Beetroot

Does it work?

• -Only if you're not already highly trained. Beetroot delivers dietary nitrate, which can modestly improve endurance and exercise tolerance — but the effect shrinks as your fitness rises and largely disappears in elite athletes (VO2max above ~65). For recreational and moderately trained people, it's a small, real edge.

How much · when

• -Take 6-8 mmol nitrate (~350-500 mg), 2-3 hours before exercise. One standard 'sport shot' of beetroot concentrate hits this; whole beets and homemade juice vary too much to dose reliably.
• -More isn't better — above ~10-12 mmol there's no added benefit.
• -For longer endurance efforts, load daily for 3+ days beforehand rather than relying on a single pre-event dose; chronic use gives a bigger effect on time-to-exhaustion.
• -Skip antibacterial mouthwash on dosing days — it kills the oral bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrite, blunting the effect.

The catch

• -The benefit is real but small, and it fades as you get fitter — well-trained endurance athletes see little to nothing (a ceiling effect).
• -It helps time-to-exhaustion, distance, and muscular endurance — but reviews show no reliable effect on time-trial performance, VO2max, or maximal strength.
• -Whole beets, salads, and homemade juice are good for daily nitrate intake but rarely deliver a high enough, consistent acute dose to count on pre-event.

Better option

• -If you're already a highly trained endurance athlete, your money is better spent on caffeine, sodium bicarbonate, or simply more dialed nutrition and pacing.

Safety

• -Harmless but alarming: beetroot can turn urine and stool pink or red. Not blood — don't panic.
• -Concentrated juice in larger doses can cause mild GI upset; test it in training, never first on race day.
• -Nitrate from vegetables is well-tolerated, but if you take blood-pressure or nitrate-based heart medication, check with your doctor first.

Key research

• Dietary Nitrate Supplementation and Exercise Performance: An Umbrella Review of 20 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analysesSports Medicine · 2025 · Systematic review
• The Effect of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Endurance Exercise Performance in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisSports Medicine · 2017 · Meta-analysis
• Nitrate supplementation improves physical performance specifically in non-athletes during prolonged open-ended tests: a systematic review and meta-analysisBritish Journal of Nutrition · 2018 · Meta-analysis
• The effect of nitrate supplementation on exercise performance in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysisInt J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab · 2013 · Meta-analysis

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