Various studies have suggested Beetroot juice is able to increase endurance and delay fatigue for athletes in long distance races. A recent study reported in Cycling Weekly suggested drinking Beetroot juice can also improve speed in short distance races.
According to this small study, in a 10 mile time trial, cyclists reduced their average times from 27.7 minutes to 26.9 minutes – quite a significant time gap.
This study gave cyclists a drink of beetroot juice two hours before the test. In one group the nitrate was removed from the beetroot juice. In the other group, the natural nitrate was left in the beetroot juice. The group with nitrate in, managed to reduce their times.
The theory is that nitrate helps muscles work more efficiently using less oxygen to produce the same amount of power. When scientists from the University of Exeter researched Beetroot juice, they found it improved the endurance capacity of athletes; they believed the benefits were the result of the nitrate turning into nitric oxide in the body, reducing how much oxygen is burned up by exercise.
Like many other fresh fruit and vegetables, beetroot juice is high in antioxidants which helps to reduce blood pressure. It is supposed to be very good at reducing high blood pressure, especially amongst men who have high pressure already. The benefits should be seen with other vegetables which have high nitrate content such as celery, lettuce, spinach.
Side effects of taking too much beetroot juice include urine colour changing, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Well, it looks pretty unappetising but given those tests, it may be worth giving it a go, nothing to lose apart from maybe a unique dodgy looking urine colour.
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Hi Tejvan
looking back on your season’s results would you say that intaking beetroot juice prior to a race made a significant difference to your race performance?
If yes, do you have a personal recommended dosage?
Thanks
Dom
I think it did help. When I took it, I seemed to go faster. I took one glass a day in week before race.
But, for some reason, I didn’t take it for the whole of September and October.
If you’re interested in trying this out under controlled conditions, then Oxford Brookes Dept of Nutrition are running a study at the moment, I think the CinC is Peter Beardmoor-Grey. Contact me if you’re interested!
The antioxidants comments are a bit misleading. It is highly unlikely that any compound could retain its ability to oxidiseor reduce after it had passed through the very acidic stomach, gone into the intestine, been transported across the intestinal wall into the very oxidising environment of the aterial blood and then survived the reducing enviornment of the working muscle… the nitrate is the key!
thanks Simon, I’m going to try it before a few races and see!