Beetroot juice, exercise and athletic performance
What it found
Beetroot juice supplementation lowered the oxygen cost of exercise and increased time to exhaustion in some studies, but effects on time-trial performance were conflicting.
The findings come from small studies in people, plus some lab and mouse work.
What they found
Studies in people
Oxygen cost during exercise
In eight healthy men, drinking 500 mL beetroot juice for six days reduced oxygen consumption during moderate exercise by 19% compared with placebo. Another study in nine healthy people found maximal oxygen consumption fell slightly with sodium nitrate.
Time to exhaustion
In eight healthy men, time to exhaustion increased from 583 to 675 seconds with beetroot juice. A meta-analysis also reported significantly increased time to exhaustion.
Time-trial performance
Some studies found improved time-trial performance and power output with beetroot juice, but others found no significant effect. The authors say the effect on time-trial performance needs further study.
Fitness level and benefit
One study found an inverse correlation between aerobic fitness and improvement in 3 km time trial after nitrate-enriched water. People with lower fitness may gain more benefit.
Patients with heart or lung disease
In patients with peripheral artery disease, heart failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, beetroot juice appeared to have some effect on training performance. However, results were conflicting and larger trials are needed.
Animal and lab studies
Mechanism in mice
In mice given sodium nitrate in water for seven days, fast-twitched muscle fibres had higher contractile force and more calcium. Slow-twitched fibres were not affected.
What the authors conclude
“BRJ has been observed to enhance athletic performance in healthy individuals; however, benefits may depend on individual aerobic fitness level.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that dietary nitrate, of which beetroot juice has a high content, increases blood levels of nitrate, nitrite, and biologically active nitric oxide.
- They state that beetroot juice has been observed to enhance athletic performance in healthy individuals, but benefits may depend on individual aerobic fitness level.
- They advise that larger randomized controlled trials are necessary to conclude any overall clinical utility.
How it was done
Beetroot juice is a rich source of nitrate, which the body can convert to nitric oxide. The authors wanted to summarise the evidence on how it affects training physiology and athletic performance in healthy and diseased populations.
They searched PubMed and Web of Science for articles using the terms "beetroot" and "exercise", and chose relevant articles. The review included small trials in healthy men, recreational runners, elite speed skaters, and patients with peripheral artery disease, heart failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the studies were small, so the results may not apply to everyone.
- The effects on time-trial performance were conflicting, so it is not clear whether beetroot juice helps.
- The mouse study cannot show what happens in people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section.
- Authors work at
- Centre for Research and Development Region Gävleborg/Uppsala University, SWE; University Hospital Düsseldorf, DEU; Karolinska Institutet, SWE
The paper
- Title
- Physiological Effects of Beetroot in Athletes and Patients
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Olsson H, Al-Saadi J, Oehler D, Pergolizzi J, Magnusson P (2019). Physiological Effects of Beetroot in Athletes and Patients. Cureus. doi:10.7759/cureus.6355Free full textPubMed 31938641DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error