Description
Beet is a plant. The root and leaves are used as medicine. Beet root and leaves are also eaten as a vegetable.
People use beet most often for athletic performance. It is also used for liver diseases, reducing muscle soreness after exercise, high blood pressure, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
Effectiveness Header
Natural Medicines rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate.
Possibly Effective
- Athletic performance. Drinking beetroot juice might improve exercise performance during aerobic activities in some people. But it’s unclear how much or how often beetroot juice is needed for benefit. And any benefit in elite athletes might be too small to be meaningful.
- Muscle soreness caused by exercise. Drinking beetroot juice a few times a day for about 48 hours after exercise may reduce muscle soreness after sprinting or jumping.
Insufficient Evidence
- High blood pressure. Drinking beetroot juice might reduce blood pressure in some people. But it doesn’t seem to work in people with high blood pressure.
- High levels of fats called triglycerides in the blood (hypertriglyceridemia). Taking a mixture of beet and hawthorn seems to reduce triglycerides by a small amount in people at risk of heart disease. But taking beet leaf doesn’t seem to reduce triglycerides.
- Obesity. Taking beet leaf doesn’t seem to improve weight loss when taken for 4 weeks in people already given nutrition advice.
- High blood pressure during pregnancy. Early research shows that taking beetroot juice doesn’t lower blood pressure in pregnant women with high blood pressure.
- High blood pressure in arteries in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Early research shows that taking beetroot juice doesn’t lower blood pressure in the lungs of people with pulmonary hypertension.
- Liver disease.
- Other conditions.
Action
Beets contain chemicals that might reduce swelling and cholesterol. Also, beet can increase levels of a chemical called nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide can affect blood vessels, possibly reducing blood pressure and making it easier to exercise.
Safety
When taken by mouth: Beet is LIKELY SAFE for most people when taken in the amounts typically found in foods. Beet is POSSIBLY SAFE for most people when taken by mouth in medicinal amounts.
Beet can make urine or stools appear pink or red. But this is not harmful. There is concern that beets might cause low calcium levels and kidney damage. But this hasn’t been shown in people.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn’t enough reliable information to know if beet is safe to use as a medicine when pregnant or breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and stick to food amounts.
Kidney disease: Eating too many beets might make kidney disease worse.
Drug Interactions
There are no known interactions with medications. Before taking this product, talk with your health professional if you take any medications.
Herb Interactions
There are no known interactions with herbs and supplements.
Food Interactions
There are no known interactions with foods.
Dosage
The following doses have been studied in scientific research:
BY MOUTH:
- For athletic performance: Beetroot juice 70-140 mL daily has been used, often taken a few hours before exercise. Baked beetroot 200 grams taken 75 minutes before exercise has also been used. Beetroot concentrate 50 mg twice daily for about 6 days has been used.
- For muscle soreness caused by exercise: Beetroot juice (Love Beets Beetroot Juice) 125 or 250 mL per serving has been used for a total of 7-8 servings over approximately 2 days following exercise.
Other Names
Beet Greens, Beet Juice, Beet Leaves, Beetroot, Beetroot Juice, Beta vulgaris, Betarraga, Beets, Betterave, Betterave à Sucre, Betterave Jaune, Betterave Rouge, Betteraves, Fodder Beet, Garden Beet, Green Beet, Mangel, Mangold, Red Beet, Remolacha, Scandinavian Beet, Sugarbeet, Yellow Beet.
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