Some of the best supplement ingredients you can find are derived from natural food sources. Omega-3 fish oil comes from fatty fish, curcumin comes from turmeric root, and resveratrol from grapes just to name a few.
While these are associated with positive health outcomes, there is one sitting on your grocery store shelf that can help you in the gym. Beet juice has a ton of research showing that it significantly improves exercise performance.
This is due to its high nitrate content, which increases nitric oxide and blood flow. Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels, improving blood flow and oxygen delivery to working muscles.Not only do you have the cosmetic benefit of a great muscle pump, but the performance benefit of improved muscular endurance and delayed fatigue.
Beet juice has similar effects to L-Citrulline, with a few added benefits. You get additional vitamins and antioxidants that L-Citrulline does not provide, since it’s just an isolated compound. You can even stack the two together since they utilize different pathways in the body.
Beet juice works acutely (single dose) and chronically (over time). A review by Dominguez et al. showed improved time to exhaustion and enhanced efficiency in cyclists. The benefits were even more profound with chronic use (6+ days).
The great thing about beet juice is that it is not a stimulant, so if you work out in the evening you don’t have to worry about it affecting sleep. You will sometimes see beet juice in pre-workout formulas, usually labeled through the active compound beta vulgaris.
A bottle of beet juice is around $5, which will give you multiple servings. A normal dose is about 8 oz, 90-120 minutes before exercise. This is because nitrate levels peak about 2 hours after ingestion, so you can play with the timing to find your sweet spot. Regular beets work as well, but obviously it’s less convenient to chop up fresh beets and measure them.
A word of caution with beet juice is that it contains oxalates, which can potentially cause kidney stones in people who are susceptible.
Some people may also think – wait, I thought nitrates were bad for you?
Nitrates have theoretically been linked to cancer risk. However, beets are a vegetable source of nitrates, which evidence suggests is separate from the usual meat sources.
So next time you walk past the juice aisle, don't overlook that humble bottle of beet juice. For around $5, you're getting a well-researched, naturally derived performance enhancer that holds its own against supplements that cost ten times as much. It improves blood flow, enhances endurance, and can be used any time of day without disrupting your sleep. Sometimes the best performance enhancer isn’t in the supplement aisle – it’s sitting next to the OJ.
This story was originally published by Men's Fitness on Mar 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Fitness as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
