Mallika Dureja
Beetroot is becoming more popular as a performance-booster for runners and cyclists who want to get ahead of the competition. Some people juice beets, others eat them, and others use the powdered form to make a drink. But will it make a difference in how fast we run a race or ride our bikes up a hill?
In 2020, a large systematic review looked at 80 clinical trials. In the studies that were included, people were randomly assigned to drink beetroot juice or not. It was found that athletes did better when they drank beetroot juice.
This can make a big difference in sports where every second or centimetre counts. In a 16.1-kilometer cycling time trial, the benefits of eating beets were worth 48 seconds. But when the authors looked at subgroups within these studies, they found that beetroot juice didn’t work for women or elite athletes. This could be because there weren’t enough people in these groups in the studies to draw any conclusions.
In 2021, 73 studies that looked at endurance athletes (people who run long distances, swim long distances, or bike long distances) came to the same conclusions. When they ate beetroot and other high-nitrate vegetables, their time to exhaustion went up by an average of 25.3 seconds, and they went 163 metres farther.
This improvement was seen in people who played sports for fun, but not in elite athletes or people who didn’t move much. This study didn’t look at women in particular.
To keep your brain sharp and healthy, eat more of these foods.
– Avocado
– Turmeric
– Green tea
– Rosemary
– Broccoli
– Dark berries
– Coconut and olive oil
– Egg yolk
– Walnuts
– BeetrootIf you can't memorize them all in one minute, you definitely need to eat more of them. pic.twitter.com/mmJMWtdqLE
— Dr Kasenene (@drkasenene) February 6, 2023
What’s the deal with beets?
Beets have a lot of nitrate and anthocyanins in them. Both are good for your health, but nitrates are the ones that help you perform better.
After being eaten, the bacteria in the mouth change the nitrate into nitrite. When the nitrite gets to the acidic stomach, it changes into nitric oxide, which is then taken into the bloodstream.
Nitric oxide widens the blood vessels, so oxygen gets to the muscles faster. This lets the muscles burn more energy to get the fuel they need.
Since less energy is needed for performance, it takes longer to get tired.
What can I do with beet juice?
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has looked at beetroot and put it in Group A. This means that there is a lot of scientific proof that it works in certain sports situations.
The AIS says that taking beetroot supplements can help with exercise, training, and competitions that last between 4 and 30 minutes, as well as with team sports that have short bouts of exercise.
The AIS says that a beetroot product (juice, powder, or food) should have between 350 and 600 mg of inorganic nitrate in it to help performance. Check what it says. There are a number of juices that are very concentrated on the market.
Beets have about 250mg of nitrate per 100g, so you’d have to eat at least 200g of baked beets to get the same effect.
You need to take the product 2–3 hours before you train or compete so that the nitrates can be turned into nitric oxide and absorbed into your bloodstream. If you drink beetroot juice for a few days before a workout or competition, it may help you in other ways.
But don’t use antibacterial things like mouthwash, gum, or lollipops. These will get rid of the bacteria in your mouth that are needed to turn nitrate into nitrite.
Is there anything bad about it?
Your urine will turn red, which will make it hard to tell if you are getting too little water. Also, your poop might turn red.
Some people might get a stomachache when they drink beetroot juice. So try drinking it while you train to see if there are any issues. Don’t find out about this on the day of the competition.
What about the nitrate in the other foods you eat?
Even though it’s hard to get enough nitrate from vegetables to improve your athletic performance right before an event, eating five servings of vegetables a day will help keep the nitric oxide level in your blood high.
Celery, rocket, spinach, endive, leek, parsley, kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage, and celeriac all have more nitrate than other vegetables. There isn’t much information about how cooking and storing them affects the amount of nitrates, so it’s probably best to eat them in the way you like best.
But it’s best to stay away from cured meats that have nitrate added to them. The additive is used to stop bacteria from growing and to add flavour and colour, but the sodium nitrite it makes can raise the chance of getting cancer.
Even though beetroot may give you a small boost in performance, you should still tailor the rest of your training. Make sure you’re getting enough carbohydrates, protein, and water. To get the best results, you may need to talk to an exercise scientist and a certified sports dietitian who works in the field.
