Nitrate and Nitrite Content of Beet Juice Products Marketed to Athletes , Andrew Coggan
Sharing a new study (ahead of print) on Nitrates and Beets. Andrew Coggan designed the study and interpreted the results.
- Only five of the products consistently contained more than ≥5 mmol of NO3 −/serving, which based on previous research seems to be the minimal dose required to enhance exercise performance in most individuals
- Positive effects of BRJ, beet root juice, seem to be most apparent in untrained or moderately trained individuals
- Liquid BRJ provides more mmol of NO3 but may not be practical to drink high quantities because of the risk of consuming too many oxalates which can lead to kidney stones.
- The chart included in the paper is interesting. Look at the various content on NO3. Some of the original work in this area came the Beet It group which happens to have a good score.
- I am curious to see more studies on using BRJ at altitude.
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Thanks for sending @Sheila Leard I've been drinking Beet Juice nightly from Knudson and Sons and/ or Lakewood (bottom two juices listed in the study). As I'm reading more, it seems I may be consuming at the wrong time -- 60-90 min prior to exercise seems to be what most mention to get the benefits?
I'm interested to learn more about it.
@Jeff Phillips If you are drinking BRJ as an ergogenic aid then yes, it's best to drink before training. The issue with drinking the juice before training or racing is that it could cause your gut to be upset.
But ... the Knudsen and Sons (beet juice) 500 ml = 12.54 mmol N03, so theoretically you could drink 250 ml (8 oz) and get the recommended dose of at least 5 mmol.
Just a word of caution on oxalates. If you are eating lots of spinach and other high oxalate foods be careful on drinking BRJ everyday. If you have a healthy gut microbiome you are probably just fine. Just stay hydrated.
Thanks for sharing Sheila! I can attest to the possibility of stomach upset with using beet juice products. I was doing the load protocol the week before IMAZ and using Red Ace concentrate. I drank my bottle in the am a few days before the race, and maybe 10 minutes afterwards I threw up so violently I gave myself a BLACK EYE.
After the race getting some dinner at about 10 pm a swim volunteer congratulated me and said he remembered me. I was like "really? you remember me??? Out of 3000 people?" And he replied, "you are the only athlete I hauled out of the water with a black eye! Congrats again on finishing after getting that in the swim!"
I had to tell him my very uncool story of how I really got the black eye! :D I think I just got a bad bottle. But needless to say, I haven't really used beets other than food since.
well @Trish Marshall you won't be repeating that experiment! Sounds awful. 😝
@Sheila Leard I think it worked in prior (Running) races for me, but yeah. If I did try again, now at least I have info on product with the proper dosing thanks to you!
@sheila ... beyond the "untrained or moderately trained individuals," this is the reference that stood out to me:
Sodium nitrate supplementation does not enhance performance of endurance athletes.
@Dave Tallo Here is a newer study using Beet It. Basically the well trained athletes had to double the dose.
This randomized, double-blinded, counterbalanced-crossover study examined the effects of 7 days of BR supplementation with 12.4 mmol NO3− per day on 10-km cycling time trial performance in 12 well-trained cyclists
Here is another current study in recreational runners using 8.4 mml. I think it comes down to who is a responder and how much is needed in a trained state. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30747267/
Neat - thanks Sheila. So much of the research seems to explore max 02 uptake and correspond to short workbouts - do you know of anything that has looked at responses that apply to exercise durations >1h?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25942474/ - running, no effect
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27553127/ - running, had an effect at high intensity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25811674/ - cycling, small study, no effect
I wrote Andrew Jones at University of Exeter, asking if he knew of studies on altitude. He was so kind to send me these studies. There are some sub-max trials in the first study listed here. I'll keep looking at this. It's fascinating because so many athletes have jumped on this and not using it correctly.
@Dave Tallo
Nice review of the above study by Alex Hutchinson. Leadeville racers might ant to experiment.
Bottom line - for very, very fit athletes. Two shots a day for four days should be sufficient. If your stomach can handle it, that is.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2387931/beet-juice-health-benefits-study?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=onsiteshare
I looked up the side effects of Beetroot Juice. This is what I got. The only one I was concerned about was the Low Blood Pressure. I suffer from low blood pressure (free head rush everytime I stand up to fast) . At the end of an IM I have to keep moving and when I stop get my feet up or my world comes spinning down on me due to low blood pressure. My personal experience with a full week of Beet Juice loading and I could feel my blood pressure even lower I did not like the way it made me feel. Note: I consume huge amounts of most of the foods listed as high in nitrates (the good kinds like all the greens and beets, not the ones in bacon). Personally I saw no benefit in performance that I could tell. All this low blood pressure talk makes sense since it tends to work via vasodilators similar to Viagra which "POPS" up as well as Erectile Dysfunction when you search vasodilators/beet root juice/ viagra for performance enhancement. The studies on viagra look similar to beet root , science is there, but there are responders and non responders and usually the unfit improve much more than the very fit. Viagra is also used on Everest expeditions to counter the constriction that occurs in the blood vessels at high altitude, with again similar studies.... I bet there are a lot of triathletes using Viagra :-)
Side Effects Of Beetroot Juice
3. Unsafe Dips In Blood Pressure
Beet juice can lower your blood pressure which is good news if you’re trying to keep it in check. However, if you combine regular intake of beet juice with other medication that lowers blood pressure, including drugs like viagra, it may cause your blood pressure to dip unsafely. Added to that, extended vasodilation and overconsumption of vasodilating substances could even result in cardiovascular problems. The drop in blood pressure and the cardiovascular collapse may even be followed by the person going into a coma. If unchecked, this could be fatal. While research has centered around synthetic vasodilators, you may want to be careful until further study is done on the effect prolonged use of beet juice.5
6. Blood Pressure Regulation Issues
Prolonged intake of vasodilators may cause your body to eventually stop producing nitric oxide, according to some theories. If this is true, then in the absence of a natural blood pressure-regulating mechanism, you open yourself up to the risk of high blood pressure in the long run. There is a divided view on whether or not the quantity you get from beets is enough to get you in trouble. But to err on the side of caution, side with the experts who warn that while natural nitrates are certainly safer than synthetic nitrates, having too much of these too, could prove harmful.11