Is drinking beetroot juice good for your skin?

We cannot say it is, because we found no trial that tests it in a way that would show. We found no trial that measured how skin looks after drinking beetroot juice: no wrinkles, elasticity, hydration, acne, pigmentation or glow. What has been studied is blood flow in the skin, in small trials of the nitrate that beetroot juice carries. A 2024 systematic review of 29 human studies found that dietary nitrate improves the function of large arteries, and that its effect on small vessels such as those in the skin appears modest.

Unsettled. The answer is open because the question has not been asked. The skin trials that report their size enrolled between 7 and 25 people, mostly for a single dose or a few days, and they measured blood flow under cold, heat or exercise. Blood flow in the skin is not the same thing as healthier-looking skin, and no trial links the two for beetroot juice.

Rise in thumb blood flow against the starting visit, flux/mmHg

Both rises are measured against each person's own baseline visit, not against a placebo, and the source gives no interval, so none is drawn. The juice with its nitrate removed did almost as much as the full juice, and skin temperature did not change with either. Source: card ev-bjsk-02 below.

What the trials found

Mostly no change in skin blood flow

In a double-blind crossover pilot of 25 younger and older adults, a single dose of beetroot juice had no effect on the function of small vessels in the skin, measured by laser Doppler, or on blood pressure, in either age group. In 10 healthy men, 4.7 fl oz (140 mL) of nitrate-rich beetroot juice lowered blood pressure but did not change finger skin blood flow during cold-water immersion. In 8 young adults, 3 days of nitrate-rich juice did not change sweating or skin blood flow during exercise in the heat. In 7 healthy adults tested before and after 3 days of a daily beetroot juice shot, with no control group, skin blood flow after the arm was briefly occluded did not change.

The few positive results

In 20 healthy young men, beetroot taken before putting a hand in cold water sped up how fast the fingers rewarmed afterward, and did not change the response while the hand was in the water. The comparison was water, not a blinded placebo, and it was a single dose. In a before-and-after study of people under whole-body heating, 3 days of beetroot juice increased vasodilation in the skin without directly raising skin blood flow. That study had no placebo arm, and its abstract does not say how many people took part.

The Raynaud's trial is the one that is most often quoted. In 23 people with Raynaud's phenomenon, 14 days of beetroot juice raised thumb blood flow after cooling by 2.0 flux/mmHg against their first visit. Juice with the nitrate taken out raised it by 1.45. Skin temperature did not change with either. Because both drinks did much the same, and the comparison is with the first visit rather than with placebo, this trial does not show that nitrate helps.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. Red beet coloring can cause hives in a small number of allergic children. In a prospective study of 10 atopic children with repeated hives, oral challenge confirmed a food coloring allergy in 3, and one of them reacted to red beet coloring. The study was tiny and open, it tested the coloring rather than the juice, and this kind of reaction is rare.

Beetroot juice is concentrated in nitrate, and that is what the trials gave it for. EFSA sets the acceptable daily intake for nitrate at 3.7 mg per kg of body weight a day, about 260 mg for a 154 lb (70 kg) adult. One of the trials here gave 0.45 g of nitrate a day for 3 days, above that figure for an adult of that weight. Two others gave 4.7 fl oz (140 mL) of juice carrying about 8 and 13 mmol of nitrate. We found no card on the nitrate content of a typical shop-bought glass, so we cannot tell you how close one glass comes.

We found no card on beetroot juice for skin in pregnancy, in children apart from the coloring study, or with medicines. Two of the trials found lower blood pressure after the juice, which matters if you already take blood pressure medicine, and is a question for the person who prescribes it.

What expert bodies say

We found no US or European body that makes any claim about beetroot juice and skin. EFSA's only relevant statement is the acceptable daily intake for nitrate above, which is a safety limit rather than a recommendation.

How we searched

Searched: a local copy of PubMed on 7 October 2026, for beetroot, beet, dietary nitrate, betalain or betanin with skin, wrinkles, skin aging, acne, wounds or skin blood flow, all study types. That returned 37 hits, all screened. A second search, for red beet or betanin with hives, allergy, pigmentation or skin color, returned 2. A third, for nitrate or beetroot with wound healing or ulcers, returned 10, none on beetroot. We also searched the US trial registry, which had nothing, searched the web for trials on wrinkles, elasticity, hydration and wound healing, and read the EFSA statement on nitrate.

Included: one systematic review, five randomized crossover trials, two before-and-after studies, one study of food coloring allergy in children and the EFSA nitrate limit.

Excluded: studies of beetroot on muscle blood flow or exercise, a study at altitude that did not measure skin, a wound-healing study in rats, and web pages on putting beetroot on the skin.

What we read: abstracts for every study.

What we could not get: full texts with Results sections, which are not in our local copy. Any trial or review on skin appearance after drinking beetroot juice. And results from a registered trial of dietary nitrate on skin inflammation, for which we found no publication.

What would change this answer

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of beetroot juice that measures how skin looks, its wrinkles, elasticity, hydration or color, over months rather than days. We found none.
The results of the registered trial of dietary nitrate on skin inflammation.
A larger Raynaud's trial that compares beetroot juice with a true placebo, not only with the first visit.
Any trial in people with a skin condition, such as acne or slow-healing wounds.

More on this drink: beet juice and beet juice and blood pressure.

The food behind this question

Beet juice: it lowers blood pressure, and not through the nitrate — numbers, evidence and safety

The same question for other foods (skin)

Sources

ev-bjsk-01 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · systematic review of human intervention studies, no meta-analysis · n = 29 studies
The literature suggests that dietary nitrate ingestion seems to improve the vascular function in macrovasculature, whereas microvascular function appears to be modest.
Who: humans in trials of dietary nitrate (beetroot juice and other sources) with vascular function outcomes
Effect: macrovascular function improved; microvascular function effect modest (10 studies measured microvascular outcomes)
Certainty: Narrative, no pooling, not restricted to RCTs, so rated B not A; microvascular studies few and small; no skin appearance outcome.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-02 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized crossover trial, acute and 14-day supplementation · n = 23
Compared with the baseline visit, thumb CVC was greater following chronic-BJ (Δ2.0 flux/mmHg, P = 0.02) and chronic-NDBJ (Δ1.45 flux/mmHg, P = 0.01) supplementation; however, no changes in Tsk were observed (P > 0.05).
Who: individuals with Raynaud's phenomenon
Effect: thumb CVC +2.0 flux/mmHg after chronic beetroot juice (P=0.02) and +1.45 after nitrate-depleted juice (P=0.01) vs baseline; no change in skin temperature
Certainty: Changes are versus baseline, not versus placebo; both juices worked, so nitrate is not the explanation.
J Appl Physiol (1985), 2019 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-03 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized crossover trial, beetroot vs water · n = 20
BR accelerated rewarming in Tfing and SkBFfing after local cold stimulus, whereas, CIVD response during hand cold immersion was not affected by BR ingestion.
Who: twenty healthy males, mean age 22.2 years
Effect: finger rewarming 1.24 vs 1.11 C/min with beetroot vs water at 15 min; cold-induced vasodilation not different
Certainty: Water control, not blinded placebo; acute single dose; physiology, not skin appearance.
Eur J Appl Physiol, 2023 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-04 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized crossover trial, 4.7 fl oz (140 mL) beetroot juice (13 mmol nitrate) vs nitrate-free placebo · n = 10
Acute BRJ supplementation does not augment the CIVD response in healthy males.
Who: healthy males
Effect: no effect on cutaneous vascular conductance during cold-induced vasodilation; MAP 94 vs 100 mmHg
Certainty: Small, acute, men only.
Eur J Appl Physiol, 2021 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-05 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind crossover trial, 140 mL/day beetroot juice (~8 mmol nitrate) vs nitrate-depleted juice, 3 days · n = 8
BR supplementation did not affect SR, SkBF, and CVC during exercise.
Who: healthy, young subjects
Effect: no effect on sweat rate, skin blood flow or cutaneous vascular conductance; MAP lower after 30 min exercise (103 vs 112 mmHg)
Certainty: Very small; short exposure.
Eur J Appl Physiol, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-06 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover pilot, single dose 6.4 mmol nitrate · n = 25
Beetroot juice had no effect on blood pressure or microvascular endothelial function in young and older individuals.
Who: individuals aged 18-35 and 55 years or older
Effect: no effect on microcirculatory endothelial function (laser Doppler) or blood pressure in either age group; no adverse events
Certainty: Pilot, single dose.
Eur J Clin Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-07 · Observational data · uncontrolled pre-post study, 1.7 tbsp (25 mL) beetroot juice daily for 3 days · n = 7
These data suggest cutaneous reactive hyperaemia is unaffected by dietary nitrate supplementation in healthy humans.
Who: healthy participants
Effect: peak reactive hyperemia 52 vs 57 %CVCmax, not significant; diastolic BP 71 to 66 mmHg
Certainty: No control group, very small.
Clin Physiol Funct Imaging, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-08 · Observational data · pre-post study with microdialysis, beetroot juice 0.45 g nitrate per day for 3 days · n = —
Nitrate supplementation increased vasodilatation in the skin of heat-stressed humans but did not directly increase skin blood flow.
Who: healthy subjects under whole-body heat stress
Effect: plateau CVC 67 to 80 %CVCmax at control sites (P=0.01); MAP during heat stress 88 to 78 mmHg
Certainty: No placebo arm; sample size not given in the abstract.
Exp Physiol, 2015 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-09 · Observational data · prospective open study with oral challenge tests, 8 months · n = 10
It resulted in the disappearance of the symptoms in a child (Red cochineal) and their regression in the two others (Red cochineal, Red beet) with a follow up of 8 months and 3 months respectively.
Who: atopic children with repeated urticaria, mean age 6.5 years
Effect: 3 cases of food coloring allergy (red cochineal, red beet); symptoms regressed on a coloring-free diet
Certainty: Tiny, open, coloring (betanin E162) rather than juice; skin reaction is rare.
Tunis Med, 2005 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
ev-bjsk-10 · Position of an expert body · agency statement · n = —
The current acceptable daily intake (ADI) for nitrates is 3.7 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg bw/day).
Who: general population
Effect: ADI 3.7 mg/kg bw/day for nitrate (about 260 mg for a 154 lb (70 kg) adult)
Certainty: Agency safety limit for nitrate from all sources; not a recommendation.
EFSA, 2017, news: EFSA confirms safe levels for nitrites and nitrates added to food (re-evaluation of E 249-252) · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section

How this page was made. Evidence was extracted from primary sources into cards, every number was re-checked against the source, and the text was written from those cards. Bioma Learn has no human medical reviewer at this time, and we say so rather than invent one. Methodology. This is information, not medical advice.