What happens when you eat beets?
1. Blood pressure may decrease.
Beets are rich in dietary nitrates. Your body can convert these into nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels relax and widen. Clinical trials and meta-analyses have found that beetroot—particularly beetroot juice—can produce a modest reduction in systolic blood pressure. One 2024 meta-analysis found an average reduction of about 5.3 mmHg in systolic pressure among people with hypertension, although the researchers rated the certainty of evidence as low.
2. Your urine or stool can turn red/pink.
This is called beeturia. It can look alarming, but after eating beets it is generally harmless and temporary.
3. Digestion can be affected.
Beets contain fiber and other compounds that can cause gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea or nausea, particularly when large amounts of beetroot juice are consumed.
4. Kidney-stone risk can matter for some people.
Beets contain oxalates. People who have a history of certain calcium-oxalate kidney stones may be advised to limit high-oxalate foods. This doesn’t mean beets cause kidney stones in everyone.
5. They may lower blood pressure too much in certain situations.
If you already have low blood pressure or take blood-pressure-lowering medication, consuming large quantities of beet juice could potentially add to the blood-pressure-lowering effect.
The important bottom line
For most healthy people, eating normal amounts of cooked or raw beets is considered safe. The strongest evidence is actually for potentially lowering blood pressure, rather than causing a serious disease.
If you saw a headline saying “Doctors reveal that eating beets causes…”, send me the rest of that headline (or a screenshot), and I can tell you exactly what claim it is making and whether the medical evidence supports it.
