Beets bring two distinct beneficial compounds to the table, nitrates and betalains, the natural pigments giving beets their deep red color, and research is increasingly finding that how well you respond to them may depend on which broad type of gut bacteria community you already have.
A real, carefully designed study
In one well-designed study, participants avoided all beet-pigment foods for two weeks beforehand, then drank red beetroot juice daily for 14 days while giving stool samples along the way.[1] That careful setup means researchers can be confident the gut bacteria changes they saw came from the beetroot juice itself, not from something else in people's diets.
The gut-type finding
A separate lab study asked a more personal question: does your starting gut bacteria type change how you respond to beet compounds? It turns out it does. Beet powder and its main pigment produced noticeably different effects on gut bacteria and beneficial fatty acid production depending on which type of gut community someone started with.
An honest result from a real clinical trial
A trial in adults with long COVID told a more mixed story. Beetroot juice over 14 days did shift gut bacteria in a positive direction and lowered inflammation, but it didn't move the needle on the trial's main outcome.[2] This trial is included here because real research often looks messier than a tidy success story.
| Study | Design | Outcome | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled beetroot juice trial | 2-week pigment washout, then 14 days daily juice with stool sampling | Gut bacteria changes clearly tied to the beetroot juice | Strong |
| Gut-type lab study | Beet powder/pigment tested against different starting gut communities | Effects varied by which gut-community type someone started with | Preliminary |
| Long COVID clinical trial | 14 days daily beetroot juice, randomized | Shifted gut bacteria and lowered inflammation, but missed the primary outcome | Mixed |
Where the pigments go
Most of these pigments slip past absorption higher up in your gut, so a good share reaches your large intestine intact. Once there, beet-eaters tend to show higher levels of a beneficial fatty acid tied to how these pigments get broken down.
Beets are a reasonable, well-supported addition to a varied diet, whether you go for roasted or raw beetroot, beet juice, or fermented pickled beets, which layer live bacteria on top of the vegetable's own compounds. To keep more of the heat-sensitive nitrates and pigments intact, skip the long boil; roasting or lightly steaming preserves more of both. If you're building out a wider rotation of gut-friendly vegetables, spinach and fennel round out the mix too.
Recipes using this ingredient:
What to do with this
Give beets a real, regular place on your plate, roasted, raw, juiced, or fermented, for a few weeks, and let your own results guide you, since your own gut bacteria type plays a role in how well you respond.
This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
- PubMed 33546293: controlled 14-day beetroot juice trial with pigment washout and stool sampling
- PubMed 37423954: beetroot juice trial in adults with long COVID
