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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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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==
==Side Effects==
The only documented side effects of beetroot (other than the taste) is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeturia Beeturia], which is pink or red colored urine. While this effect may be disconcerting, it is harmless and effects only about 10-14% of the healthy population. However, you are far more likely to have Beeturia if you are anemic, so have your blood checked if you get the symptoms, just in case. There are many other reported side effects of beetroot, including paralysis of vocal cords, have been reported on the internet, but I've found no documented cases and this appears to be urban legend<ref name="Livestrong"/>.
=The spinach alternative?=Another source of nitrate is spinach, which may be a substitute for those that don't like beets. Around 100-300g of spinach are claimed to have similar results to the equivalent weight of beets<ref name="Larsen-2010"/><ref name=Alternative Vegetables"Larsen-2006"/><ref name="spinach"/>. Canned beets contain 170-290 mg/100g nitrates<ref name=Other vegetables"LeeShallenberger1971"/>, such as and the spinachpetioles (stalks) can contain a similar 10-260 mg/100g, also but the spinach leaves only contain Nitrates4-12 mg/100g<ref name="YosefiTabaraki2010"/>. Also, but I was not able to find any studies note that directly supported these alternativescooking reduces the nitrate levels in spinach<ref name="Phillips1968"/>. Some studies<ref name="NaNLarsen-2011"/> used Sodium Nitrate directly, at a level which may be equivalent to about 300g<ref name="spinach"/> of spinach. However, without further study, it's not clear if spinach or other vegetables would have the same effect. Eating 300g (10oz) is about 7 cups of spinach, which would take some dedication to consume.
==References==
<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>
<ref name="Livestrong">What Are the Benefits of Drinking Beet Juice? http://www.livestrong.com/article/343584-what-are-the-benefits-of-drinking-beet-juice/</ref>
<ref name="spinach">Nitrate from spinach boosts muscle mitochondria function http://ihealthbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/02/nitrate-spinach-boosts-muscle-mitochondria/</ref>
<ref name="Larsen-2006"> FJ. Larsen, B. Ekblom, K. Sahlin, JO. Lundberg, E. Weitzberg, Effects of dietary nitrate on blood pressure in healthy volunteers., N Engl J Med, volume 355, issue 26, pages 2792-3, Dec 2006, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc062800 10.1056/NEJMc062800], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17192551 17192551]</ref>
<ref name="LeeShallenberger1971">C. Y. Lee, R. S. Shallenberger, D. L. Downing, G. S. Stoewsand, N. M. Peck, Nitrate and nitrite nitrogen in fresh, stored and processed table beets and spinach from different levels of field nitrogen fertilisation, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, volume 22, issue 2, 1971, pages 90–92, ISSN [http://www.worldcat.org/issn/00225142 00225142], doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.2740220212 10.1002/jsfa.2740220212]</ref>
<ref name="Phillips1968">William E. J. Phillips, Changes in the nitrate and nitrite contents of fresh and processed spinach during storage, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, volume 16, issue 1, 1968, pages 88–91, ISSN [http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0021-8561 0021-8561], doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf60155a012 10.1021/jf60155a012]</ref>
<ref name="YosefiTabaraki2010">Z. Yosefi, R. Tabaraki, H. A. Asadi Gharneh, A. A. Mehrabi, Variation in Antioxidant Activity, Total Phenolics, and Nitrate in Spinach, International Journal of Vegetable Science, volume 16, issue 3, 2010, pages 233–242, ISSN [http://www.worldcat.org/issn/1931-5260 1931-5260], doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19315260903577278 10.1080/19315260903577278]</ref>
<ref name="Larsen-2010"> FJ. Larsen, E. Weitzberg, JO. Lundberg, B. Ekblom, Dietary nitrate reduces maximal oxygen consumption while maintaining work performance in maximal exercise., Free Radic Biol Med, volume 48, issue 2, pages 342-7, Jan 2010, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2009.11.006 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2009.11.006], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19913611 19913611]</ref>
<ref name="Larsen-2011"> FJ. Larsen, TA. Schiffer, S. Borniquel, K. Sahlin, B. Ekblom, JO. Lundberg, E. Weitzberg, Dietary inorganic nitrate improves mitochondrial efficiency in humans., Cell Metab, volume 13, issue 2, pages 149-59, Feb 2011, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2011.01.004 10.1016/j.cmet.2011.01.004], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21284982 21284982]</ref>
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