Concentrated beetroot (nitrates)
A modest drop in blood pressure and a small endurance gain — provided you get the timing right.
The short version
What it does Beetroot juice slightly improves endurance efficiency and slightly lowers blood pressure.
What it does not do The effect is small, especially in moderately trained athletes. And an antiseptic mouthwash cancels it completely.
What the studies say
Siervo’s meta-analysis on beetroot juice and dietary nitrates reports a fall in systolic blood pressure and an improvement in endurance exercise efficiency. The mechanism runs through conversion of nitrates into nitric oxide, which dilates vessels.
The performance effect is modest and clearer in moderately trained athletes than in elites. Conversion depends on mouth bacteria: an antibacterial mouthwash cancels the effect.
A real but small effect, on endurance and blood pressure. Not on strength.
How to take it
Relevant before an endurance effort of 5 to 30 minutes, or alongside work on blood pressure. Pointless in weight training.
About 400 to 800 mg of nitrates, the equivalent of a concentrated beetroot shot, 2 to 3 hours before exercise. Avoid antiseptic mouthwash that day.
The effect is measured on a repeated timed course. Urine and stools may turn reddish: that is the beetroot pigment, and it is harmless.
What is inside
Concentrated beetroot juice, or an extract standardised for nitrates. It is the NITRATE content that counts, not the volume of juice.
Look for the nitrate content stated in mg per serving. Many supermarket beetroot juices do not contain enough to reproduce the effect seen in studies.
Juices with no stated nitrate content. Caution if you already take antihypertensive medication or nitrate derivatives: the effects add up.
Cautions
- Coloured urine and stools, harmless
- Antihypertensive medication: medical advice
The three options
None states its nitrate content
Nobody states the useful dose
We checked the whole aisle: no beetroot product on Amazon.fr gives its nitrate content in milligrams. They all advertise a ratio (“25:1”) that says nothing about the active molecule, while the trials use around 400 mg of nitrate. This one is the best documented of the lot, and that is still not enough: for performance, fresh juice or leafy greens are more reliable.
For whom — A competitor wanting to reproduce the study protocol.
Concentrated shot
Three juices, nothing added
Beetroot 75 %, ginger 15 %, lemon 10 %. Twelve 60 ml shots, 135 reviews, convenient before a session. Like the rest of the aisle: the nitrate content is not given.
For whom — Occasional use before an event.
Extract in capsules, 25:1
An extract is not juice
The 25:1 concentration applies to dry matter, not to nitrates — and the content, the only figure that counts, is still not stated. 1,500 mg a day, 180 plant capsules, 46 reviews.
For whom — Anyone wanting to try without investing. The effect is not guaranteed at this dose.
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