Heart & Circulation
Beets
A deep-red root vegetable rich in nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide to support blood flow and exercise performance.
Heart Health
Energy
Detox
Serving
1 cup, cooked (170g)
Calories Per Serving
75
Key nutrients
Dietary nitrates, folate, manganese, betalains
Nutrient density
97
Why it’s worth eating
Beets are high in folate, manganese, and nitrates, which support blood pressure and endurance. Enjoy beets roasted, pickled, or as a juice.
What you may notice
Exercise endurance and recovery
Energy levels
Markers worth tracking
Resting blood pressure
Exercise performance metrics (VO2/time trial)
How to eat it
Eat raw, juiced, or lightly cooked, overcooking and peeling reduce nitrate content; roasting whole with skin on preserves more.
Pairs well with
Vitamin C foods, helps convert beet nitrates into nitric oxide more efficiently
Leafy greens, also nitrate-rich, compounding the blood-flow effect
Storage
Remove the greens (which pull moisture from the root) and refrigerate beets in a perforated bag for 2-3 weeks.
The numbers, per 1 cup, cooked (170g)
0%
Vitamin K
0%
Vitamin A
7%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
7%
Iron
9%
Magnesium
11%
Potassium
0%
Vitamin B12
0%
Vitamin D
Fiber
3.4g
Beets, cooked, boiled, drained (FDC 169146)
Evidence
A
Consistent blood-pressure signal, but confined to juice doses. Whole roasted beets have not been shown to reproduce it.
Study dose vs. serving
EXTRACT/JUICE GAP: trials used 70-500 mL beetroot juice delivering 316-860 mg nitrate, largest effect at 500 mL/day. Far more concentrated than a few roasted beets.
Bahadoran Z, Mirmiran P, et al. Adv Nutr. 2017;8(6):830-838. Meta-analysis; SBP -3.55 mmHg, DBP -1.32 mmHg.
Use caution if
You're prone to kidney stones, beets are high in oxalates
You use mouthwash right before/after eating beets, antibacterial mouthwash can blunt the nitrate-to-nitric-oxide conversion that happens via oral bacteria
Details
Type
Fruits & Veg
Season
Summer-autumn (Jun-Oct)
Forms
Fresh, juice, powder, pickled
Price
Budget
Bioactive
Inorganic nitrate (nitrate to nitrite to NO); betalains are the pigment but not the BP driver
Heat stable
Partial - boiling leaches nitrate into cooking water
Reliability
4 / 5
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