Does beetroot juice lower blood pressure?

Yes, by a few millimeters of mercury, in short trials, and mostly on the reading taken in a clinic. A meta-analysis of 1248 people found beetroot juice lowered systolic pressure by 3.55 mm Hg (95% CI 2.54 to 4.55) and diastolic by 1.32 mm Hg against control. Those were mostly short trials in people without treated hypertension. Whether the fall lasts, and whether it reaches people who already have high blood pressure, is where the trials split.

Established. Beetroot juice or dietary nitrate lowers systolic pressure measured in a clinic, by a small amount and in the short term. Five meta-analyses agree on the direction, with average falls between 2.42 and 4.4 mm Hg in short trials.

Unsettled. For people who already have high blood pressure the answer is not settled. A 2022 meta-analysis of 7 beetroot juice trials in 218 people with hypertension found systolic pressure fell by 4.95 mm Hg (95% CI 1.01 to 8.88). A 2023 meta-analysis of 19 trials, which pooled juice with nitrate salts, found no fall in people with hypertension. A systematic review limited to them concluded there is not enough evidence to support or refute any effect.

What the trials found

The clinic reading moves, the 24-hour reading mostly does not

A 2017 meta-analysis of 13 trials lasting 1 to 6 weeks found nitrate lowered clinic pressure by 4.1/2.0 mm Hg. Measured by 24-hour ambulatory or home monitoring, the more accurate methods, the same trials showed no significant change. A 2021 meta-analysis of 22 trials in older adults found the same pattern, a fall of 3.90/2.62 mm Hg in clinic readings and none with ambulatory or home measurement or in those who already had hypertension.

Two single trials point the other way. In a 4-week double-blind trial in 68 people with hypertension, 8.5 fl oz (250 mL) of beetroot juice a day lowered 24-hour ambulatory pressure by 7.7/5.2 mm Hg (95% CI 4.1 to 11.2 and 2.7 to 7.7). Its placebo was the same juice with the nitrate removed. In 47 Tanzanian adults aged 50 to 70 with raised pressure, about 400 mg of nitrate a day from beetroot juice for 60 days lowered 24-hour systolic pressure by 10.8 mm Hg, against 0.3 mm Hg on nitrate-depleted juice. That was a feasibility trial with about 15 people per arm, reporting changes within each group.

The longest trial found nothing

The longest trial ran 16 weeks in 66 people with early-stage hypertension. A vegetable powder giving about 400 mg of nitrate a day did not lower clinic systolic pressure more than a low-nitrate powder, with a difference of 3.91 ± 3.52 mm Hg (p = 0.27). It used powder rather than juice, and the control group still had some nitrate.

Dose, and why it is confusing

A 2025 dose-response meta-analysis of 75 trials with 1823 people found that each extra millimole of nitrate lowered systolic pressure by 0.48 mm Hg over the medium term (95% CI 0.25 to 0.71). The juice meta-analysis of 1248 people read dose differently. Trials of 17 fl oz (500 mL) a day gave larger falls than trials of 70 or 4.7 fl oz (140 mL), 4.78 against 2.37 mm Hg, yet juice with more nitrate per 3.4 fl oz (100 mL) gave a smaller effect. Its authors therefore call the effect independent of nitrate.

Nitrate taken as a supplement, with beetroot juice excluded, did not lower pressure significantly in a review of 181 people, with systolic at -3.81 mm Hg (95% CI -10.05 to 2.43). That interval is wide enough to hold a real effect, so it does not disprove one.

People differ, and some groups saw nothing

In a crossover trial that gave 15 healthy men the juice twice, the response varied by about 7 mm Hg from one person to another. In people with COPD, a meta-analysis of 8 trials found nitrate-rich beetroot juice did not change systolic or diastolic pressure against placebo.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. If you take blood pressure medicine, the juice is not a replacement for it. The European Society of Hypertension, while rating beetroot juice the food with the most convincing blood pressure evidence, states that this kind of approach must never substitute for drug treatment when it is needed.

Antibacterial mouthwash blunted one of the juice's effects in a small trial. In 12 volunteers drinking 2.4 fl oz (70 mL) of juice, 6.2 mmol of nitrate, twice a day for 6 days, both strong and weak antibacterial mouthwash suppressed the rise in blood nitrite, and the strong one changed the pressure response during light exercise. Resting pressure did not differ between conditions over those 6 days, so the practical size of this is unknown.

Kidney failure changes how the dose lands. In a kinetics study of 15 people, a single dose raised blood nitrate higher in people on dialysis than in healthy volunteers, while blood pressure and potassium did not move. Anyone on dialysis should take this to their kidney team.

Heavy intake has a question attached that nobody has answered. A review of benefits and risks notes that beetroot juice can readily raise nitrate intake above the acceptable daily intake, which stimulates the body's own formation of N-nitroso compounds. The same review says data on harms are too limited for a balanced risk assessment. We found no trial in pregnancy or in children.

What expert bodies say

The European Society of Hypertension position of 2020 names beetroot juice as the food with the most convincing evidence for lowering blood pressure, and adds that it is never a substitute for medication when medication is needed. That position predates the null 16-week trial.

If you like the juice, the honest expectation is a fall of a few mm Hg on a clinic reading, in the short term, and less certainty than that on a home monitor. More on the drink itself, its nitrate and its sugar, is on the beet juice page.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• Trials longer than six months that measure pressure over 24 hours. The longest trial so far ran 16 weeks and found no difference.
• A trial with heart attacks, strokes or deaths as the outcome. None exists for beetroot juice.
• The 2024 meta-analysis in people with hypertension, once read in full. It could tip the split between the two earlier analyses in either direction.
• Trials in pregnancy, in children and in people on blood pressure medicine. The only registered beetroot trial we found on blood pressure tests a single dose and was not yet recruiting.

Sources

1. ev-bjbp-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials · n = 254
   Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice consumption were associated with greater changes in systolic BP [-4.4 mm Hg (95% CI: -5.9, -2.8); P < 0.001] than diastolic BP [-1.1 mm Hg (95% CI: -2.2, 0.1); P = 0.06].
   
   Who: Adults in 16 randomized crossover trials, 7 to 30 per trial, 2 hours to 15 days
   Effect: systolic BP -4.4 mm Hg (95% CI -5.9 to -2.8); diastolic -1.1 mm Hg (95% CI -2.2 to 0.1); dose-response with nitrate dose (P < 0.05)
   Certainty: All trials were short and mostly in healthy volunteers; the authors call for long-term trials.
   J Nutr, 2013 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
2. ev-bjbp-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials · n = 325
   Overall, dietary nitrate was associated with a significant decline in SBP [-4.1 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -6.1, -2.2); P < 0.001] and DBP [-2.0 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -3.0, -0.9); P < 0.001].
   
   Who: 325 adults in 13 placebo-controlled trials of nitrate or beetroot juice lasting at least 1 week
   Effect: SBP -4.1 mm Hg (95% CI -6.1 to -2.2), DBP -2.0 mm Hg (95% CI -3.0 to -0.9) in clinic; no significant change with ambulatory or home monitoring
   Certainty: Ambulatory and home readings are the more accurate methods, and they showed no effect.
   J Hypertens, 2017 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
3. ev-bjbp-03 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials · n = 19 trials
   However, in the hypertensive population, inorganic nitrates did not lower systolic blood pressure (-0.82 mmHg, 95% CI [-2.53, 0.90]; P = 0.35), diastolic blood pressure (-0.03 mmHg, 95% CI [-1.35, 1.30]; P = 0.97), 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure (-0.22 mmHg, 95% CI [-1.50, 1.94]; P = 0.8), or 24-hour ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (-0.33 mmHg, 95% CI [-2.03, 1.37]; P = 0.7).
   
   Who: Healthy and hypertensive adults in 19 RCTs of inorganic nitrate
   Effect: healthy: SBP -2.42 mm Hg (95% CI -4.28 to -0.57); hypertensive: SBP -0.82 mm Hg (95% CI -2.53 to 0.90), 24-h SBP -0.22 mm Hg (95% CI -1.50 to 1.94)
   Certainty: Search to December 2021; nitrate from beetroot juice and from salts pooled together.
   Food Funct, 2023 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
4. ev-bjbp-04 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, GRADE · n = 218
   After the intervention with NO₃ from BRJ, SBP underwent significant changes (p < 0.001) of -4.95 (95% CI: -8.88; -1.01) (GRADE: ⊕⊕⊕○ Moderate), but not for DBP (p = 0.06) -0.90 mmHg (95% CI: -3.16; 1.36) (GRADE: ⊕⊕⊕○ Moderate), compared to the control group.
   
   Who: Adults with hypertension (SBP > 130, DBP > 80 mm Hg), 2.4 to 8.5 fl oz (70 to 250 mL) beetroot juice daily for 3 to 60 days
   Effect: SBP -4.95 mm Hg (95% CI -8.88 to -1.01), GRADE moderate; DBP -0.90 mm Hg (95% CI -3.16 to 1.36)
   Certainty: Disagrees with 36740972 on hypertensive patients; this one keeps only beetroot juice trials. Wide CI.
   Benjamim et al., Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
5. ev-bjbp-05 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, GRADE · n = 1823
   Per each mmol increase in NO3 intake, a reduction in systolic BP levels was observed in the acute (WMD: -0.28mmHg; 95%CI: -0.40, -0.17), short-term (WMD: -0.24mmHg; 95%CI: -0.40, -0.07), and medium-term (WMD: -0.48mmHg; 95%CI: -0.71, -0.25) periods.
   
   Who: Adults in 75 RCTs of dietary nitrate, acute to medium-term
   Effect: per 1 mmol nitrate: SBP -0.28 mm Hg acute (95% CI -0.40 to -0.17), -0.48 mm Hg medium term (95% CI -0.71 to -0.25); DBP -0.12 mm Hg (95% CI -0.21 to -0.03)
   Certainty: Authors call for higher-quality population-specific trials.
   Nutr J, 2025 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
6. ev-bjbp-06 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials · n = 22 trials
   Overall, inorganic nitrate consumption significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) by -3.90 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -5.23 to -2.57; P < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by -2.62 mmHg (95% confidence interval: -3.86 to -1.37; P < 0.005) comparing with the control group.
   
   Who: Older adults in 22 RCTs of inorganic nitrate
   Effect: SBP -3.90 mm Hg (95% CI -5.23 to -2.57), DBP -2.62 mm Hg (95% CI -3.86 to -1.37); no significant change in hypertensive participants or with ambulatory or home BP
   Certainty: Effect seen in resting office readings only, as in 28319596.
   Nitric Oxide, 2021 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
7. ev-bjbp-07 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials · n = 8 trials
   RESULTS: A pooled analysis from eight included trials showed no significant difference between dietary nitrate-rich beetroot juice and placebo in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, 6-min walk test, cycling ergometry endurance time, and maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2).
   
   Who: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 8 RCTs
   Effect: no significant difference vs placebo in SBP, DBP or heart rate
   Certainty: Small trials designed around exercise outcomes.
   Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2021 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
8. ev-bjbp-08 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized phase 2 double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 4 weeks · n = 68
   Twenty-four-hour ambulatory BP was reduced by 7.7/5.2 mm Hg (4.1-11.2/2.7-7.7, P<0.001 for both).
   
   Who: Patients with hypertension aged 18 to 85, 34 drug-naive and 34 treated
   Effect: clinic BP -7.7/-2.4 mm Hg; 24-h ambulatory -7.7/-5.2 mm Hg (95% CI 4.1-11.2/2.7-7.7); home -8.1/-3.8 mm Hg; no tachyphylaxis over 4 weeks
   Certainty: Placebo was nitrate-depleted beetroot juice, so the effect is attributable to nitrate. Single trial, 4 weeks.
   Hypertension, 2015 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
9. ev-bjbp-09 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized placebo-controlled feasibility trial, three arms, 60 days · n = 47
   After 60 d, 24-h systolic BP dropped by -10.8 ± 9.8 mm Hg (P < 0.001), -6.1 ± 13.2 mm Hg (P = 0.03), and -0.3 ± 9.7 mm Hg (P = 0.83) in the N + P, N + F, and P + P groups, respectively.
   
   Who: Tanzanian adults aged 50 to 70 with elevated BP, about 400 mg nitrate a day
   Effect: 24-h SBP -10.8 +/- 9.8 mm Hg (N + P) vs -0.3 +/- 9.7 mm Hg (P + P) after 60 days
   Certainty: Feasibility trial with about 15 per arm; within-group changes reported.
   J Nutr, 2020 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
10. ev-bjbp-10 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · multicentre double-blind parallel randomized controlled trial, 16 weeks · n = 66
    In an intention-to-treat analysis, no differences were observed between HN and LN groups in terms of office systolic BP at 16 weeks (3.91 ± 3.52 mmHg, p = 0.27) or secondary outcomes.
    
    Who: Adults with elevated BP, mean age 51.5, high-nitrate (~400 mg) vs low-nitrate (~50 mg) vegetable powder
    Effect: office SBP difference at 16 weeks 3.91 +/- 3.52 mm Hg, p = 0.27; no difference in secondary outcomes
    Certainty: Exploratory; vegetable powder rather than beetroot juice, and the control still had some nitrate.
    Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
11. ev-bjbp-11 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind placebo-controlled replicate crossover trial · n = 15
    The participant-by-condition interaction response variability from the mixed model was ± 7mmHg (95%CI: 3 to 9mmHg) for systolic BP and consistent with the treatment effect heterogeneity t = ± 7mmHg (95%CI: 5 to 12mmHg) derived from the meta-analytic approach.
    
    Who: 15 healthy males, 4.7 fl oz (140 mL) nitrate-rich vs nitrate-depleted beetroot juice, each twice
    Effect: SBP -7 mm Hg (95% CI -3 to -11), DBP -6 mm Hg (95% CI -2 to -9) at 2.5 h; individual response variability +/- 7 mm Hg
    Certainty: Acute single doses in young healthy men; shows some people respond little.
    Eur J Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
12. ev-bjbp-12 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized crossover trial, 6 days per condition · n = 12
    The results indicate that both strong and weak antibacterial agents suppress the rise in plasma [NO2-] observed following the consumption of a high NO3- diet and the former can influence the BP response during low-intensity exercise.
    
    Who: 12 healthy volunteers, 2.4 fl oz (70 mL) beetroot juice (6.2 mmol nitrate) twice daily with chlorhexidine, non-chlorhexidine mouthwash or water
    Effect: plasma nitrite rise lower with strong mouthwash than water by 200 +/- 174 nM; resting BP change not different between conditions; exercise SBP rise higher with chlorhexidine
    Certainty: Small, healthy volunteers; resting BP was not significantly affected over 6 days.
    Int J Sports Med, 2015 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
13. ev-bjbp-13 · Position of an expert body · position document of a professional society · n = —
    In any case, the nutracutical approach has never to substitute the drug treatment, when needed.
    
    Who: People with high-normal blood pressure
    Effect: beetroot juice: most convincing antihypertensive evidence among foods; not a substitute for medication
    Certainty: Expert position, 2020, before the null 16-week trial.
    J Hypertens, 2020 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
14. bjc-dr-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis with subgroup analyses and meta-regressions of randomized clinical trials of beetroot juice and resting blood pressure, searched in PubMed, Scopus and Embase plus reference lists of earlier reviews · n = 1248
    Overall, SBP (-3.55 mm Hg; 95% CI: -4.55, -2.54 mm Hg) and DBP (-1.32 mm Hg; 95% CI: -1.97, -0.68 mm Hg) were significantly lower in the beetroot juice-supplemented groups than in the control groups.
    
    Who: 22 trials conducted between 2009 and 2017, with 47 intervention groups (n=650) and 43 control groups (n=598)
    Effect: systolic pressure -3.55 mm Hg (95% CI -4.55 to -2.54) and diastolic -1.32 (-1.97 to -0.68); larger with 14 days or more than under 14 days (-5.11 against -2.67) and with 17 fl oz (500 mL) a day than with 70 or 4.7 fl oz (140 mL) (-4.78 against -2.37); a higher nitrate concentration per 3.4 fl oz (100 mL) gave a smaller effect, and trials using nitrate-depleted juice as placebo showed a weaker effect than trials with other comparators
    Certainty: the two dose findings point in opposite directions, which is why the authors call the effect nitrate-independent: more juice helps more, more nitrate per milliliter helps less. Nobody has identified what else in the juice is doing it. Three and a half millimeters is real but modest, roughly a tenth of what a blood pressure drug delivers, and these are mostly short trials in people without treated hypertension
    Adv Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-09-22 · we read the abstract
15. bjc-dr-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials of sodium nitrate supplementation lasting at least one week, explicitly excluding beetroot juice interventions and animal studies, six databases plus gray literature searched June 2025, random effects with Hartung-Knapp adjustment, PEDro scale for risk of bias · n = 181
    Compared to the placebo condition, NO₃⁻ supplementation did not result in significant reductions in DBP (MD: -2.00 mm Hg; 95% CI: -4.37 to 0.38 mm Hg); SBP (MD: -3.81 mm Hg; 95% CI: -10.05 to 2.43 mm Hg); and RHR (MD: 0.34 bpm; 95% CI: -5.68 to 6.36 bpm).
    
    Who: 6 studies with 181 participants, 59% male, over 50 years of age
    Effect: diastolic pressure -2.00 mm Hg (95% CI -4.37 to 0.38), systolic -3.81 (-10.05 to 2.43) and resting heart rate +0.34 bpm (-5.68 to 6.36), none significant; average PEDro score 8.16 indicating low risk of bias
    Certainty: six trials and 181 people is small, and the confidence interval for systolic pressure is wide enough to contain a real 10 mm Hg drop, so this does not disprove an effect. Read next to the beetroot juice meta-analysis it is still the most informative pair in this file: the whole juice moves pressure and the isolated compound does not
    Nutr Res, 2026 · checked 2026-09-22 · we read the abstract
16. bjc-dr-03 · Observational data · systematic review of experimental, quasi-experimental, observational and pilot studies of inorganic nitrate and blood pressure, published and unpublished English-language work from January 2013 to January 2018, Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal, narrative synthesis because heterogeneity prevented meta-analysis · n = 321
    There is insufficient evidence to support or refute the use of inorganic nitrate for any effect on blood pressure at this time.
    
    Who: 12 papers with 321 participants, 10 randomized trials and 2 quasi-experimental, all with baseline blood pressure above 120/80, some with diabetes or heart failure
    Effect: three different outcome patterns appeared across the studies: no change in either pressure, a fall in both, or a fall in systolic with no change in diastolic; the authors attribute the divergence to age, comorbidities, use of antihypertensives, source and dose of nitrate and follow-up length
    Certainty: the authors state there is insufficient evidence to support or refute any effect and that no practice guideline can be built on this. That is the honest answer for the group most likely to be reading about beetroot juice, and it sits uneasily beside the positive meta-analysis, which pooled mostly healthy people on no medication
    JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep, 2019 · checked 2026-09-22 · we read the abstract
17. bjc-dr-06 · Observational data · systematic review of the benefits and risks of beetroot juice consumption · n = —
    Compared to studies on the beneficial effects, the amount of data and literature on the negative effects of BRJ is rather limited, and should be increased in order to perform a balanced risk assessment.
    
    Who: published literature on beetroot juice, nitrate and nitric oxide
    Effect: beetroot juice can readily raise nitrate intake above the acceptable daily intake, which stimulates endogenous formation of N-nitroso compounds, a class known to be carcinogenic and linked to other adverse effects; the authors record that literature on the negative effects is limited compared with that on benefits
    Certainty: this is a review rather than a measurement, and it names no threshold in milliliters. Endogenous N-nitroso formation from dietary nitrate is a mechanism, and the epidemiology of vegetable nitrate has repeatedly failed to show the harm the mechanism predicts. The useful part is the admission that a balanced risk assessment cannot currently be made
    Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2021 · checked 2026-09-22 · we read the abstract
18. bjc-dr-08 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · single-center randomized single-blind placebo-controlled crossover study, one dose of 2.4 fl oz (70 mL) concentrated beetroot juice with 400 mg nitrate against a nitrate-free placebo juice in random order, separated by a 7-day washout, with blood sampled up to 44 hours after intake · n = 15
    The area under the curve and the maximal concentration of plasma nitrate, but not of nitrite, were significantly higher in HD patients as compared with HV. In both groups, active BJ ingestion did not affect blood pressure or plasma potassium levels.
    
    Who: 8 adults on chronic hemodialysis and 7 age-matched healthy volunteers
    Effect: active juice raised plasma nitrate and nitrite in both groups; area under the curve and peak concentration of nitrate, though not nitrite, were significantly higher in dialysis patients than in healthy volunteers; blood pressure and plasma potassium were unaffected in both groups and no adverse events occurred
    Certainty: fifteen people in a kinetics study, designed to inform later efficacy trials rather than to show benefit. The higher nitrate exposure in dialysis patients is the point that matters clinically: the same dose lands harder when the kidneys are not clearing it. Potassium not moving after a single dose says nothing about repeated use, and anyone on dialysis takes this question to their nephrologist
    Nutrients, 2022 · checked 2026-09-22 · we read the abstract