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Beet, Energy, Performance, Supplements, Vitamins/ Minerals, Wellness
Dietary Nitrate Could Help You Train and Play Better.
- May 17, 2023
Dietary nitrate is a compound found in many foods, predominately beets, spinach and arugula. It has been shown to have a number of beneficial effects on human health, including improved blood flow, reduced blood pressure, and increased exercise performance. In recent years, there has been a growing body of research on the effects of dietary nitrate on muscle performance. While still young in the research world, the potential is showing to be there.

How Does Dietary Nitrate Work?

Dietary nitrate is converted to nitric oxide (NO) in the body. NO is a signaling molecule that has a number of beneficial effects on the body, including improved blood flow, reduced blood pressure, and increased exercise performance.

NO works by widening blood vessels, which increases blood flow to the muscles. This allows the muscles to get more oxygen and nutrients, which can help to improve performance. Not to be confused with the NOS from The Fast and the Furious movies but can be viewed with similar effects boosting performance!

Anaerobic Exercise Performance

Anaerobic exercise is the high intensity and relatively short duration type activities. This type of activity requires oxygen at a quicker rate than we can provide through breathing. Running out of oxygen is tough to overcome! Anaerobic types of events are shorter in duration due to that.

Studies have shown that nitrate supplementation can improve anaerobic exercise performance by increasing the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the muscles. This can help athletes to perform at a higher level for a longer period of time.

For example, one study found that nitrate supplementation improved the performance of cyclists in a 4-minute time trial. The cyclists who supplemented with nitrate were able to ride faster and for a longer period of time than the cyclists who did not supplement.

Aerobic Exercise Performance

Aerobic exercise is the lower intensity and generally longer duration type activities. This type of activity still requires oxygen like all activity does but not as much or as quickly. We can generally keep up with the oxygen demand by breathing which is what allows us to walk longer than we can sprint.

Dietary nitrate supplementation can improve aerobic exercise performance by increasing the efficiency of the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the organelles in cells that use that oxygen to produce energy.

Aerobic performance improvements haven’t been as widely found compared to anaerobic events. That doesn’t mean the potential isn’t still there and worth exploring though.

Safety and Sources of Dietary Nitrate

Nitrates are something that tends to be viewed in a negative light when hearing the word. That’s because the first reference of it tends to be the nitrates used to preserve deli/processed meats such as bacon. Dietary nitrates found in natural foods though are different and haven’t been linked to the negatives that preservatives have been. Good food sources to acquire the good nitrates from are beets, spinach, and arugula. You can also get dietary nitrate from supplements, such as beet juice powder. That being said, I tend to recommend food first and beet supplement dosages tend to vary a lot. So for consistency sake, food can be the best option.

How To Apply This Information

If you are an athlete, there are a few things you can do to increase your intake of dietary nitrate:
- Eat more beets, spinach, and arugula.
- Drink beet juice.
- Take a nitrate/beetroot supplement (recommend food over supplement)
It is important to note that dietary nitrate is not a magic bullet. It will not make you an overnight champion. However, it can help you to improve your performance and reach your athletic goals.

Here are some specific tips for how to apply this information to your own training:
- If you are training for an anaerobic event, such as a sprint or weightlifting competition, you may want to consume beets or beet juice 30-60 minutes before your workout.
- If you are training for an aerobic event, such as a marathon or long-distance swim, you may want to consume nitrate rich foods or beet juice throughout the day leading up to your workout.
- Dietary nitrates don’t appear to be stored in the body so consuming them the day of and relatively close to your event appears to be the best strategy.
- Always try new foods around training before trying on game days!
Conclusion

Dietary nitrate is a compound that has a number of beneficial effects on human health, including improved blood flow, reduced blood pressure, and increased exercise performance. Studies have shown that nitrate supplementation can improve both anaerobic and aerobic exercise performance. If you are looking to improve your athletic performance, you may want to consider adding dietary nitrate to your diet.

Study referenced: click here

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Beet, Energy, Performance, Supplements, Wellness
Impact of arginine and citrulline on athletic performance
- March 29, 2023
There’s no sleep for the supplement industry. Arginine and citrulline are relatively popular one’s touted for improving athletic performance. The evidence unfortunately isn’t entirely there to back those claims up. Logically though the potential is there. Yes, I’m saying there’s a chance! Let’s dig into this a bit to see what’s there.

What is arginine and citrulline?

Arginine and citrulline are amino acids that aid nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide helps dilate blood vessels to allow better blood flow and oxygen delivery. In the world of sports (and life in general) having adequate oxygen is a very good thing! Having enough oxygen ensure muscles are able to continue contracting and doing everything asked of them. That enhanced blood flow also allows for easier deliver of nutrients to muscles which can aid recovery. One the other end as well it also helps increase efficiency in removing any byproducts that the body needs to clear out. More of the “good” stuff and less of the “bad” stuff.

Sources of arginine and citrulline

The most effective manner to get arginine and citrulline is through supplementation. It’s not that they aren’t in foods but that the amounts needed are greater than would likely be achieved through food. Both are still helpful for an overall well-rounded diet though. Food wise, arginine can be found in meat, nuts/seeds, dairy and whole grains. Citrulline is found most abundantly in watermelon but also in cantaloupe and cucumbers. All of these foods you likely are already consuming but now have an added reason to continue doing so!

Impact on performance

The potential to help increase delivery of oxygen to muscles helps in many ways as mentioned previously. Increasing oxygen availability also allows for more efficient metabolism of nutrients for energy production. This means less lactic acid would be produced and in theory allow for better endurance. Studies looking into these improvements though aren’t conclusive. Most are showing no benefit from arginine and citrulline but also not showing detriments. Right now, the most positive findings appear to be in citrulline taken as 6g of citrulline malate for at least two weeks for possible results.

Alternative options

Similar types of effects have been shown in beet juice consumption. Beets are able to provide nitrates directly and thus increase that blood flow more effectively. While there may be other possible pathways that arginine and citrulline could have an impact, beets are the best bet for nitrates and oxygen delivery. Another benefit of beets is that you are able to take it as it is via food or juice. No having to worry about contaminated supplements when opting for food!

Is it worth it?

Right now, I would say in short…no. Your money would be better spent elsewhere such as your grocery bill for quality food. That’s not to say more studies may not come out in the future and make me eat my words. As of right now though there isn’t enough evidence to say it’s worth it. Having some beet juice and a bit of watermelon before games would be my recommendation.

Study referenced: click here

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Beet, Performance, Supplements, Vitamins/ Minerals, Wellness
Not all beet juice products are made equal
- November 27, 2022
Beet juice is popular amongst more people than just Dwight Schrute from The Office. Athletes and those looking to maximize their performance are starting to gravitate towards beets more and more. Research is continuing to come out supporting those benefits but it’s confusing to know how to take for best results. Looking into this, a new study shows that there is a lot of variation amongst different products and also even a bit between batches of the same product.

What’s so special about beet juice?

Nitrates are the main piece of the puzzle that makes beet juice so beneficial. Within the body those nitrates are converted into nitric oxide which help dilate blood vessels for improve blood flow and oxygen delivery. Consuming enough nitrates to maximize that potential can have a significant benefit on performance. Improved oxygen delivery helps muscles produce the energy they need but also it helps ‘clear out’ byproducts like lactate better. Combining all of these factors will help to train/compete longer with less fatigue. Post-training it can help from a recovery aspect as well from that.

Differences between products

Knowing the benefits beets and nitrates can have, now it’s a matter of making sure the needed amount is consumed. Most products, especially supplements, will specifically label the nitrate content within them. While it’s nice of them to say what the product contains, it’s another thing for it to actually contain what it says. Supplements in general are very susceptible to this and aren’t always as accurate as we would like them to be. On top of that, you need to make sure beet supplements are third party tested to ensure they don’t have any banned substances in them either. Put all of that together and it emphasizes why choosing beet juice may be the better and safer option.

Juice vs. supplement

Concentration of nitrates in juice appear to be a bit more consistent in providing the amounts needed for their benefits. The majority of the supplements reviewed in the recent study don’t have the needed amounts of nitrates in them. Having confidence in knowing you’re getting what you need is certainly something that needs to be kept in mind. Adding to the confidence of having the nitrates needed to work their magic, beet juice also has some other benefits too. Drinking beet juice will provide some extra carbs before intense competitions and the fluid to help ensure proper hydration. Putting all of this together, beet juice makes for one heck of a pre-workout addition to your nutrition plan.

How and when to drink beet juice

Knowing beet juice is helpful is nice but it’s just as important to know how best to take it. Drinking beet juice doesn’t have the nitrates kick in immediately and needs to be timed up appropriately for maximum effect. Wait until about 2 hours before your competition is about to begin before having beet juice as that’s how long it takes for your body to absorb and begin using those nitrates. Drinking half a cup (4oz) should be sufficient in most cases as well to provide the proper amounts of nitrates. Concentrated beet shots of ~2oz can sometimes provide enough as well but that will depend on the beets used.

Having some extra wiggle room for error, I would recommend going with the 4oz. Regardless though, like with all new things make sure to try it first during practice and not before a competition! No new foods on game day to make sure you know how your body responds to things. Nobody enjoys competing with an upset stomach.

Study referenced: click here

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