Does beetroot juice lower blood pressure?

Small trials find beetroot juice lowers clinic systolic pressure by about 4 to 5 mmHg in adults with high blood pressure. Home and 24-hour results are mixed.

Published October 2026

Short answer

The evidence is limited but positive: beetroot juice lowered clinic systolic pressure by roughly 4 to 5 mmHg in adults with high blood pressure, and one 4-week trial found bigger drops in clinic, home and 24-hour readings. Evidence grade C (Limited). Several meta-analyses of small, mostly short trials, with disagreement between clinic and 24-hour results and some trials finding no effect; downgraded for inconsistency and small total samples.

Key takeaways

In adults with high blood pressure, meta-analyses of small trials found beetroot juice lowered clinic systolic pressure by about 4 to 5 mmHg [1][2][3].
A 4-week trial in 68 adults found drops of about 8 mmHg in clinic, home and 24-hour readings, with no sign the effect faded [4].
Other studies found no change: a 1-week trial saw no home or 24-hour effect, and a 2023 meta-analysis found no drop in people with hypertension [5][6].
Responses vary between people, and a single-dose study found a drop in men but not women [7][8].
Reviews warn that regular juice can push nitrate intake above the acceptable daily intake and say side-effect data are limited [9].

The short version

Yes, a little - at least in the doctor's office. Meta-analyses (studies that combine several trials) found beetroot juice lowered the top blood pressure number (systolic pressure) by about 4 to 5 mmHg in adults with high blood pressure [1][2][3]. One 4-week trial found bigger drops of about 8 mmHg, seen in clinic, home and 24-hour readings [4]. Not every study agrees, so the evidence stays limited [6].

What the studies show

A 2024 meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials in adults with hypertension found clinic systolic pressure fell 5.31 mmHg more with beetroot juice than with a placebo drink; there was no clear effect on diastolic pressure or on 24-hour readings, and the certainty of the result was low [1]. A 2022 meta-analysis of 7 trials in hypertensive adults found a similar 4.95 mmHg systolic drop, again with no significant diastolic change [2]. An earlier review of 13 trials found systolic pressure 4.1 mmHg and diastolic pressure 2.0 mmHg lower, but only in clinic readings; 24-hour and home monitors showed no difference [3]. A 2017 meta-analysis pooling 22 trials across healthy people and patients found systolic pressure 3.55 mmHg lower and diastolic pressure 1.32 mmHg lower [10].

In a 4-week double-blind trial, 68 adults with hypertension drank 250 mL of nitrate-rich beetroot juice a day [4]. Clinic pressure fell by 7.7/2.4 mmHg, 24-hour pressure by 7.7/5.2 mmHg and home pressure by 8.1/3.8 mmHg, and the effect did not fade during the month [4]. The same trial found better blood vessel function and less arterial stiffness [4]. In 20 adults whose blood pressure was not controlled by their medicines, a week of juice lowered 24-hour pressure by 8/4 mmHg [11]. In a 60-day trial in Tanzania, adults with raised blood pressure who drank about 400 mg of nitrate a day saw 24-hour systolic pressure fall by 10.8 mmHg, versus 0.3 mmHg with a nitrate-free drink [12]. In 14 postmenopausal women with hypertension, a single large dose lowered systolic pressure by about 9 mmHg after exercise [13].

Not every study is positive. A 1-week crossover trial in 27 treated adults found no change in home or 24-hour pressure, even though blood nitrite levels rose threefold [5]. A 2023 meta-analysis of 19 trials found a small 2.42 mmHg systolic drop in healthy people but no significant drop in people with hypertension [6], and a 2019 review judged the evidence too mixed to draw a conclusion [14]. In a 12-week trial of 77 middle-aged and older adults, beetroot juice did not change blood pressure, although a group that ate more nitrate-rich vegetables saw a small drop [15]. A recent cohort pointed the same way: in 2,942 Chinese adults, higher intake of plant-sourced nitrate went with a 3.5 mmHg greater fall in systolic pressure over 5 years, while animal-sourced nitrate went with a rise in diastolic pressure [16]. Cohorts cannot show cause and effect [16].

The nuances

The response varies a lot from person to person [7]. In a study of 15 men, average drops were 7/6 mmHg after a single 140 mL drink, but the size of the response differed between people by about 7 mmHg [7]. In a single-dose study of 38 young adults, pressure dropped about 4 mmHg overall, but the effect showed up in men and not in women [8]. A 2026 meta-analysis of nitrate salts, not juice, in older adults found no significant change [17].

Beetroot juice is rich in nitrate, which the body can convert into nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes blood vessels [9]. Some of the blood pressure effect seems not to depend on nitrate at all [10]. Trials in hypertensive adults used 70 to 250 mL of juice a day, about 200 to 800 mg of nitrate, for 3 to 60 days [2][1]. In one review, drops were larger with 500 mL a day than with 70 to 140 mL [10].

Where the nitrate comes from matters: in a large French cohort, nitrite additives in processed meats were linked to 19% higher risk of high blood pressure, while nitrate from foods and water was not linked to hypertension [18].

Reviews warn that regular beetroot juice can easily push nitrate intake above the acceptable daily intake, which can increase the formation of N-nitroso compounds, a class linked to cancer, and they say side-effect data are much thinner than benefit data [9]. Because the juice can lower blood pressure, people taking blood pressure medicines should check with a doctor before drinking it regularly [1]. Small trials have tested it in pregnant women with high blood pressure or kidney disease: the juice was acceptable, and in 108 women with kidney disease those given nitrate had fewer serious adverse events (23% vs 51%), but neither trial was built to prove benefit or safety in healthy pregnancy [19][20]. Two ongoing trials are testing daily beetroot juice in postmenopausal women with high blood pressure, with results due around 2028 (NCT06584331, NCT06585904).

What this means for you

For an adult with high blood pressure, a daily glass of beetroot juice is a simple, food-based option that may shave a few mmHg off systolic pressure; the trials tested it alongside usual care, not as a replacement for medicine [4][11]. The drops in the reviews are small and the studies were short, so treat the effect as modest and uncertain over the long run [1]. The trials measured blood pressure, not heart attacks or strokes, so whether a lower reading translates into fewer of those is unknown [4][1].

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