Beetroot juice and blood pressure in 11 trials
What it found
In 11 randomised trials in people, beetroot juice supplementation lowered blood pressure, mainly systolic blood pressure.
The trials included healthy adults, people with slightly raised blood pressure and patients on blood pressure drugs.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood pressure drop
Across the 11 trials, beetroot juice reduced blood pressure, with a bigger effect on systolic than diastolic blood pressure. The effect was seen in healthy people, people with slightly raised blood pressure and patients already taking blood pressure drugs.
Age differences
Most trials in healthy adults found a positive effect. Trials in older adults were fewer and often showed a smaller response, though some did find a drop in blood pressure.
Men and women
Most participants were men. Two trials found a bigger systolic blood pressure drop in men than in women, but the authors say there is not enough evidence to conclude a difference between the sexes.
Weight and blood pressure
People who were overweight or obese saw positive effects on blood pressure. One analysis found a greater systolic drop in overweight subjects than in normal-weight subjects (11.3 mmHg compared to 6.0 mmHg).
Starting blood pressure
Seven trials found a bigger effect in healthy people and four found positive effects in patients with hypertension. One trial found no significant drop in treated patients with controlled blood pressure, while another found a significant drop in treated patients after four weeks.
Nitrate dose and timing
The trials used 300 to 500 mg of nitrate from beetroot juice. Effects were best in the first 3 hours and up to 24 hours after drinking it, and interventions lasting at least two weeks gave better results than one-week interventions.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, BRJ supplementation might be an easy, accessible, safe, and evidence-based strategy to reduce blood pressure.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that beetroot juice supplementation might be an easy, accessible, safe and evidence-based strategy to reduce blood pressure.
- They say it could benefit pre-hypertensive patients when drug treatment should not be the first option.
- They recommend an administration period of at least two weeks for sustained results, but call for more research on long-term effects in hypertensive individuals.
How it was done
High blood pressure is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. The authors wanted to see whether beetroot juice, a cheap and easy dietary option, could help control blood pressure.
They searched for randomised controlled trials published from 2008 to 2018 that gave beetroot juice and measured blood pressure. They found 11 trials, with 310 participants in total. The trials lasted from 24 hours to six weeks, and doses ranged from 70 to 500 mL of beetroot juice.
What it can’t tell you
- The trials were small and used different doses, volumes and lengths, so the size of the effect varied.
- Most trials lasted only days to weeks, so they cannot show what happens over the long term.
- The trials cannot prove that beetroot juice prevents heart attacks or strokes, only that it lowered blood pressure in the short term.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- D.A.B.O. serves as a science product manager and scientific consultant for companies who sell dietary supplements in Europe (MTX Corporation ® ) and Colombia (Healthy Sports ® ). S.V. has served as professional advisor in dietary supplements industry in Spain. The remaining investigators have no competing interests to declare. This review does not constitute endorsement by the authors and/or the institution concerning the nutrients reviewed.
- Authors work at
- University of Zulia, Venezuela; EADE-University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Spain
The paper
- Title
- Dietary Nitrate from Beetroot Juice for Hypertension: A Systematic Review
- Type
- Systematic review
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Bonilla Ocampo DA, Paipilla AF, Marín E, Vargas-Molina S, Petro JL, Pérez-Idárraga A (2018). Dietary Nitrate from Beetroot Juice for Hypertension: A Systematic Review. Biomolecules. doi:10.3390/biom8040134Free full textPubMed 30400267DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error