You Can't be Beet: Beetroot and Athletic Performance

“Let the beet drop”

“Turnip the beet”

“My heart beets for you”

Beets: I love them! And as an endurance athlete and nutrition science student, I was so intrigued to see one of my favorite vegetables being jammed into drinkable shots and turned into powders and crystals for consumption before a workout. The vegetable is currently being touted as an athletic performance supplement, in addition to being a vitamin and mineral powerhouse, and the health benefits are being robustly researched.

Two products which I have seen most in person and advertised online are sold by Red Ace Organics and HumanN. Red Ace Organics sells Beet Performance Shots, which are said to be a “daily dose of get up and go.” Each shot is equivalent to 3 beets, or 225-310 mg of nitrate (more to come on this later). This information was not on their website, but their co-founder was kind enough to share this information with me via email. On their website, they claim their shots can lower blood pressure, you will get long lasting energy, and they have a team of athlete ambassadors. As for scientific evidence, they have an entire page dedicated to it, but unfortunately no specific studies are listed; just impressive athletic performance markers are mentioned. The website also does not reveal who created the product and performed its research.

HumanN, producer of Beet Elite and Superbeets crystals and other health supplements was co-founded by a nitric oxide scientist who specializes in nitric oxide metabolism. Their products boast increased nitric oxide production, healthy circulation, healthy blood pressure levels, increased stamina, and for the athlete additional endurance, energy, and even more oxygen delivery to the body. Each serving is supposed to be equivalent to three whole beets. The website does include scientific research not only published by their own scientists, but also by other entities, such as the American Heart Association. In doing a simple Amazon search for “beet powder,” 269 results appear for different products, and even Wholefoods Market created their own branded beet powder.

So Why Beets?

Besides packing a nutrient dense punch, why are beets being considered a supplement for athletes? Its high amount of naturally occurring nitrates when served juiced and raw. According to a 2009 article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, beetroots have a very high concentration of nitrates at >250 mg/100 grams of fresh beets.

The nitrates, once eaten, are converted into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide plays many important roles in our body. It is a regulator of our cardiovascular, nervous, and our immune systems. In a 2016 report published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers state dietary nitrates from leafy greens and root vegetables may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease risk and may lower blood pressure. According to David S. Proctor, professor of kinesiology and physiology at Penn State, nitric oxide also plays a role in how efficiently our cells use oxygen and also relaxes our blood vessels.

So how are nitrates turned into nitric oxide from our food, and what does nitric oxide have to do with athletic performance?

According to Jennifer Koslo of Precision Nutrition, the nitrates from our food first mixes with the saliva and bacteria in our mouth, where breakdown begins. The nitrate is then converted to nitrite, and when it is swallowed and mixes with our stomach acid, it is then reduced to nitric oxide. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine, nitrite can be stored in our body and circulated in our blood. When oxygen is low, such as during exercise, nitrite can then be converted to nitric oxide. Consuming nitrates from food, such as from beets, may increase the concentration of nitrites in our blood which then may reduce the oxygen cost of exercise, allowing us to increase our cardiovascular efficiency. In short, the nitric oxide helps our blood vessels to dilate, and may help our bodies be more efficient at creating energy for activities while using less oxygen. This would leave an athlete with more oxygen supply for exercise.

Many studies have been published in the past decade on raw beetroot juice and its exercise performance superpowers. In performing a simple PubMed search for “beetroot juice,” 103 human studies have been published in the past 10 years. 26 of those studies have been published since January 1, 2016. In researching beetroot juice, it appears it may have the ability to improve running performance, cycling performance, and exercise performance generally. The authors of a 2017 systematic review, published in the journal Nutrients analyzed 23 articles published on the topic between 2010 and 2016, and conclude beetroot juice supplementation can improve efficiency and performance during sub-maximal effort, and may increase the time it takes to hit exhaustion during exercise. However, additional studies have also concluded supplementing beetroot juice had no effect on well-trained athletes and only on normal physically active people and untrained athletes, and the dose of beetroot juice also may be a factor in its success.

Questions Still Unanswered

While supplementing with beetroot juice for performance may seem promising, there are many questions to still be explored:

• What is the optimal dose for both men and women?

• Why do well-trained athletes not respond the same as less-trained athletes?

• Is blood serum being tested for nitrate levels during such studies?

• What is the optimal intake timing?

• Are there any safety concerns?

• Does beetroot juice interact with any other supplements?

• How does our health and fitness status and diet play a role in our ability to utilize the nitrates from beets?

• Does age play a role in being able to process nitrates efficiently?

• Does eating before consuming beetroot juice slow down the nitrate to nitric oxide process?

• Would we see the same positive results if eating fermented or cooked beets?

• What makes one beetroot supplement "better" than the other?

The Verdict

Research is pointing in a positive direction, but we still have a long way to go before having a conclusive answer on beet’s ability to improve athletic performance and heart health. Like most supplements, the FDA does not regulate beet supplements, so unfortunately we will never know if we are truly getting what the product label says.

However you can be your own science project and experiment on yourself! Beets are relatively safe to eat for most of us. Be aware your urine and feces may turn pink due to the pigmentation from the beets. If you are at risk for kidney stones, speak to a doctor and registered dietitian first. Beets are high in oxalates, which may increase the risk of kidney stones in some individuals.

I decided to tie on my trail running shoes, and “didn’t skip a beet” before trying the supplement myself. I cannot say I felt any different, but I only tried it once. Running improvements TBD!

*I am not sponsored or endorsed by Red Ace Organics or HumanN, and was not asked to write this blog post. This post is based solely on my personal research and opinion.*

References

Ahluwalia, Amrita, et al. “Dietary Nitrate and the Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease: Report From a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Workshop.” Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 5, no. 7, 6 July 2016, doi:10.1161/jaha.116.003402. Accessed on August 29, 2017 from http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/5/7/e003402

Arnold, Josh Timothy, et al. “Beetroot juice does not enhance altitude running performance in well-Trained athletes.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, vol. 40, no. 6, June 2015, pp. 590–595., doi:10.1139/apnm-2014-0470. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25942474

Babcock, Jillian. “Beet Benefits, Interesting Facts & Recipes.” Dr. Axe, 21 June 2017. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://draxe.com/beet-benefits/

Cermak, Naomi M., et al. “No Improvement in Endurance Performance after a Single Dose of Beetroot Juice.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, vol. 22, no. 6, Dec. 2012, pp. 470–478., doi:10.1123/ijsnem.22.6.470. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22805107

Domínguez, Raúl, et al. “Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Athletes. A Systematic Review.” Nutrients, vol. 9, no. 1, June 2017, p. 43., doi:10.3390/nu9010043. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5295087/

Easton, Chris, et al. “The Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Time Trial Performance in Trained Cyclists.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, vol. 43, no. Suppl 1, 2011, p. 854., doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000402381.16199.26. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22248502

FACLM, Michael Greger M.D. “Vegetables Rate by Nitrate.” NutritionFacts.org. Accessed August 29, 2017 from nutritionfacts.org/video/vegetables-rate-by-nitrate/.

Hord, N. G, et al. “Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 90, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1–10., doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27131. Accessed on August 29, 2017 from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/90/1/1.full.pdf+html

Jones, Andrew M. “Dietary Nitrate Supplementation and Exercise Performance.” Sports Medicine, vol. 44, no. S1, 2014, pp. 35–45., doi:10.1007/s40279-014-0149-y. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4008816/

Jones, Andrew M., et al. “Influence of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Exercise Tolerance and Performance.” Nutritional Coaching Strategy to Modulate Training Efficiency Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop Series, vol. 75, 16 Apr. 2013, pp. 27–40., doi:10.1159/000345815. Accessed August 29, 2017 from https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/345815

Miller, Marjorie S. “To beet or not to beet? Researchers test theories of beet juice benefits.” Penn State University, 19 Jan. 2015. Accessed August 29, 2017 from news.psu.edu/story/341148/2015/01/19/research/beet-or-not-beet-researchers-test-theories-beet-juice-benefits

Murphy, M.c., et al. “Whole Beetroot Consumption Acutely Improves Running Performance.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 112, no. 4, Apr. 2012, pp. 548–552., doi:10.1016/j.jada.2011.06.051. Accessed August 29, 2017 from http://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(11)01948-4/pdf

Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food chain on a request from the European Commission to perform a scientific risk assessment on nitrate in vegetables, The EFSA Journal (2008) Journal number, 689, 1-79. Accessed on August 29, 2017 from http://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/scientific_output/files/main_documents/689.pdf