Advertisement from a supplement manufacturer Powdered beets are said to support the heart and make training easier.
Beetroot powder is sold as a stand-alone product but is also included as an added ingredient in many other supplements, including pre-workout energy boosters and heart health chews.
Supplement companies claim that beet root powder can boost energy, enhance athletic performance, and improve blood pressure and circulation to promote heart health. These companies often cite beets’ ability to increase nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood vessels dilate and constrict.
Let’s get to the root of these claims.
What is Beetroot Powder?
It’s just beets. In powder form.
And know that beets, a root vegetable, are good for you. There’s no debate about it. “Beets contain two bioactive compounds: betalains (their purple pigment) and nitrates (which are found in similar amounts in other common vegetables, such as celery and lettuce),” says Kirsten Brandt, PhD, senior lecturer at the Centre for Human Nutrition and Exercise Research at Newcastle University in the UK. Betalains have cardioprotective properties, and the body converts nitrates into nitric oxide, which helps regulate the circulatory system and reduce inflammation.
And there’s even more good news: When beets are processed into powder or juice, these compounds remain largely intact. Studies show that both powder and juice can retain these beneficial compounds, although concentrations vary depending on the type of beet and how it’s processed. (Fun fact: beetroot powder is often just freeze-dried beet juice.)
What is beetroot powder good for?
As a supplement, Beets can have the following effects:
Moderately lowers blood pressure
A research review published in The forefront of nutrition People who drank beetroot juice daily for 3 to 60 days were shown to have a 5 or more point reduction in systolic blood pressure compared to a control group. This is because nitric oxide relaxes blood vessels.
Makes hard training easier
Research Review Journal of International Sports Nutrition Studies suggest that beetroot juice supplements may boost power and improve performance during high-intensity exercise. Again, nitric oxide helps maintain creatine phosphate in muscles, a building block that is depleted during intense exercise. Beets also improve the release and utilisation of cellular calcium, helping muscles contract faster.
Improves muscle recovery
A research review published in Sports and Health Evidence suggests that taking beetroot supplements for a few days can speed up recovery from muscle soreness after exercise, with one theory being that nitric oxide reduces muscle inflammation and aids in regeneration.
Helps with memory
Recent research has shown that European Journal of NutritionPeople who took a 3-gram chewable tablet of beetroot powder 90 minutes before a memory test scored 21 percent higher on a short-term memory test than those who took a placebo. The researchers say beets increase nitric oxide, which increases blood flow to the brain and may temporarily boost brain performance.
Beets are promising, but don’t get your hopes up just yet: Studies of beet supplements have been small in number (just five to 80 participants in the studies mentioned above) and less rigorous than drug trials, Brandt says. (Phase 3 drug trials will likely include more than 1,000 participants.)
This means that it is difficult to generalize the results and conclude whether the benefits shown in these supplement studies apply to all or most of the population, including you.
And don’t expect beetroot supplements to save your heart in the long term: there’s no evidence that the acute benefits of beetroot powder on the heart or anywhere else accumulate over time.
Without high-quality, long-term studies, claims suggesting long-term benefits can’t be verified, and because the healthful compounds in beets can’t be patented, “there’s little economic incentive for industry to conduct large-scale, well-controlled trials,” Brandt says.
Should I take beetroot supplements?
Your Best Bets Brandt says people are eating beets more in whole vegetable form.
Whole beets contain beneficial fiber that supplements don’t, so if you don’t like the taste of beets or don’t want to bother peeling them, powder is an easy alternative—just be sure to include other fiber-rich foods, like whole grains, says Brandt.
What should you look out for when choosing a good beetroot supplement?
When shopping If you take beet powder, avoid capsules and opt for a loose powder or chewable form instead. The process of converting nitrates into nitric oxide begins in the mouth with the help of bacteria on your tongue, says Brandt. Capsules avoid this process and reach deeper into the digestive tract. Also, avoid antibacterial mouthwash before taking beets, which she says can interfere with the conversion of nitrates to nitric oxide.
Who should not take beetroot supplements?
Avoid beetroot supplements Don’t take beetroot powder if you already have low blood pressure and don’t need to lower it any further. Also, beets contain high amounts of stone-forming oxalic acid, so avoid it if you know you’re at high risk for kidney stones.
If you’re already taking medication for high blood pressure, talk to your doctor before buying a beet supplement, as your doctor may need to adjust your medication if it helps, Brandt says.
