beet

  • Beet, Energy, Performance, Supplements, Vitamins/ Minerals, Wellness

    Dietary Nitrate Could Help You Train and Play Better.

    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!

    Dietary nitrate is the main compound that gets talked about in beets which aids blood flow and oxygen delivery to optimize 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

    Dietary nitrate is the main compound that gets talked about in beets which aids blood flow and oxygen delivery to optimize performance.

    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, Performance, Supplements, Vitamins/ Minerals, Wellness

    Not all beet juice products are made equal

    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.

    Beet juice typically has higher nitrate concentration and more consistent than beet supplements.

    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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