Beets / Beetroot for Anti-Inflammatory

Research suggests that beetroot and its key bioactive compounds — particularly betalain pigments like betanin and dietary nitrates — demonstrate meaningful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties across a range of study types, including laboratory experiments, animal studies, and a small number of human clinical trials. Studies indicate that betalains can reduce the production of pro-inflammatory proteins such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in cell-based research, while reviews across multiple disease contexts — including cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, COPD, and cancer — consistently identify anti-inflammatory activity as a plausible mechanism underlying beetroot's broader health effects. Two randomized controlled trials, one in Raynaud's phenomenon patients and one in coronary artery disease patients, found favorable shifts in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers following beetroot supplementation, though one study of post-marathon recovery found no meaningful benefit over placebo, and the Raynaud's trial noted that nitrate-depleted beetroot juice produced similar effects to the nitrate-rich version, complicating conclusions about which compounds are responsible. The overall body of evidence is promising but remains largely preclinical, and reviewers consistently note that well-designed human clinical trials are still limited, meaning firm conclusions about the magnitude or clinical significance of beetroot's anti-inflammatory effects in people cannot yet be drawn.