Short answer: beet juice is not banned by the NCAA. Neither beet juice nor dietary nitrate, the compound in beets that research focuses on, appears in any of the eight banned drug classes or their examples on the 2026 to 27 NCAA list [1]. Whether a Division I school may provide a beet shot or beet powder is less clear: schools may serve meals and snacks, but supplements are limited to six types, and beet products are not one of them [2]. Where a beet shot falls is a reading of the rules, so confirm it with your compliance office.

Beet juice and the NCAA at a glance

Question	Answer
Is beet juice on the NCAA banned list?	No. Neither beet juice nor nitrate appears in any banned class or example list [1]
Can a Division I school give athletes beet shots or powders?	Unclear. Meals and snacks are allowed; beet supplements are not one of the six permitted types. Ask compliance [2][10]
Does it help performance?	Studies show a small benefit for some athletes, but a large review found none in well trained endurance athletes [3][5]
Can mouthwash get in the way?	Possibly. An antibacterial mouthwash blunted the rise in blood nitrite after a nitrate dose in a small study [7]
Is there an NCAA approved beet juice?	No. The NCAA approves no supplements [1]

What is in beet juice?

Beets are one of the richest food sources of nitrate, along with vegetables such as spinach, rocket and celery [3][4]. Your body also makes nitrate on its own [4].

How it works, according to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) [4]:

Bacteria in your mouth turn nitrate into nitrite. You swallow that nitrite with your saliva.
Your body turns some nitrite into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps regulate blood flow, blood pressure and muscle contraction.
This pathway may matter most when oxygen is short, such as in working muscle.

Our citrulline guide covers the NCAA status of another supplement linked to nitric oxide.

Does beet juice actually help performance?

For some athletes, in some events, yes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on supplements names nitrate as one of only a few performance supplements with good evidence, alongside caffeine, creatine and buffering agents [3]. The AIS places dietary nitrate and beetroot juice in Group A of its Sports Supplement Framework, meaning "strong scientific evidence for use in specific situations in sport using evidence-based protocols" [4].

What the IOC statement reports [3]:

Time trials under 40 minutes improved by 1% to 3% in studies.
High intensity, intermittent team sport exercise lasting 12 to 40 minutes improved by 3% to 5%.
Efforts under 12 minutes showed mixed results.

A 2020 analysis of 80 studies in young, healthy adults found a benefit, clearest in recreationally active men, but called it "objectively small" [5]. It did not find a benefit in well trained endurance athletes, or a clear one in the six studies of women only [5].

We report the evidence, not a dose. Whether nitrate fits your sport and training is a question for a sports dietitian. Our supplements for runners guide puts nitrate next to other endurance options.

What is specific to beet products?

The label may not tell you much

A 2019 study tested 45 lots of 24 beet juice products sold to athletes [6]:

Nitrate varied about 50 fold between the lowest and highest product.
Lots of the same product varied too, from moderately to widely.
Only five of the 24 products consistently delivered the amount the authors saw as the minimum needed for a performance effect in most people.

The AIS says few beet supplements, including juice concentrates, gels and powders, have been independently tested for their nitrate content [4]. Its athlete sheet tells you to check other ingredients and batch testing status for juices, powders and gels [4].

Mouthwash may blunt the effect

Mouth bacteria do the first step. In a 2008 study of seven healthy volunteers, rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash before a nitrate dose markedly blunted the rise in blood nitrite [7]. That study measured blood levels, not performance. The AIS goes further and tells athletes to avoid mouthwash or chewing gum when using beetroot juice [4].

Nitrate is not nitrite

The AIS warns that athletes may use sodium or potassium nitrite as a supplement by mistake, which can be toxic [4]. It also does not recommend nitrate salts [4]. Its advice is to stick to natural sources of nitrate, such as vegetables [4].

Side effects

Concentrated beet juice can upset the stomach, so the IOC and AIS advise trying it in training first [3][4]. Pink urine or stools are a harmless side effect, says the AIS [4].

Is there an NCAA approved beet juice?

No. There are no NCAA approved nutritional or dietary supplements of any kind [1]. The NCAA warns that supplements may be contaminated with banned substances not on the label, and that third party tested products may be options even though risk cannot be eliminated [1].

A product certified by a banned substance testing program is the lower risk choice. Informed Sport, for example, tests every batch before release [9]. Our guides to NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport and BSCG Certified Drug Free explain what each program checks.

Can a Division I school provide beet juice?

It depends on what the school hands out. Two bylaws in the 2026 to 27 Division I Manual apply:

Bylaw 16.5.2.3 lets a school provide meals and snacks to athletes at any time [2]. Beets on a plate are food.
Bylaw 16.5.2.7 limits supplements to six types: carbohydrate and electrolyte drinks, energy bars, carbohydrate boosters, protein supplements, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins and minerals [2]. Beet shots and powders are not on that list. Our guides to energy gels and electrolytes cover products that do fit those types.

The bylaws do not say where a juice stops being a snack and starts being a supplement. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says beet juice and concentrate labels usually call them foods, not dietary supplements, while some dietary supplements contain beet powder [10]. That suggests a juice or shot may sit closer to a snack and a beet powder supplement may not, but that is our reading, not an NCAA ruling. Your compliance office makes the call, and your school can send the label to Drug Free Sport AXIS, the only label review service the NCAA subscribes to [1].

"Banned" is about your drug test. "Impermissible" is about what the school may supply. Our creatine guide explains the difference, and our beta alanine guide covers another Group A supplement schools cannot provide.

What about high school athletes?

The NCAA does not govern high school sport. The NFHS position statement on performance enhancing substances does not address beet juice or nitrate by name [8]. Your state association and school set the rules, so ask your athletic trainer.

Checklist before you use a beet product

Scan it in Varsity Stack first. Check the barcode or label against our certification database before you buy.
Read the whole label. A juice, gel or powder may include other ingredients. Check them and the batch testing status [4].
Look for nitrate, never nitrite, and skip nitrate or nitrite salts [4].
Ask your athletics staff, and if a school is providing it, ask compliance which bylaw covers it [1][2].
Try it in training before you use it in competition [3][4].

Every banned class is in our NCAA banned substances guide.

Check beet juice with Varsity Stack

The fastest way to check a beet juice product is the free Varsity Stack app. Scan the barcode or snap a photo of the label, and Varsity Stack checks it against our certification database before you buy. Then log it with the rest of your stack, so you and your staff always know what you are taking.

Download Varsity Stack free

For coaches, sports dietitians and athletic trainers: the team dashboard shows every athlete's stack, the certification status of each product and its full ingredient panel. Athletes scan what they buy, and staff approve or reject it for the roster, for example a beet shot before a race. Request access for your program.

Varsity Stack does not laboratory test supplements, and certification lowers risk without removing it.

Varsity Stack does not provide medical, legal or NCAA compliance advice. This article is for educational purposes only. Consult a qualified healthcare provider or registered dietitian before starting any supplement regimen. Check current NCAA legislation and Drug Free Sport AXIS with your compliance staff when reviewing individual products.

Is Beet Juice Banned by the NCAA? Nitrate, Shots and Schools