Does beetroot help with cholesterol? What the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support beetroot, in any form, as something that improves cholesterol or triglyceride levels. A meta-analysis pooling randomized trials found no significant difference between beetroot and control groups on any standard lipid measure, and a separate 24-week trial using beetroot powder specifically found the same null result.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support beetroot lowering total cholesterol, LDL ("bad" cholesterol), or triglycerides. It doesn't support beetroot raising HDL ("good" cholesterol) either. It doesn't support any particular form of beetroot — juice, powder, or extract — doing better than another on this specific outcome; a subgroup analysis broken out by form found no significant differences between them. And it doesn't support beetroot as something to add instead of, or alongside, a cholesterol medication in place of medical advice.

What the trials found

A meta-analysis pooling randomized controlled trials of beetroot and lipid profile, searched through December 2020, found no statistically significant difference between beetroot and control groups for total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, or triglycerides. The pooled mean differences were small and their confidence intervals all crossed zero — the point at which a result stops being distinguishable from no effect at all. The review's own subgroup analysis, splitting results by the health condition of participants, the form of beetroot used, and the type of intervention, still found no significant differences anywhere. The authors' stated conclusion was that beetroot cannot be categorized as an effective supplement for adjusting lipid profile.

A separate 24-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial gave 74 adults with type 2 diabetes either 5 grams a day of beetroot powder (providing about 250 mg of nitrate) or a placebo, measuring lipid profile alongside blood sugar markers at baseline, 4, 12 and 24 weeks. Of the 64 participants who completed at least two visits, there was no significant difference between the beetroot and placebo groups for any lipid parameter over the full 24 weeks. This trial is the closer form match to a whole-food powder capsule, since it used dried beetroot powder rather than juice — and it reached the same null conclusion as the broader meta-analysis above.

Questions people ask

Does beetroot lower cholesterol?

No trial or pooled analysis we found showed a significant reduction. A meta-analysis of randomized trials and a separate 24-week trial using beetroot powder both found no significant change in total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, or triglycerides.

Does beetroot juice lower cholesterol more than beetroot powder?

The meta-analysis above specifically checked whether the form of beetroot mattered and found no significant difference between forms — neither juice nor powder showed a meaningful effect on lipid measures in the pooled data.

Is beetroot good for high cholesterol?

The research doesn't support it. Both the pooled meta-analysis and the 24-week powder-specific trial above found no significant change in cholesterol measures.

Can beetroot supplements change LDL specifically?

The meta-analysis found LDL trended slightly downward in the pooled data (mean difference -0.48), but the confidence interval crossed zero — the statistical threshold below which a result isn't distinguishable from no effect at all.

When to talk to a doctor

Beetroot is not a treatment for high cholesterol or any lipid disorder, and nothing above supports using it as a substitute for a cholesterol medication or a doctor's guidance. If you've been told your cholesterol or triglycerides are outside a healthy range, or you take a cholesterol medication, that's a conversation for a doctor — not something a beetroot supplement addresses.