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Created page with '==Introduction== There have been a number of studies recently that show [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetroot Beetroot] (beets in the US) improve exercise performance including …'
==Introduction==
There have been a number of studies recently that show [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetroot Beetroot] (beets in the US) improve exercise performance including running. Beetroot juice takes effect within an hour and remains active for days.
==Recommendations==
Eating Beetroot or drinking beetroot juice has no side effects and is highly recommended. Drink about 500ml/1 pint of beetroot juice or a tin of beetroot (15oz) each day. Do not clean your teeth or use a mouthwash immediately before consuming the beetroot.
==Details==
Studies<ref name="Larsen FJ"/><ref name="Ferreira"/><ref name="Bailey"/><ref name="Time"/><ref name="Bailey2"/>indicate that beetroot juice has a number of benefits
* Reduction in the oxygen required across a range of efforts.
** This is without any increase in blood lactate that would indicate nonoxidative energy production.
* Increased time to exhaustion in maximal exercise with VO<sub>2</sub>max unchanged.
* Reduced resting blood pressure.
==Implications for Runners==
Beetroot supplementation is the only known way of reducing the energy cost of exercise. This reduction in energy cost is especially important for marathon runners, where the carbohydrate stores are a limiting factor in performance. Runners focused on shorter distances would benefit from the increased time to exhaustion at high intensity.
==Period of Effect==
The changes from beetroot take effect in about 30 minutes, peak after 90 minutes, stay elevated for 6 hours<ref name="Spitting"/> and remain effective for at least 15 days<ref name="Time"/> Taking beetroot juice daily will build up the effect over a 3-4 days then plateau.
==Active Component==
One study<ref name="Ferreira"/> removed the Nitrates from the beetroot juice and found that the effects also disappeared, indicating that the Nitrates are the active ingredient. The Nitrates (NO<sub>3</sub>) in beetroot juice are converted to Nitrites (NO<sub>2</sub>), and it is the nitrite that has the effect. Using an antibacterial mouthwash before taking beetroot juice prevents the nitrate being turned into nitrite<ref name="Mouthwash"/>.
==References==
<references>
<ref name="Larsen FJ"> Dietary nitrate reduces maximal oxygen consumption while maintaining work performance in maximal exercise. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19913611 </ref>
<ref name="Ferreira"> A toast to health and performance! Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure and the O2 cost of exercise http://jap.physiology.org/content/110/3/585.extract</ref>
<ref name="Bailey"> Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances muscle contractile efficiency during knee-extensor exercise in humans http://jap.physiology.org/content/109/1/135.short</ref>
<ref name="Time">Acute and chronic effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on blood pressure and the physiological responses to moderate-intensity and incremental exercise http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/299/4/R1121.short</ref>
<ref name="Bailey2">Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans http://jap.physiology.org/content/107/4/1144.full </ref>
<ref name="Mouthwash">The increase in plasma nitrite after a dietary nitrate load is markedly attenuated by an antibacterial mouthwash http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18793740?dopt=Abstract</ref>
<ref name="Spitting">Acute Blood Pressure Lowering, Vasoprotective, and Antiplatelet Properties of Dietary Nitrate via Bioconversion to Nitrite http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/3/784?ijkey=5ec725973d624beded6be2d3792e3ed9a10b09d2</ref>
</references>
There have been a number of studies recently that show [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetroot Beetroot] (beets in the US) improve exercise performance including running. Beetroot juice takes effect within an hour and remains active for days.
==Recommendations==
Eating Beetroot or drinking beetroot juice has no side effects and is highly recommended. Drink about 500ml/1 pint of beetroot juice or a tin of beetroot (15oz) each day. Do not clean your teeth or use a mouthwash immediately before consuming the beetroot.
==Details==
Studies<ref name="Larsen FJ"/><ref name="Ferreira"/><ref name="Bailey"/><ref name="Time"/><ref name="Bailey2"/>indicate that beetroot juice has a number of benefits
* Reduction in the oxygen required across a range of efforts.
** This is without any increase in blood lactate that would indicate nonoxidative energy production.
* Increased time to exhaustion in maximal exercise with VO<sub>2</sub>max unchanged.
* Reduced resting blood pressure.
==Implications for Runners==
Beetroot supplementation is the only known way of reducing the energy cost of exercise. This reduction in energy cost is especially important for marathon runners, where the carbohydrate stores are a limiting factor in performance. Runners focused on shorter distances would benefit from the increased time to exhaustion at high intensity.
==Period of Effect==
The changes from beetroot take effect in about 30 minutes, peak after 90 minutes, stay elevated for 6 hours<ref name="Spitting"/> and remain effective for at least 15 days<ref name="Time"/> Taking beetroot juice daily will build up the effect over a 3-4 days then plateau.
==Active Component==
One study<ref name="Ferreira"/> removed the Nitrates from the beetroot juice and found that the effects also disappeared, indicating that the Nitrates are the active ingredient. The Nitrates (NO<sub>3</sub>) in beetroot juice are converted to Nitrites (NO<sub>2</sub>), and it is the nitrite that has the effect. Using an antibacterial mouthwash before taking beetroot juice prevents the nitrate being turned into nitrite<ref name="Mouthwash"/>.
==References==
<references>
<ref name="Larsen FJ"> Dietary nitrate reduces maximal oxygen consumption while maintaining work performance in maximal exercise. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19913611 </ref>
<ref name="Ferreira"> A toast to health and performance! Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure and the O2 cost of exercise http://jap.physiology.org/content/110/3/585.extract</ref>
<ref name="Bailey"> Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances muscle contractile efficiency during knee-extensor exercise in humans http://jap.physiology.org/content/109/1/135.short</ref>
<ref name="Time">Acute and chronic effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on blood pressure and the physiological responses to moderate-intensity and incremental exercise http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/299/4/R1121.short</ref>
<ref name="Bailey2">Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans http://jap.physiology.org/content/107/4/1144.full </ref>
<ref name="Mouthwash">The increase in plasma nitrite after a dietary nitrate load is markedly attenuated by an antibacterial mouthwash http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18793740?dopt=Abstract</ref>
<ref name="Spitting">Acute Blood Pressure Lowering, Vasoprotective, and Antiplatelet Properties of Dietary Nitrate via Bioconversion to Nitrite http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/3/784?ijkey=5ec725973d624beded6be2d3792e3ed9a10b09d2</ref>
</references>