Beetroot
How Beetroot Juice Works: Nitrates & Nitric Oxide
Beetroot is one of the richest natural sources of dietary nitrates. Here’s what’s actually in the bottle, how your body converts those nitrates into nitric oxide and why cold-pressing keeps more of it intact than heat-treated juice.
What’s Actually in Beetroot Juice
Beetroot is naturally rich in dietary nitrates – it’s one of the highest sources in the vegetable world. Alongside the nitrates, it contains betalains (the red-purple pigments that give beetroot its unmistakable colour), plus naturally occurring folate, potassium and manganese. Cold-pressed juice is simply the whole vegetable pressed and bottled, so what’s in the beetroot is what’s in the glass.
None of that is exotic or special. It’s straightforward vegetable composition. What makes beetroot juice interesting is the nitrate content and what the body does with it – which is where most of the research sits.
How Your Body Uses Dietary Nitrates
The conversion, in three stages
When you drink beetroot juice, the dietary nitrates begin a well-studied journey. First, bacteria in your mouth reduce a portion of the nitrate to nitrite. That nitrite is swallowed and, further along, converts to nitric oxide – a small signalling molecule the body uses to tell blood vessels to relax and widen. This isn’t unique to beetroot; it’s the same nitrate-to-nitric-oxide pathway your body runs on any dietary nitrate source. Beetroot is just an unusually concentrated one.
The research on dietary nitrate and nitric oxide is genuinely substantial, particularly around exercise and oxygen efficiency. We look at that side in our guide to whether beetroot juice gives you energy. It’s also honest about its limits: the measured effects tend to be modest and they vary considerably from one person to the next depending on diet, oral bacteria and baseline. Consistency over time matters more than any single serving. Timing also shifts when the conversion peaks – see our guide to the best time to drink beetroot juice.
Why Cold-Pressed Keeps More Intact
Cold-pressed vs from-concentrate vs pasteurised
How beetroot juice is made changes what ends up in the bottle. Cold-pressing uses hydraulic pressure rather than heat, so the nitrates, betalains and natural enzymes stay largely intact. Most supermarket beetroot juice is either made from concentrate or heat-pasteurised for shelf life – both processes are harder on the more delicate compounds and concentrate means water removed and added back.
We press from whole vegetables, add nothing and flash-freeze rather than heat-treat. That’s the difference between a juice built for shelf stability and one built to stay as close to the fresh vegetable as possible. It’s also why our beetroot juice tastes earthy and clean rather than cooked.
Beetroot Juice at a Glance
| Compound | What it is |
|---|---|
| Dietary nitrates | Naturally concentrated in beetroot; the body converts a portion to nitric oxide |
| Betalains | The red-purple pigments unique to beetroot – responsible for its colour (and for pink urine in some people) |
| Folate | A B vitamin beetroot naturally contains |
| Potassium | A mineral present in beetroot |
| Manganese | A trace mineral found in beetroot |
It’s a Daily Habit, Not a One-Off
If there’s one thing the research agrees on, it’s that dietary nitrate works on a build-up, not a single big dose. A bottle now and then does little; a bottle most days is where people report the difference. That makes beetroot juice a routine, not a quick fix – which is exactly why we make it in easy daily formats rather than one-off large bottles.
Pure Beets or Daily Beets slot into a morning with no juicing and no prep – pour and go. Anchor it to something you already do every day and it stops being a decision.
Related Beetroot Products
If you want to add beetroot juice to your routine, here’s what we offer (or browse all our beetroot guides):
Pure Beets125ml · 7 / 14 / 28 pack98% whole beetroot and a squeeze of lemon. Nothing else.from £24.50View → 
Daily Beets250 / 500ml · 6 / 12 / 24 packBeetroot with apple, carrot, celery, cucumber, spinach and lemon. The easy daily one.from £26.95View → 
Ginger Beets60ml · 7 / 14 / 28 shotsA 60ml beetroot and ginger shot with lemon and green apple.from £16.95View → Frequently Asked
What are dietary nitrates?
Nitrates are compounds found naturally in many vegetables, with beetroot and leafy greens among the richest sources. The body converts a portion of dietary nitrate into nitric oxide, a signalling molecule involved in normal blood vessel function. It’s ordinary vegetable chemistry – beetroot just happens to pack a lot of it.
Why is beetroot juice so red?
The colour comes from betalains, the red-purple pigments unique to beetroot. They’re what makes the juice such a deep crimson. They’re also why some people notice pink urine or stool after drinking it – a harmless effect called beeturia that’s simply pigment passing through.
Is cold-pressed better than shop-bought beetroot juice?
They’re different products. Cold-pressing uses pressure rather than heat, so more of the nitrates, betalains and natural enzymes stay intact. Most supermarket beetroot juice is made from concentrate or heat-pasteurised for shelf life, which is harder on those compounds. If you’re choosing for composition, cold-pressed is the closer thing to the fresh vegetable.
Can you drink beetroot juice every day?
Yes. It’s a vegetable juice, so there’s no reason not to drink it daily if it fits your routine. Two things worth knowing: it can temporarily turn urine and stool pink (beeturia, harmless) and dietary nitrate works on consistency rather than occasional large amounts. A bottle a day is a sensible everyday quantity.
Is beetroot juice safe for everyone?
For most people, yes – it’s a vegetable. A couple of exceptions worth flagging: if you take blood pressure medication, check with your doctor first, as beetroot naturally contains compounds that may interact. And if you’re prone to kidney stones, beetroot contains oxalates, so moderation is sensible. Otherwise, one bottle a day is a straightforward addition to a normal diet.
The Bottom Line
Beetroot juice is a concentrated source of dietary nitrate, wrapped up in a whole vegetable with its natural pigments, folate and minerals. The body runs those nitrates through a well-studied conversion to nitric oxide – a real process, though the measured effects are modest and vary from person to person. Cold-pressing keeps more of the original composition intact than heat-treated or concentrate juice.
If you want to include it, treat it as a daily habit rather than a one-off. Pick an easy format, drink it most days and let consistency do the work. That’s the honest version – no magic, just a well-made vegetable juice you’ll actually keep drinking.
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