The best red spinach supplement gives you the dose the studies used, 1 gram of red spinach extract per serving, and states its nitrate content on the label. In the trials, 1,000 mg of extract supplied about 90 mg of nitrate, which works out to roughly 9%.
Most "best of" lists rank brands. A ranking cannot tell you whether the product in your cart matches the research. A short checklist can, and you can run it on any label in about a minute.
Which Red Spinach Supplement Is the Best?
The best red spinach supplement for you is the one that passes five label checks. It has 1 g of red spinach extract per serving, a stated nitrate percentage, every dose listed, Amaranthus tricolor named, and a fair price per gram. After that, pick on stimulants, sweetener and form.
Those five checks come straight from the research. Red spinach extract works through dietary nitrate, which your body converts to nitrite and then to nitric oxide, as a 2009 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition explains. A product that hides its nitrate content or its dose gives you no way to know what you are getting.
What to Look For in a Red Spinach Supplement
Use this table as your label checklist. The first row is the one that matters most.
| What to check | What the research or the rules say | What a good label shows |
|---|---|---|
| Dose per serving | Trials used 1 to 2 g of red spinach extract a day | 1,000 mg (1 g) of red spinach extract per serving |
| Nitrate content | 1,000 mg of extract supplied about 90 mg of nitrate in a 2016 trial | A stated nitrate percentage, about 9% or higher |
| Disclosed dose | Federal rules let a proprietary blend list only its total weight | An exact milligram amount for red spinach extract, not a blend total |
| Plant named | The trials tested extract from Amaranthus tricolor | "Red spinach extract (Amaranthus tricolor)" or red amaranth |
| Testing | The FDA does not approve supplements before they are sold | A statement that the product is tested by an independent lab |
| Stimulants | The trials gave the extract on its own | Your choice: stimulant free if you train late or already drink coffee |
| Sweetener | A matter of taste, not of results | Your choice: unflavored, stevia, or another sweetener you prefer |
| Form | Form changes convenience, not the extract | Powder in one scoop, or enough capsules to reach 1 g |
| Price | Tubs and bottles hold different amounts | Cost per 1 g serving, worked out from the label |
Look for 1 Gram per Serving
Most red spinach trials gave 1 g of extract, about 90 mg of nitrate. A 2016 study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found blood nitrate 255% above baseline 65 to 75 minutes after that dose. A 2021 cycling trial in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research gave 1 g a day for 7 days and cut average 4 km finish time from 410.6 to 404.6 seconds.
A serving with 250 or 500 mg of extract sits below anything the trials tested. It is not the same product at a lower price.
Look for a Stated Nitrate Percentage
Nitrate is the active part, so the label should tell you how much there is. The extract in the 2016 trial carried roughly 9% nitrate, which is how 1,000 mg delivered about 90 mg. If a label lists only "red spinach powder" with no percentage, you cannot compare it to the studies.
This is also where red spinach pulls ahead of beets per gram. We laid out the numbers in our red spinach vs beet root for nitric oxide comparison.
Skip the Proprietary Blend
You may not see the real dose on a blended formula. Under FDA labeling rule 21 CFR 101.36, a proprietary blend can list its total weight without the amount of each ingredient. A "performance blend" of 1,500 mg could hold 1,000 mg of red spinach extract or 100 mg. Only an exact milligram figure tells you which.
Check for Amaranthus Tricolor on the Label
You want the plant the studies tested. Red spinach is a leafy amaranth, Amaranthus tricolor, sometimes sold as red amaranth. The spinach in a salad bag is a different plant, Spinacia oleracea. The trials above tested the amaranth extract, so look for the Latin name on the label.
Look for Independent Lab Testing
You are the first line of quality control. The FDA does not review or approve dietary supplements before they go on sale. The company selling the product is responsible for what is in it. A statement that an independent lab tested the product is a reasonable thing to look for and to ask about.
What Are the Benefits of Taking Spinach Pills?
Red spinach pills give you the same extract as the powder in a form with no taste and no mixing. The benefit depends on the dose, not the form: you need about 1 g of red spinach extract to match the studies, which usually takes more than one capsule.
Check the milligrams per capsule and do the math. At 500 mg of extract per capsule, two capsules reach 1 g. At 250 mg, it takes four. A powder usually fits 1 g into one scoop that you mix into water.
If a "spinach pill" contains common spinach powder rather than red spinach extract, the red spinach research does not apply to it.
How to Compare Price per 1 g Serving
Compare red spinach supplements by what you pay for each gram of extract, not by the price of the tub. Divide the price by the total grams of red spinach extract in the container.
The formula is price divided by servings times grams of extract per serving. Find both numbers on the supplement facts panel. A cheaper bottle with a small dose per serving can cost you more per gram than a pricier tub.
Strength of the Evidence
You should know how thin the research still is. Red spinach studies are young and small. The trials are randomized and placebo controlled, with 10 to 17 people each.
Results vary by goal. The 2021 cycling gains were significant only in women. A 2017 trial in the journal Sports raised oxygen uptake at the ventilatory threshold by 6.1%, but time to exhaustion did not improve, and the extract's manufacturer funded it. A 2021 bench press study at 2 g a day found no change in reps or power.
The concession, plainly: no red spinach supplement, however well labeled, has more than a handful of small trials behind it. A 2025 systematic review in Cureus called the results promising and asked for more research on dosing. The checklist tells you a product matches the studies. It cannot promise the studies will hold up.
Safety and Who Should Ask a Doctor First
Nitrate affects your blood vessels. Talk to your doctor before taking any nitrate supplement if you take blood pressure or heart medication, or have a heart or blood pressure condition. The same goes during pregnancy, while nursing, and for anyone under 18.
No official upper limit exists for red spinach extract. For nitrate in general, the European Food Safety Authority set an acceptable daily intake of 3.7 mg per kilogram of body weight. By our math, that is about 260 mg a day for a 154 lb (70 kg) adult. Two 1 g servings of a 9% extract supply about 180 mg, before the nitrate in your food.
Where Can I Buy Red Spinach?
You can buy red spinach extract as a powder or capsule from supplement stores and online retailers. The fresh leaves are sold as red amaranth or amaranth greens at some farmers markets and international grocery stores. Fresh leaves do not come with a measured nitrate dose.
Buying online makes the checklist easy, since you can read the full supplement facts panel before you order. If a listing does not show the panel, ask the seller for it or move on.
Red Spinach Supplement FAQ
What is the best red spinach supplement?
The best red spinach supplement provides 1 g of red spinach extract per serving and lists its nitrate percentage, about 9% or more. It names Amaranthus tricolor and avoids a proprietary blend. Choose between powder and capsules, and on stimulants and sweetener, by preference.
How much red spinach extract should I take a day?
The trials used 1 to 2 g of red spinach extract a day, which supplied about 90 to 180 mg of nitrate. Most gave the dose 40 to 75 minutes before exercise. The two trials that improved cycling performance also dosed daily for 6 to 7 days first.
Is red spinach the same as regular spinach?
No. Red spinach is a leafy amaranth, Amaranthus tricolor, and regular spinach is Spinacia oleracea. The red spinach supplement research tested extract from the amaranth, so a product made from regular spinach is not covered by those studies.
How long does red spinach extract take to work?
Blood nitrate rises within the first hour. In the 2016 trial, it was 255% above baseline 65 to 75 minutes after 1 g of extract. Changes in exercise performance showed up mostly after a week of daily use.
Does Vitality contain OxyStorm?
Yes. The red spinach extract in Vitality is listed on the label as OxyStorm®, at 1,000 mg per scoop. It is the extract used in the 2017 placebo controlled exercise trial published in the journal Sports.
The Verdict
If you want the research dose in the fewest steps, choose a red spinach extract powder with 1 g per scoop and a stated nitrate percentage. If you want no taste and no mixing, choose capsules and confirm how many it takes to reach 1 g.
Either way, compare by cost per gram of extract, and skip any label that hides its dose in a blend.
How Vitality Measures Against the Checklist
You can run the same list on our own product. Here is how our red spinach supplement, Vitality from BioHealth Nutrition, reads against the same list, using only what its label and product page state.
| What to check | Vitality |
|---|---|
| Dose per serving | 1,000 mg of non GMO red spinach extract per scoop |
| Nitrate content | About 90 mg of nitrate per scoop |
| Disclosed dose | Single active ingredient, amount listed. Other ingredients: natural flavors, citric acid, stevia extract, silicon dioxide |
| Plant named | Amaranthus tricolor |
| Stimulants | No caffeine or other stimulants |
| Sweetener | Sweetened with stevia extract, no artificial sweeteners |
| Form | Powder, Cherry Lime flavor, 30 servings per tub |
| Diet | Vegan, gluten free, no animal products |
Vitality comes only as a powder and in one flavor. If you want capsules or an unflavored powder, it is not your match.
The label directs 1 to 2 scoops in 8 to 12 oz of water or your beverage of choice, 15 to 30 minutes before physical activity. Our red spinach extract powder is in stock now.
Vitality Red Spinach Extract Powder
1,000mg non GMO red spinach extract per scoop for blood flow, energy and endurance. No stimulants.
$39.99
Shop Vitality Red Spinach Extract PowderIt sits with our other performance supplements and the rest of our greens and superfoods.
Related reading: see the health benefits of red spinach, and our red spinach vs beet root nitrate comparison.
Sources. Hord NG. et al., Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009. Haun CT. et al., Differential vascular reactivity responses acutely following ingestion of a nitrate rich red spinach extract, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2016. Moore AN. et al., Red Spinach Extract Increases Ventilatory Threshold during Graded Exercise Testing, Sports, 2017. Gonzalez AM. et al., Red Spinach Extract Supplementation Improves Cycle Time Trial Performance in Recreationally Active Men and Women, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2021. Haynes JT. et al., Impact of Red Spinach Extract Supplementation on Bench Press Performance, Muscle Oxygenation, and Cognitive Function in Resistance Trained Males, Sports, 2021. Wen J. et al., Improved Effect of Spinach Extract on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials, Cureus, 2025. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements. 21 CFR 101.36, Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements. EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food, Re-evaluation of sodium nitrate (E 251) and potassium nitrate (E 252) as food additives, EFSA Journal, 2017.
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