Le nitrate présent dans la betterave et les légumes-feuilles est transformé par les bactéries de la langue en nitrite, puis en monoxyde d'azote, la molécule qui détend les vaisseaux sanguins. Une dose concentrée, généralement du jus de betterave, abaisse la tension artérielle de quelques points et améliore modestement l'endurance en réduisant le coût en oxygène de l'exercice.
L'effet sur la tension est plus faible lorsque le jus est seulement ajouté à une alimentation ordinaire, et le bénéfice sportif s'estompe chez les athlètes de haut niveau.
Findings & Outcomes
What It Is
The nitrate that matters here is inorganic nitrate, and vegetables are its richest source. Beetroot and six nitrate-dense leaves carry the most: rocket, spinach, chard, lettuce, celery, and beet greens. Eat them and the body's store of nitric oxide rises, the signaling molecule that widens blood vessels and eases the heart's work. Vegetable nitrate becomes nitric oxide only after mouth bacteria act on it.
Most trials used beetroot juice: it packs a repeatable dose into one small glass, and a large salad of nitrate-rich leaves reaches the same amount.
What It Does
Dietary nitrate lowers blood pressure and cuts the oxygen cost of exercise, the blood-pressure evidence is stronger. The blood-pressure effect is largest in the people with the most to gain. Someone with high blood pressure sees the biggest, most durable drop, while someone already in the normal range sees little. In a large Danish cohort, a moderate intake of nitrate-rich vegetables tracked with about 15% lower cardiovascular disease. That 15% comes from a whole way of eating, not vegetable nitrate alone.
The exercise effect is smaller and narrower. After a few days of dietary nitrate the same easy-to-moderate effort costs less oxygen, so the body makes energy more efficiently. The clearest gain is endurance, holding a hard effort longer before exhaustion, while a timed finish changes less. The benefit is largest in recreational athletes and often absent in the elite, whose physiology is already efficient. The benefit plateaus: past about 140 ml of concentrated juice, more nitrate adds little.
The Research & Studies
Everything here is based on the research we have collected and checked, sorted into groups and ordered with the strongest evidence first. Click any claim to open the studies behind it.
Heart And Vascular
Un seul verre de jus de betterave a réduit la pression artérielle jusqu'à 10.4/8 mmHg en quelques heures
Un seul grand verre de jus de betterave a réduit la pression artérielle jusqu'à environ 10/8 mmHg quelques heures plus tard chez des personnes en bonne santé, et l'ampleur de la baisse correspondait à la hausse des nitrites sanguins.
Environ trois heures après une dose unique de 500 mL de jus de betterave, la pression artérielle a chuté jusqu'à 10.4/8 mmHg chez des volontaires en bonne santé, suivant la hausse maximale des nitrites plasmatiques. La dose a également protégé l'endothélium contre une lésion ischémique et réduit l'agrégation plaquettaire. Measured in: Healthy volunteers in a mechanistic crossover study. Une étude aiguë en dose unique chez des volontaires en bonne santé avec un petit échantillon, mesurant le changement maximal, et non une moyenne soutenue. L'interruption de la conversion du nitrate en nitrite par la bouche a supprimé l'effet, confirmant la voie mais montrant aussi combien elle est facilement désactivée.
The study · 1
Webb et al., acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite · Hypertension 2008;51(3):784-790
Le jus de betterave quotidien a maintenu la pression artérielle de 24 heures 7.7/5.2 mmHg plus basse dans l'hypertension
Les personnes hypertendues qui buvaient du jus de betterave chaque jour pendant quatre semaines maintenaient leur pression artérielle plusieurs points plus bas que le placebo, et l'effet ne s'estompait pas sur le mois.
Chez 68 patients hypertendus, quatre semaines de nitrate alimentaire quotidien (250 mL de jus de betterave) par rapport à un jus sans nitrate ont réduit la pression artérielle ambulatoire de 24 heures de 7.7/5.2 mmHg et la pression en cabinet de 7.7/2.4 mmHg, amélioré la fonction endothéliale d'environ 20 %, et réduit la rigidité artérielle, sans tachyphylaxie et avec une bonne tolérance. Measured in: 68 adults with hypertension, half drug-naive and half already treated. Un seul essai de quatre semaines portant sur 68 personnes ; durable, mais pas encore étendu à des critères difficiles comme l'infarctus ou l'AVC.
The study · 1
Kapil et al., dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients, a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study · Hypertension 2015;65(2):320-327
Regroupé dans 16 essais, le nitrate a réduit la pression artérielle systolique d'environ 4.4 mmHg
Dans seize essais, le nitrate et le jus de betterave ont réduit le chiffre supérieur de la pression artérielle d'environ 4 mmHg en moyenne, avec une plus petite modification du chiffre inférieur qui n'était pas statistiquement claire.
En regroupant 16 essais croisés randomisés portant sur 254 participants, la supplémentation en nitrate inorganique et en jus de betterave a réduit la pression artérielle systolique de 4.4 mmHg (IC à 95 % -5.9 à -2.8). La pression diastolique a chuté de 1.1 mmHg, ce qui n'a pas atteint la significativité (IC à 95 % -2.2 à 0.1). Measured in: 254 participants across 16 randomized crossover trials. Les essais inclus étaient courts et utilisaient des designs croisés, et l'effet sur la pression diastolique n'était pas statistiquement significatif. Les auteurs ont appelé à des essais à long terme et à des études dans des groupes à risque plus élevé.
The study · 1
Siervo et al., inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults, a systematic review and meta-analysis · J Nutr 2013;143(6):818-826
Ajouté à une alimentation normale, le jus de betterave n'a pas réduit la pression artérielle sur toute la journée
Lorsqu'un seul verre de jus de betterave était simplement ajouté à l'alimentation normale de personnes en bonne santé, la pression artérielle sur toute la journée n'a pas clairement diminué, avec une vraie baisse n'apparaissant que chez les hommes et seulement environ six heures après l'avoir bu.
Chez 30 adultes en bonne santé vivant librement, une dose unique de 500 g de jus de betterave et de pomme n'a pas significativement réduit la pression artérielle de 24 heures par rapport au placebo (une tendance à la baisse de la pression systolique à 6 heures, P = 0.064). Une réduction significative de 4 à 5 mmHg à 6 heures n'est apparue que chez les hommes après ajustement. Measured in: 15 women and 15 men, free-living healthy adults. Un essai croisé en dose unique chez des personnes déjà en bonne santé avec une pression artérielle normale, où moins de marge de baisse et un régime alimentaire normal de fond atténuent tous deux le signal. Cela suggère que l'aliment fonctionne le mieux en tant qu'habitude quotidienne et chez les personnes à pression élevée.
The study · 1
Coles et al., effect of beetroot juice on lowering blood pressure in free-living, disease-free adults, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial · Nutr J 2012;11:106
Six semaines de jus de betterave ont amélioré la fonction artérielle d'environ 24 %
Chez les personnes ayant un taux de cholestérol élevé, six semaines de jus de betterave ont amélioré de façon mesurable la capacité de dilatation de leurs artères, un marqueur de la santé vasculaire, alors que le placebo ne l'a pas fait.
Chez les personnes ayant un taux de cholestérol élevé, six semaines de jus de betterave riche en nitrates une fois par jour par rapport à un placebo appauvri en nitrates ont augmenté la dilatation médiée par le flux de 1.1 point de pourcentage en termes absolus, soit une amélioration d'environ 24 % par rapport à la valeur initiale, tandis que le groupe placebo s'est légèrement aggravé. Measured in: 69 people with untreated high cholesterol (67 completed), parallel-group design. Un seul essai de six semaines mesurant un marqueur de substitution de la fonction vasculaire, et non des événements cliniques, dans un groupe spécifique avec un taux de cholestérol élevé.
The study · 1
Velmurugan et al., dietary nitrate improves vascular function in patients with hypercholesterolemia, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study · Am J Clin Nutr 2016;103(1):25-38
Un apport modéré en nitrates végétaux s'accompagnait de 15 % de maladies cardiovasculaires en moins
Dans une grande étude danoise, les personnes consommant une quantité modérée de légumes riches en nitrates présentaient un risque de maladie cardiovasculaire environ 15 % plus faible que celles qui en consommaient le moins, avec une pression artérielle légèrement plus basse, sans gain supplémentaire à en consommer beaucoup plus.
Parmi 53,150 personnes de l'étude Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study, un apport modéré en nitrates végétaux (médiane 59 mg/jour) était associé à un risque de maladie cardiovasculaire 15 % plus faible par rapport à l'apport le plus bas (RR 0.85, IC à 95 % 0.82-0.89), le bénéfice plafonnant à cet apport. Le groupe à apport le plus élevé avait une pression artérielle initiale plus basse de 2.58/1.38 mmHg. Measured in: 53,150 Danish adults free of cardiovascular disease at baseline. What could explain it instead: People with higher vegetable nitrate intake tend to eat a healthier overall diet, exercise more, smoke less and be of higher socioeconomic status; residual confounding from the whole dietary and lifestyle pattern cannot be separated from vegetable nitrate itself.. Il s'agit d'une association, et non d'une preuve de causalité. Les personnes qui consomment davantage de légumes jusqu'à un certain apport modeste ont tendance à différer de manières que l'étude ne peut pas totalement éliminer.
The study · 1
Bondonno et al., vegetable nitrate intake, blood pressure and incident cardiovascular disease, Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study · Eur J Epidemiol 2021;36(8):813-825
Cardiorespiratory Fitness
Trois jours de nitrate alimentaire ont réduit le coût en oxygène de l'exercice sous-maximal d'environ 5 %
Après trois jours de nitrate alimentaire, des hommes bien entraînés ont utilisé sensiblement moins d'oxygène pour le même vélo facile à modéré, ce qui signifie que leur corps produisait de l'énergie plus efficacement.
Dans un essai croisé randomisé en double aveugle contrôlé contre placebo, trois jours de nitrate de sodium alimentaire ont réduit le coût en oxygène du cyclisme sous-maximal : le VO2 moyen est tombé de 2.98 à 2.82 L/min, soit environ 5 %, sur les quatre intensités de travail les plus basses, et l'efficacité brute est passée de 19.7 % à 21.1 %, sans hausse du lactate sanguin. Measured in: 9 healthy, well-trained young men. Un petit essai croisé portant sur neuf hommes utilisant un sel de nitrate, et non un aliment, en dose unique ; le gain d'efficacité est faible en termes absolus.
Who this may not transfer to:The study enrolled only men. Whether the oxygen-economy effect is the same size in women has not been tested here, and sex differences in nitric-oxide handling are not fully characterized.
The study · 1
Larsen et al., effects of dietary nitrate on oxygen cost during exercise · Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2007;191(1):59-66
Beetroot juice lowered exercise oxygen cost 19% and extended time to exhaustion to 675 seconds
Six jours de jus de betterave ont permis à des hommes de pratiquer un exercice modéré avec moins d'oxygène et de maintenir un effort intense notablement plus longtemps avant l'épuisement, tout en abaissant leur pression artérielle.
In eight men, six days of beetroot juice (500 mL/day) versus placebo raised plasma nitrite, lowered systolic blood pressure (124 vs 132 mmHg), reduced the oxygen uptake of moderate exercise by about 19%, and extended time to exhaustion during severe exercise from 583 to 675 seconds. Measured in: 8 healthy men aged 19-38, crossover design. A small crossover of eight men; the time-to-exhaustion measure exaggerates real-world performance changes compared with a timed event.
Who this may not transfer to:Eight men only. The economy and tolerance effects have not been measured in women in this study, and endurance-physiology research in this area is heavily male-skewed.
The study · 1
Bailey et al., dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans · J Appl Physiol (1985) 2009;107(4):1144-1155
Across 76 trials, nitrate improved time-to-exhaustion (effect size 0.33) but not timed events
Pooling many trials, dietary nitrate reliably helped people last longer in hold-a-hard-effort tests, but its effect on overall performance and on timed events was small and not statistically clear.
Across 47 studies (76 trials), dietary nitrate had a small-to-moderate significant benefit on time-to-exhaustion tests (effect size 0.33, 95% CI 0.15-0.50) but only a trivial, non-significant effect overall (ES -0.10) and a small non-significant effect on graded exercise tests. The benefit is clearest for endurance capacity, not timed performance. Measured in: 76 trials in healthy adults. The benefit is specific to time-to-exhaustion protocols, which overstate real-world gains; the overall pooled effect was not significant, and elite athletes tend to respond least.
The study · 1
McMahon et al., the effect of dietary nitrate supplementation on endurance exercise performance in healthy adults, a systematic review and meta-analysis · Sports Med 2017;47(4):735-756
Beetroot juice raised power in 4-km and 16.1-km cycling time trials
A dose of beetroot juice before a cycling time trial let trained male cyclists produce more power and finish faster.
In nine club-level competitive male cyclists, acute beetroot juice versus placebo raised plasma nitrite and increased mean power output during 4-km and 16.1-km cycling time trials, improving performance even though VO2 during the trials did not differ significantly. Measured in: 9 club-level competitive male cyclists. A small single-dose study in nine trained male cyclists; effects on timed performance are smaller and less consistent than effects on time to exhaustion, and often shrink in more elite athletes.
Who this may not transfer to:Only male cyclists were tested. Performance effects in female athletes were not measured here.
The study · 1
Lansley et al., acute dietary nitrate supplementation improves cycling time trial performance · Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011;43(6):1125-1131
The oxygen-cost benefit plateaus around 140 ml of beetroot juice
In a dose test, a small beetroot shot did little, a moderate dose lowered the oxygen cost of exercise, and doubling that dose again added nothing, so more is not better past a point.
In 10 healthy men given 70, 140 or 280 mL of beetroot juice, 140 and 280 mL reduced the steady-state oxygen uptake of moderate exercise but 70 mL did not, and there was no additional benefit from the highest dose over the middle one, indicating a ceiling around 140 mL (about 8 mmol nitrate). Measured in: 10 healthy men, balanced crossover. Ten men in a single crossover; the exact ceiling dose likely varies with body size and training status.
Who this may not transfer to:Ten men only. The dose-response curve has not been mapped in women, who differ in body size and plasma volume.
The study · 1
Wylie et al., beetroot juice and exercise, pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships · J Appl Physiol (1985) 2013;115(3):325-336
How it works
Antibacterial mouthwash removes most of the blood-nitrite rise after a nitrate load
Rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash kills the tongue bacteria that turn nitrate into nitrite, so the usual rise in the blood's nitrite after eating nitrate largely disappears.
The rise in plasma nitrite that normally follows a dietary nitrate load was markedly attenuated by an antibacterial mouthwash, which removes the commensal tongue bacteria that reduce nitrate to nitrite, interrupting the first step of the pathway. Measured in: Healthy volunteers in a mechanistic study. A small mechanistic study measuring the nitrite step, not a health outcome; it establishes the mechanism that the blood-pressure studies then confirmed downstream.
The study · 1
Govoni et al., the increase in plasma nitrite after a dietary nitrate load is markedly attenuated by an antibacterial mouthwash · Nitric Oxide 2008;19(4):333-337
Three days of antibacterial mouthwash raised systolic blood pressure 2.3 mmHg
In people already treated for high blood pressure, just three days of antibacterial mouthwash nudged their systolic blood pressure up by about 2 mmHg, showing how much the body relies on the mouth's nitrate-handling bacteria.
In 15 treated hypertensive men and women (mean age 65), three days of antibacterial mouthwash use raised systolic blood pressure by 2.3 mm Hg (95% CI 0.5 to 4.0, P = 0.01) versus control, with no significant change in diastolic pressure, by interrupting the oral nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway. Measured in: 15 treated hypertensive men and women, mean age 65. A small crossover of 15 people over three days; the effect is small, but it points the same direction as the mechanistic work and is a practical reason to keep antibacterial mouthwash away from a nitrate habit.
The study · 1
Bondonno et al., antibacterial mouthwash blunts oral nitrate reduction and increases blood pressure in treated hypertensive men and women · Am J Hypertens 2015;28(5):572-575
How It Works
About a quarter of swallowed nitrate is drawn back up into the saliva, where bacteria on the back of the tongue, the oral microbiome, reduce it to nitrite. That nitrite is swallowed again. In the stomach and the blood it turns onward into nitric oxide, mainly where tissue is low on oxygen and a widened vessel helps. This is the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway, one of the body's two routes to it. The other starts from the amino acid arginine.
That first step needs living mouth bacteria, so anything that kills them removes the effect.
An antibacterial mouthwash does exactly that, and the usual nitrite rise after a nitrate load largely vanishes.
In people treated for high blood pressure, three days of mouthwash raised systolic pressure by about 2 mmHg.
Nitric oxide also cuts the energy a muscle spends to contract. The biggest savings come from two sources: more efficient mitochondria and a lower cost per contraction. Better blood flow adds a smaller share. That is why the same food that eases blood pressure also lets a person hold a pace on less oxygen.
Ways to Do It
This is a food first. The free version is a plate of nitrate-rich vegetables; the paid version is a measured, repeatable dose in a small volume. A useful dose is about 5 to 8 mmol of nitrate. That is a 70 to 140 ml shot, 250 to 500 ml of juice, 300 to 500 g of beetroot, or a big serving of rocket or spinach. Blood pressure begins to fall within two to three hours of a dose and builds over days of daily intake. For exercise, take a dose two to three hours before.
Build meals around the leafy greens and beetroot: a large rocket or spinach salad, chard, beet greens, cooked or grated beetroot. A generous daily serving reaches the range the trials used, and it brings the fiber, potassium, and polyphenols of the whole vegetable.
A glass of beetroot juice, plain or blended with apple to soften the earthiness, delivers a known amount in one small volume.
The shot is the most repeatable dose and the one exercise studies used. Consistent and convenient.
If you are eating nitrate for your heart, keep antibacterial mouthwash well away from the hours around a dose. It removes the tongue bacteria the whole pathway needs.
Go Deeper
- The oral microbiome: the tongue bacteria that turn this nitrate into a blood-pressure signal, and why antiseptic mouthwash blunts it.
- High blood pressure: where a few millimeters from food sits among the levers that lower it.
- VO2 max training: the endurance training dietary nitrate makes slightly easier to sustain.
- Sodium reduction and the DASH pattern: the dietary changes that lower blood pressure alongside nitrate-rich vegetables.
- Whole foods: the eating pattern that already carries a daily load of nitrate-rich leaves.
Cautions For This Practice
Everything to be aware of is here, in one place. This practice suits most healthy people; a few situations call for real care.
The vegetable nitrate pathway does not carry the processed-meat cancer risk
Inorganic nitrate and nitrite, long regarded as inert end-products or as undesirable, are now understood as a physiological reservoir the body reduces to nitric oxide, with emerging therapeutic interest in myocardial infarction and stroke. This reframes vegetable nitrate as a source of a signaling molecule, not a contaminant. This is a review setting out the pathway and its promise, not a trial of safety endpoints; the historical infant methemoglobinemia concern and the separate question of nitrite in processed meats sit outside the vegetable-nitrate picture it describes.Lundberg et al., the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway in physiology and therapeutics
Red urine or stool from beetroot is harmless
Beetroot pigment can tint urine and stool pink or red for a day. It is called beeturia and it is the color passing through, not bleeding. It is common and it clears on its own, so it does not need attention unless it persists. Blood in urine or stool from another cause is a separate matter and should be checked, not put down to beetroot.
If you take blood-pressure medication, keep an eye on your numbers
Dietary nitrate lowers blood pressure, and added to medication that does the same it can lower it further, occasionally enough to cause light-headedness on standing. Track your own blood pressure with a home monitor, available without a prescription. If it runs low or you feel dizzy, raise it with your prescriber before stopping anything on your own.
A history of calcium-oxalate kidney stones is a reason to go easy
Beetroot, spinach and chard are high in oxalate, and a large daily habit, especially from concentrated shots, adds a meaningful oxalate load. If you have formed calcium-oxalate stones, favor the lower-oxalate nitrate sources such as rocket, lettuce and celery, keep fluids up, and moderate the beetroot and spinach.
The nitrate-cancer worry comes from processed meat
The old worry that dietary nitrate causes cancer grew from nitrite added as a preservative to cured and processed meat. During cooking and storage that nitrite can combine with the meat's fats and proteins to form nitrosamines. Vegetable nitrate arrives with vitamin C and polyphenols that shift the chemistry the other way, and large vegetable-nitrate intakes track with lower cardiovascular risk.
Start slow, be smart, read the research, and consult a professional if you have any concerns. This is here to inform your choice, not make it for you.
Common Questions
How much does beetroot juice lower blood pressure?
Pooled across sixteen trials, the average systolic drop is about 4 mmHg, modest on a single reading but a real shift when a whole population eats this way.
How long does the effect last?
In people with high blood pressure, a daily glass held it several points lower over 30 days, with no fade.
Explore Related
Other pages this one connects to, by the evidence they share, the outcomes they touch, and the ground they cover.
All 14 sources on this page independently checked and cross-referenced.
Thomas Dehli, Founder & Editor, Sacred Lotus
Sacred Lotus has published Chinese medicine reference material since 2001. Integrative pages are held to the same standard as the herb and formula library: cite the source, grade the claim at its real strength, and say where the research has not looked. This page is educational and it is not medical advice. Last reviewed and updated August 9, 2026.
Evidence strength
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