Beet it with beets!

Beets the super-ergogenic: Beet it!

Beets are the latest super-ergogenic aid for athletes; beets have been used for centuries by Russian athletes in their daily soup borscht. Beets are trending for athletes as the latest super-ergogenic because of their natural effect on blood carrying capacity of oxygen to the cells, much the same effect as erythropoietin which enhances greater oxygen carrying capacity due to promoting the development of red blood cell formation (MPH, "What Is Erythropoietin (EPO)? Test, Definition, Side Effects", 2017). Beets aid in the carrying capacity of oxygen due to the formation of red blood cells which boosts oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells throughout the body acting as a natural ergogenic aid for athletes, this is primarily due to beets nitrates composition which reduces the oxygen cost, thus enhancing athletic performance (Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD , "The Athlete's Kitchen - Sports Nutrition News from The American College of Sports Medicine", July 21, 2012).

In clinical timed trials it was found that beetroot juice enhanced performance in novice athletes, and for all athletes of whom consumed beetroot juice over the course of 7 or more days, “[b]eetroot juice and sodium nitrate were the most common supplements, with doses ranging from 300 to 600 mg nitrate and prescribed in a manner ranging from a single bolus to 15 days of regular ingestion. Pooled analysis showed a significant moderate benefit (ES = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.23-1.35) of nitrate supplementation on performance for time to exhaustion tests (p = .006). There was a small but insignificant beneficial effect on performance for time trials (ES = 0.11, 95% CI: -0.16-0.37) and graded exercise tests (ES = 0.26, 95% CI: -0.10-0.62)” (Hoon, Johnson, Chapman, & Burke, 2013). Overall, the research shows that beetroot juice does have beneficial performance enhancing effects. However, in elite endurance athletes the beetroot juice only had a small effect. Even though this is the case this small effect at an elite level may be the 1% edge an athlete needs to win their race.

As explained by The Athlete’s Kitchen - Sports Nutrition News from The American College of Sports Medicine, written by Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD on 21 July 2012, “[n]itrates in foods such as spinach (and beets) reduce the oxygen cost of exercise and enhance efficiency. Healthy young men who consumed half a liter of spinach juice for 6 days were able to perform better anaerobically. Maybe this is why Popeye was strong to the finish? Dietary nitrates in the form of beet juice (called beetroot juice in the UK) have been shown to improve 2.5 mile (4 km) and 9.5 mile (16 km) time trial performance by almost 3% in racing cyclists. During a longer, 50-mile time trial, cyclists who consumed a half-liter of beet juice 2.5 hours pre-ride rode almost 1% faster. This small improvement was not statistically significant, but to a cyclist, the improvement would likely be meaningful. Elite rowers who consumed beet juice for 6 days performed better on an erg test. This was particularly noticeable in the later stages of exercise. Pre-exercise beets or borscht anyone?” (Clark, 2012). Moreover, the benefits of an athlete consuming beetroot may make the 1% difference to give them an edge on race day.

Lastly, based on the presented data beets are an ergogenic aid that enhances performance, and can give athletes a performance edge. There does need to be more research on the beneficial effects beets have on athletic performance. At current, research does show that beets are indeed a ergogenic aid. Additionally, the nitric oxide contained in beets naturally works as a vasodilator, this increases the blood flow to muscles thus enhancing energy generators, mitochondria ("Homepage - Beet-it Canada", 2017). Therefore, beets are the way to beet it when it comes to amping up athletic performance.

References

British Dietetic Association, BDA. (2015, August 26). Is beetroot a superfood?

Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/superfoods/Pages/is-beetroot-a-superfood.aspx

Clark, N. (2012, July 21). The Athlete's Kitchen - Sports Nutrition News from

The American College of Sports Medicine. Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

http://runohio.com/index.php/features/360-the-athletes-kitchen-sports-nutrition-news-from-the-american-college-of-sports-medicine

Homepage - Beet-it Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

https://www.beet-it.ca/

Hoon, M. W., Johnson, N. A., Chapman, P. G., & Burke, L. M. (2013,

October). The effect of nitrate supplementation on exercise performance

in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved

July 08, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23580439

Macdonald, J. (2015, March 25). Beetroot Juice as a Potential Ergogenic Aid

During Exercise in Hypoxia. Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT01795534

Nabili, S. N., MD. (2016, September 01). What Is Erythropoietin (EPO)? Test,

Definition, Side Effects. Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

http://www.medicinenet.com/erythropoietin/article.htm