Boost Your Fitness with Beetroot: Is Beetroot The Secret to Enhanced Performance

It’s National Fitness Day! Today, the focus often turns to nutrition and its key role in optimising athletic performance. Among the many nutrient-dense foods promoted for their performance-enhancing benefits, beetroot stands out for its potential to boost endurance and exercise efficiency. This claim is rooted in its high nitrate content. To understand how beetroot may improve performance, let’s explore its nutritional profile, the role of nitrates, and the supporting research.

The Nutritional Profile of Beetroot

Before discussing its effects on stamina (ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort), it’s important to understand what makes beetroot nutritionally significant. Beetroot is packed with essential nutrients, including vitamins (A, C, and several B vitamins), minerals (like iron, magnesium, and potassium), antioxidants, and dietary fibre. However, the most crucial component believed to influence stamina is nitrates.

The Role of Nitrates in The Body

Nitrates are naturally occurring compounds found in several vegetables, with beetroot being particularly high in them. When consumed, nitrates are converted into nitric oxide (NO) in the body. Nitric oxide is a molecule that plays a significant role in vasodilation. This is the widening of blood vessels. It relaxes the inner muscles of blood vessels, leading to an increase in blood flow. This function is crucial to human health, as it enables the body to deliver oxygen-rich blood to the areas that need it most. 

Increased vasodilation also acts as a transporter for glucose, fats, and other nutrients throughout the body.

The Role of Nitrates for Athletes

By expanding the blood vessels, nitric oxide improves blood flow. This allows for better oxygen delivery to muscles during exercise. This enhanced oxygenation can potentially delay the onset of fatigue, thereby improving endurance and stamina.

Moreover, nitric oxide has been shown to:

• Improve Mitochondrial Efficiency: By reducing the oxygen cost of exercise, nitric oxide may help mitochondria generate energy more efficiently.
• Regulate Muscle Contraction: Nitric oxide interacts with calcium handling in muscle cells, which may enhance contractility during high-intensity exercise.
• Promote Recovery: The increased blood flow can aid in faster removal of metabolic byproducts, such as lactate and ammonia, which accumulate during exercise.

What Does the Research Say?

Over the years, a growing body of research has explored the relationship between beetroot supplementation, nitrate intake, and exercise performance. 

Endurance Exercise

Most of the early research on beetroot’s ergogenic effects has focused on endurance exercise. In a seminal 2009 study, researchers found that consuming beetroot juice improved time to exhaustion by 15-20% in recreational athletes performing moderate-intensity cycling. The nitrate content in beetroot juice was attributed to a reduction in the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise, suggesting that athletes could maintain a given workload with less exertion (1).

Subsequent studies have corroborated these findings, particularly in time-trial performance. A meta-analysis published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition noted that beetroot supplementation consistently improved endurance performance, especially in events lasting between 5 and 30 minutes. This makes beetroot a promising aid for middle-distance athletes, including cyclists, rowers, and runners (2).

High-Intensity Exercise

While the benefits of beetroot for endurance athletes are well-documented, its role in high-intensity, short-duration exercise is less clear. Some studies suggest that nitric oxide’s vasodilatory effects may not translate as effectively to anaerobic activities such as sprinting, weightlifting, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). A 2014 study found that beetroot supplementation did not significantly improve sprint performance or maximal power output in elite-level athletes (3). However, this was a very small-scale study.

More recent research indicates that beetroot may still have potential in this domain, particularly when it comes to enhancing repeated sprint ability or prolonged high-intensity efforts. For example, a study published in Nutrients found that beetroot juice enhanced repeated sprint performance in team sport athletes, possibly due to improved oxygen delivery to fast-twitch muscle fibres(4).

Individual Variability and Adaptation

It’s also important to note that not all individuals respond equally to beetroot supplementation. Research shows a wide range of responses, with some athletes experiencing significant performance improvements, while others see negligible effects. This variability may be influenced by several factors, including baseline nitrate levels, individual gut microbiome composition (which affects nitrate reduction), and the athlete’s training status.

Moreover, there’s evidence to suggest that long-term use of beetroot may lead to diminished effects. This is thought to be due to nitrate tolerance, where the body becomes less responsive to nitric oxide over time. Some experts recommend cycling nitrate supplementation (e.g., using beetroot juice only during key training blocks or competitions) to avoid this issue.

While a lot of the research paints a promising picture, it’s essential to approach the claims surrounding beetroot and performance with a degree of scepticism. The research, though promising, is not without its limitations.

1. Variability in Responses: Not everyone may experience the same benefits from beetroot consumption. Some studies have shown that the effectiveness of beetroot in enhancing stamina can vary widely among individuals. Factors such as baseline fitness levels, diet, genetics, and even the gut microbiome can influence how one responds to dietary nitrates.
2. Dosage and Form: The optimal dosage and form of beetroot for enhancing stamina are still under debate. Most studies have used beetroot juice rather than whole beetroot, which might have different effects. Additionally, the quantity of beetroot juice used in studies (often around 500 ml) is quite high and might not be practical for daily consumption.
3. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Effects: Most research has focused on the short-term effects of beetroot supplementation, with little understanding of the long-term impact. While acute intake of beetroot juice might improve performance for a specific event, it’s unclear whether regular, long-term consumption would yield the same benefits or if the body might adapt, reducing the effectiveness over time.
4. Placebo Effect: The psychological aspect of consuming something perceived as a performance enhancer cannot be ignored. Some of the improvements in stamina observed in studies might be partially attributed to the placebo effect, where the belief in the efficacy of beetroot juice contributes to better performance.

How much beetroot juice (nitrate) to take?

Researchers from the University of Exeter suggest an optimal nitrate dose of 600mg, or 2 x 70ml beetroot shots, though benefits have been seen with 300-400mg (0.62 mg/kg), equivalent to 500ml beetroot juice or one 70ml shot. Both acute and chronic intake can boost performance. Professor Jones recommends taking one to two 70ml shots daily for 3-5 days before competition, and another 2-3 hours before the event (5).

For added benefits, increase your intake of leafy green vegetables, which are rich in nitrates and other nutrients.

By and large, beetroot shows great promise as a natural way to boost performance, particularly endurance performance, due to its high nitrate content, which enhances nitric oxide production and improves blood flow. 

While the research is still evolving, the potential benefits make it a worthwhile consideration for your fitness routine. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just starting your fitness journey, beetroot might just give you that extra edge you’re looking for. If you can’t beet them, join them!

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References

1. Bailey, S. J., Winyard, P., Vanhatalo, A., Blackwell, J. R., Dimenna, F. J., Wilkerson, D. P., Tarr, J., Benjamin, N., & Jones, A. M. (2009). Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md.: 1985), 107(4), 1144–1155.
2. Gao, C., Gupta, S., Adli, T. et al.(2021) The effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on endurance exercise performance and cardiorespiratory measures in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 55.
3. Kokkinoplitis, K. & Chester, N. (2014). The effect of beetroot juice on repeated sprint performance and muscle force production. Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 14. 242-247. 
4. Nyakayiru, J., Jonvik, K. L., Trommelen, J., Pinckaers, P. J., Senden, J. M., van Loon, L. J., & Verdijk, L. B. (2017). Beetroot Juice Supplementation Improves High-Intensity Intermittent Type Exercise Performance in Trained Soccer Players. Nutrients, 9(3), 314. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9030314
5. Wylie, L. J., Kelly, J., Bailey, S. J., Blackwell, J. R., Skiba, P. F., Winyard, P. G., Jeukendrup, A. E., Vanhatalo, A., & Jones, A. M. (2013). Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 115(3), 325–336.

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