Formulations: Tablets (sodium/potassium nitrate, beetroot extract) or liquid (beetroot juice).

Range of dosages studied: 200 to 1,488 mg (3 to 24 mmol) of nitrate per day.

Effective dosage:

Blood pressure

Adults: The effective dosage for reducing blood pressure is 744 to 1,488 mg (12 to 24 mmol) of sodium/potassium nitrate in capsules per day or 70 to 250 mL of beetroot juice per day (providing approximately 200 to 800 mg, or 3 to 12 mmol, of nitrate).^[1][2]

Vascular function

Adults: The effective dosage for improving vascular function is approximately 200 to 1,000 mg (5 to 16 mmol) of nitrate provided in 70 to 250 mL of beetroot juice.^[3]

Aerobic exercise performance

Adults: The effective dosage for improving performance during time-to-exhaustion tests is 70 to 500 mL of beetroot juice (providing approximately 250 to 1,000 mg, or 4 to 17 mmol, of nitrate) taken 2 to 3 hours before exercise.^[4]

Anaerobic exercise performance

Adults: The effective dosage for improving explosive exercise performance is 370 to 1,000 mg (6 to 16 mmol) of nitrate per day provided in beetroot juice (up to 250 mL/day), taken approximately 2 to 3 hours before exercise.^[5][6][7]

Please note that because beetroot juice does not have a standardized nitrate concentration, the nitrate concentration of beetroot juice is variable between manufacturers. In the studies cited on this page, the range of effective dosages studied for beetroot juice is 70 to 500 milliliters per day (providing approximately 200 to 1,000 mg, or 3 to 17 mmol, of nitrate).

Other Considerations: The current acceptable daily intake (ADI) — the daily intake over an entire lifetime of a human that appears to be without adverse effects or harm to health — for nitrate is 3.7 mg per kilogram of body weight per day (equivalent to 222 mg/day in a 60 kg person).^[8][9][10]

Nitrate supplements, beetroot extracts, and beetroot juice are not typically taken with food in the studies that have tested their effects. However, their efficacy in the presence vs. the absence of food has not been examined. It is also important to note that nitrate is found naturally in several plant-based foods, including green leafy vegetables and beets (beetroot).^[11][12][13]

Safety information:

Because nitrate can lower blood pressure, nitrate may interact with drugs used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). If you use blood-pressure-lowering medications, always consult your doctor before taking a nitrate supplement. Because of nitrate’s effect on blood pressure, nitrate may also interact with drugs that cause vasodilation. This includes heart failure medications and drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction.^[14][15] Always consult your doctor before taking a nitrate supplement if you use any of these medications.