Should You Take Beetroot Supplementation? Who It Actually Helps (and Who It Doesn't)

Beetroot supplementation has gone from a niche sports-science curiosity to a mainstream pre-workout staple in the space of a decade. You'll find it in everything from concentrated shots to capsules to powders. The marketing is confident. The reality is more nuanced.

The evidence for beetroot is real. But it does not apply equally to everyone. The honest answer to "should I take it?" depends on what you're training for, how hard you train, and a few biological factors most supplement brands won't mention.

How Beetroot Actually Works

Before deciding whether to take it, it helps to understand the mechanism. Beetroot's performance benefits come almost entirely from its high dietary nitrate content.

When you consume nitrate, bacteria in your mouth and gut convert it to nitrite, which is then reduced to nitric oxide (NO) in the bloodstream. Nitric oxide causes blood vessels to dilate, improving blood flow to working muscles and reducing the oxygen cost of exercise. In practical terms, your muscles work more efficiently at the same effort level.

This is not a stimulant effect. Beetroot does not increase your heart rate or give you an adrenaline spike. It improves the efficiency of oxygen use at the cellular level, specifically within the mitochondria.

Why the form of beetroot matters

Not all beetroot products deliver meaningful nitrate doses. Whole beetroot, beetroot powder, and beetroot juice vary considerably in nitrate concentration. Research consistently shows that beetroot juice has the highest nitrate content of any studied formulation, and that concentrated shots (typically 70ml per shot) are the most reliable delivery format for performance purposes.

Capsules and powders can work, but only if the nitrate content is clearly stated and standardised. If a product doesn't specify its nitrate content in milligrams or millimoles, be sceptical of its performance claims.

Who Should Take Beetroot Supplementation

The evidence is strongest for specific groups. If you fall into one of the categories below, beetroot supplementation has a credible, research-backed case behind it.

Endurance athletes and high-intensity trainers

This is where the data is most consistent. Nie et al. (2026) found that beetroot juice supplementation increased time to exhaustion by 16% during high-intensity exercise and improved post-exercise muscle oxygen saturation by 10%. Cyclists, runners, rowers, and swimmers in the sub-elite to recreational bracket tend to see the most meaningful gains.

The reason recreational and sub-elite athletes benefit more than elite athletes is worth understanding: highly trained athletes already have optimised oxygen delivery systems. The marginal gain from increased nitric oxide is smaller when your baseline is already high. For most people who train consistently but not at an elite level, the ceiling for improvement is higher.

Team sport athletes

A 2026 study on basketball players found significant improvements in jump height and peak power output (p<0.001 to 0.007) following beetroot supplementation. This extends the evidence beyond pure endurance into explosive, intermittent sport contexts, making it relevant for football, rugby, basketball, and similar disciplines.

People exercising at altitude or in low-oxygen environments

Nitric oxide's vasodilatory effect becomes more valuable when oxygen availability is reduced. Research has shown that beetroot juice improves time trial performance in cyclists at simulated altitude (2,500m), where it meaningfully offsets the performance decline caused by reduced oxygen pressure. If you train or compete at altitude, this is a particularly strong use case.

A practical checklist

Non-responders are real

Some people show little to no performance response to dietary nitrate supplementation. This is not a placebo effect or a dosing error. Individual variation in oral microbiome composition (the bacteria responsible for converting nitrate to nitrite), gut absorption, and baseline nitric oxide production all influence how much benefit you actually get. There is currently no reliable pre-test to identify non-responders before you try it.

The practical implication: if you've tried beetroot supplementation consistently for three to four weeks at an appropriate dose and noticed no difference in performance, you may be a non-responder. Continuing to supplement is unlikely to change that outcome.

People on certain medications

Beetroot supplementation can interact with specific medication categories:

• Blood pressure medications and nitrates: Beetroot lowers blood pressure through the nitrate-nitric oxide pathway. Combined with antihypertensive drugs or prescribed nitrate medications (such as nitroglycerin), this can cause an additive blood pressure drop. Consult your GP before supplementing.

• Sildenafil (Viagra) and similar PDE5 inhibitors: These drugs already work by increasing nitric oxide signalling. Combining them with high-dose dietary nitrate is not advisable without medical guidance.

• Anticoagulants: Some evidence suggests beetroot's betalain compounds may have mild antiplatelet effects. If you take blood thinners, check with your prescriber.

Elite athletes with already-optimised physiology

As noted above, the effect size in highly trained athletes is consistently smaller. A 2024-2025 review found effect sizes (SMD) of 0.20 for acute supplementation and 0.13 for chronic supplementation across the broader literature. For an elite athlete, those margins may not justify the cost or logistics of supplementation.

People who use mouthwash regularly

This one surprises most people. Antibacterial mouthwash kills the oral bacteria responsible for converting nitrate to nitrite. Studies have shown that using mouthwash before or shortly after consuming beetroot juice significantly blunts the plasma nitrite response. If you use antibacterial mouthwash twice daily, you may be undermining any potential performance benefits before they begin.

Dosing and Timing: What the Research Actually Recommends

If you've decided beetroot supplementation is appropriate for you, getting the dose and timing right is non-negotiable. The performance window is specific, and getting it wrong means you're spending money for no benefit.

Dose

The evidence points to a clear effective range:

• Minimum effective dose: approximately 6 mmol of nitrate per day (around 372 mg), sufficient to show time-to-exhaustion improvements

• Optimal performance dose: 8.3 to 16.4 mmol of nitrate (515 to 1,017 mg) per day, as identified in a 2026 meta-analysis published on PubMed Central

• Practical equivalent: two concentrated 70ml beetroot shots, or approximately 0.5 litres of high-quality beetroot juice

Always check the nitrate content on the label. A product listing only "beetroot extract" without specifying nitrate content in mg or mmol cannot be reliably dosed.

Timing

This is where most people get it wrong. Beetroot needs time to convert through the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway.

• Acute (single session): consume 2-2.5 hours before exercise. Plasma nitrite peaks at approximately 2 to 3 hours post-ingestion, which is when the performance effect is at its strongest.

• Chronic loading: daily supplementation for three or more consecutive days produces sustained elevated plasma nitrite levels. This approach is useful for training blocks rather than one-off events.

Key point from the research: A 2025 Frontiers in Nutrition paper recommends athletes ingest approximately 8.4 mmol of nitrate around 2.5 hours before competition, with a short plyometric activation protocol 4 to 8 minutes before performance for maximal effect.

Side effects to be aware of

Beetroot supplementation is safe for most healthy adults. The most common side effects are benign:

• Beeturia: red or pink discolouration of urine and stools. This is harmless and temporary.

• Gastrointestinal discomfort: some individuals experience bloating or loose stools, particularly at higher doses. Starting with a lower dose and building up can help.

• Blood pressure reduction: In healthy normotensive individuals, this is modest and generally not problematic. In those already on antihypertensive medication, see the contraindications above.

A 12-week safety study published on NIH PubMed Central found no serious adverse events and no significant changes to liver or kidney markers in older adults taking standardised beetroot extract daily.

The Verdict: A Clear Decision Framework

Beetroot supplementation is one of the more honestly evidence-supported options in the sports nutrition category. It is not a miracle supplement, and it does not work for everyone. But for the right person, using it correctly, the performance benefit is real and measurable.

Use this framework to make your decision:

Take beetroot supplementation if:

• You train at moderate-to-high intensity regularly (endurance sports, team sports, HIIT)

• You are a recreational or sub-elite athlete looking for a legal, evidence-backed performance edge

• You are preparing for a specific event and want to use an acute pre-performance protocol

• You train or compete at altitude

Approach with caution:

• You are on blood pressure medication, prescribed nitrates, or PDE5 inhibitors

• You are an elite athlete with a highly trained cardiovascular system

• You use antibacterial mouthwash twice daily and are unwilling to change that habit

• You have tried a properly dosed protocol for four weeks and noticed no effect

The bottom line: the broader literature on dietary nitrate is, as one research review put it, "mixed". But when you filter for the right population, the right dose, and the right timing, beetroot supplementation has a stronger evidence base than most of what fills supplement shelves. The key is applying it honestly, not universally.

If you are looking for a supplement range built on the same principle, formulated with transparency and without exaggerated claims, explore what NobleNature offers.