressure medication, check with your GP or pharmacist before making beetroot juice a daily habit, as it can lower blood pressure.
Who beetroot juice suits best
- Endurance athletes and regular exercisers looking for a food-based, evidence-supported addition to training, used with the correct timing.
- Anyone interested in blood pressure support as part of a broader healthy diet, understanding that the effect is modest and short-lived rather than a substitute for medical treatment.
- Less essential for casual exercisers whose main goal is overall health rather than measurable performance gains, where the broader benefits of any fresh vegetable juice likely matter more than the specific nitrate effect.
Where does beetroot juice fit at Juices4Life?
Beetroot juice isn’t currently on our menu. If the root-vegetable profile appeals to you, our Carrot juice is the nearest thing we press fresh today, with a similar grounded sweetness, and you can read more about it in our carrot juice guide.
For more on what’s pressed fresh in store, see our complete guide to juice benefits, or call into your nearest Juices4Life store and ask the team what’s pressing well.
Beetroot juice vs beetroot shots
You may have seen concentrated “beet shots” marketed specifically for athletes, which are essentially a more potent, smaller-volume version of what’s described above, standardised to a known nitrate dose. They’re convenient and consistent, which matters if you’re competing and want a reliable, repeatable pre-event routine. A home-pressed juice works through the same nitrate pathway, but with far more variation in nitrate from glass to glass than a standardised shot, alongside the other nutrients beetroot carries.
Beetroot juice for everyday health, not just sport
It’s easy to read all the performance research and assume beetroot juice is only worth bothering with if you’re training for something. That’s not quite right. Outside of exercise, the same nitrate pathway may contribute to general blood vessel health, and beetroot’s folate and manganese content support normal cell function and metabolism regardless of whether you’re chasing a personal best. If the performance angle doesn’t apply to you, beetroot juice still earns its place as a nutrient-dense vegetable juice, in the same broad category as carrot, just with a more specific research story attached.
A note on growing your own
Beetroot is one of the easier vegetables to grow in a UK garden or allotment, and if you’ve ever grown your own, you’ll know a freshly pulled beetroot, juiced within hours, tastes sweeter and less earthy than one that’s travelled through a supply chain for days or weeks. Not everyone has an allotment, but it’s a useful reminder of the principle behind everything we press fresh in store: the time between harvest and glass can matter more for flavour than people expect, whatever the vegetable.
What beetroot juice actually tastes like
Neat beetroot juice has a strong, earthy, almost mineral flavour that surprises people who’ve only ever eaten beetroot pickled or roasted, since juicing brings out that raw, soil-like note much more than cooking does. It’s an acquired taste for a lot of people, which is exactly why the apple and lemon in the recipe above aren’t just there to be nice; they transform beetroot into a drink most people find pleasant on the first try. If your only experience of beetroot juice has been a neat, overpowering glass, blending it with fruit is worth trying before writing it off entirely.
Frequently asked questions
When should I drink beetroot juice before exercise?
Roughly two to three hours beforehand, which is the timing used in most studies. Drinking it immediately before exercise is unlikely to provide the performance benefit the research describes.
Is it normal for beetroot juice to turn urine pink?
Yes, this is a harmless and fairly common effect called beeturia. It isn’t a sign of a health problem and will pass once you stop drinking beetroot juice regularly.
Does beetroot juice actually improve exercise performance?
Research suggests a modest improvement in endurance performance and oxygen efficiency for some people, particularly in longer, submaximal efforts. The effect is real but small, more relevant to competitive athletes chasing marginal gains than to casual exercise.
Can I make beetroot juice without a juicer?
Yes, using a blender and then straining through a nut-milk bag or fine sieve, pressing well to extract the liquid. It takes a bit more effort than a juicer but gives a similar result.
What should I mix with beetroot juice if the flavour is too strong?
Apple is the classic pairing, softening beetroot’s earthy taste considerably, and a little lemon adds brightness. Carrot or orange also work well if it still feels too strong and you want a more approachable flavour.
The fair verdict
Beetroot juice is one of the more evidence-backed juices around, provided you respect the two-to-three-hour timing window and keep expectations realistic: modest, measurable gains rather than a dramatic transformation. We don’t press it fresh today, but our carrot juice shares some of that root-vegetable sweetness. Ask the team at your nearest Juices4Life store what’s pressing well.