Beetroot Juice: Can it Help You Perform Better?

It seems as though the newest trend in the exercise community is drinking beetroot juice as a supplement to improve exercise tolerance.

What are the benefits of drinking beetroot juice before competition?

Beetoot juice (and beets in general) are rich in nitrates, which are commonly found in many vegetables, fruits and grains. Nitrates can also be found in cured meats like salami, bacon, and hotdogs, as nitrate is added to preserve color and prevent growth of bacteria, but the danger in these cured meat nitrate sources are that the nitrate is more likely to be turned into nitrite and then nitrosamines, which are cancer-causing chemicals. (This is probably where you heard that nitrated are harmful!) The reason nitrate-rich fruits and vegetables are a better option is because most of them are also rich in Vitamin C, which is an inhibitor to the nitrosamine conversion.

Endurance athletes like runners, swimmers, divers, rowers, triathletes and cyclists are finding that drinking beetroot juice supplements as a form of nitrates may be able to give them a competitive edge. When we drink beetroot juice or take nitrate supplements, the nitrate is converted into nitrite and ultimately nitric oxide (NO) in the blood.

Nitric oxide plays an important role in blood flow regulation, mitochondrial efficiency, and other physiological functions, so beetroot supplementation can have positive effects on exercise performance through:

• Decreasing blood pressure
• Reducing workload of the heart
• Increasing oxygen delivery throughout the body (muscle oxygenation)
• Increasing power output
• Improving time to exhaustion and time trial performances

With this decrease in aerobic energy cost, athletes should be able to physically exert themselves longer before fatigue sets in, which is good news for athletes who want to gain a competitive edge in a safe way.

How to increase blood nitrate levels

Fruits and Vegetables that are High in Nitrate:

• Vegetables are much higher in nitrates than fruits, and include lettuce, beets, carrots, green beans, spinach, parsley, cabbage, radishes, celery, collard greens 
• Some fruits that contain higher levels of nitrates includes strawberries, currents, gooseberries, raspberries, cherries

Beetroot juice may be a better option for athletes to drink before performance rather than eating hundreds of grams of nitrate-rich vegetables (huge spinach, carrot, beet smoothie, anyone?), mostly because the juice doesn’t have all that dietary fiber that the whole vegetables do, so it decreases the chances of GI distress and feeling overfull before  a competition.

~300 mg of nitrates

When compared to other nitrate-containing foods, though, drinking beetroot juice seems like the way to go!

In order to maximize on the beetroot juice’s effects, it is recommended that 5-7 mmol of nitrates (500 mL or ~2 cups of beetroot juice) be consumed 3-4 hours before exercise to allow plasma nitrite to be at its peak during exercise performance. They also make 70 mL beetroot shots, which are condensed down to contain the same amount of nitrates as a larger portion of beetroot juice.

This high nitrate state lasts for the next 6-8 hours and blood levels return back to normal after about 24 hours. Many studies have shown that even short-term supplementation (around 5-6 days of drinking the juice) will give the results that athletes are looking for!

Written by: Ashley Beaner, SDSU Dietetics Student

Have you tasted beetroot juice? 

Guest Post: Coffee’s Place in the Workout Regimen...Yes, Has a Place!

Coffee drinkers in the US are averaging about 2 cups of coffee a day (~200 mg caffeine), with 10% of the population consuming more than 1000 mg of caffeine per day.

Coffee, and caffeine in general, has had a bad reputation in the past...but research shows that it can have many benefits during exercise, such as:  

•  Ability to train at a higher power output (train harder)
•  Increased speed
•  Ability to train for a longer period of time (more endurance)
• Ability to resist muscle fatigue

Common coffee-alternative forms of caffeine ingestion are pre-workout formulas or caffeine pills. Many of the ingredients in the pre-workout supplements are used to increase blood flow, heart rate, and focus, which is intended to help athletes feel energized before going into a workout. Unfortunately, the claims made on the supplement label are often times just a bunch of hype: 

• There are no direct energy sources coming from the B-vitamins packed into a pre-workout formula and the excess that is being consumed is excreted from the body. 
• All of the amino acids, vitamins, and minerals in these supplements can be obtained naturally through the diet and will prove to be an inexpensive way to get the same results. 
• If you are trying to supercharge your workout, the safest and best option is always to choose natural sources first!

Another downside to excessive caffeine intake is that it can cause gastrointestinal issues, nausea, tremors, and over-stimulation that affects sleep cycles, and can cause anxiety. Therefore, some things to carefully consider for optimal performance results are: timing, form, and amount of caffeine consumed.

In addition, for student athletes, it's important to know that caffeine is actually a banned substance by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and consuming it in great amounts (if amounts in urine exceed 15 micrograms/mL) can result in a positive drug test. Many of those pre-workout supplements contain the same amount of caffeine in 4 cups of coffee, so it's important to be aware of how much athletes use. 

Some nutrition supplements do not disclose the amount of caffeine in their product or may contain other illegal/detrimental stimulants that you are not aware of, so make sure to do you research on what you put into your body.

This is the general rule for ALL dietary supplements - there is no government regulation on supplemental facts like there are on a food product's nutritional facts, so it is important to do research on any dietary supplements.

If you choose to drink coffee/caffeine to impact performance, be smart and use these helpful hints:

·         Consume about 1-3 mg of caffeine per pound of body weight

·         Consume caffeine 1 hour before cardiovascular endurance training

·         Caffeine can be consumed up to 20 minutes before high-intensity training

·         Find natural caffeine sources first!

                     Photo by SCAN/CPSDA Registered Dietitians

Thank you!

Ashley Beaner

Dietetics Student at SDSU

To Take or Not to Take? That is The Question

In this abundant world of supplements we ask ourselves all the time; to take or not to take? However, not the question nor the answer are that simple. The supplement industry is a billion dollar making industry. Every week there are new supplements on the shelf that give big promises. Do they work? Do they contain what they're supposed to? Are they safe? These are all questions we need to ask ourselves before we go and spend our salary on them. Let me help by pointing some pros and cons:

                
Pros

• It's convenient, especially for the busy student athlete
• It could potentially help gain muscle
• It could potentially help recover or decrease muscle soreness
• It could potentially help perform better
• Help provide nutrients lacking in the diet
• Help fight inflammation

Cons

• Supplements are unregulated. Due to that, some shady supplements out there contain stimulants, steroids and other illegal substances. Moreover, some contain dangerous components that could cause liver failure, stroke and even death. Here is a great piece by USA Today talking about the risks. There are many more articles like that
• Illegal substances without you knowing, can show positive on a drug test and prevent athletes from finishing school, competing in the college setting (NCAA rules) or even becoming a pro
• Many supplements don't really work (if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is)
• Food is cheaper and can be convenient 
• You can't out supplement a bad diet
• Most foods can provide the pros that supplements do

How to decide if yes or no?!

• Make sure your diet is balanced and healthy first and foremost! If the diet is lacking, fix that. For example: if you skip breakfast, don't take a supplement to compensate, just eat breakfast. If you feel you eat enough vegetables and fruits, whole grains, healthy fats and lean protein then you can consider a supplement, depending on your goals and sport. 
• There are a little more than a handful of supplements that work (based on research) for performance (however, not in all people): whey and protein, creatine, beta-alanine, omega 3, tart cherry juice, beet juice, caffeine, sports drinks, iron (if deficient) and calcium/vitamin D (in certain cases).  
• No matter what, consult with a sport dietitian or a medical professional that understands supplements for performance. Always make sure your doctor knows as well. 
• Use NSF certified safe for sport website or app to make sure its safe and free of contaminants. Use also Supplement411.org to make sure they are not on this list (contains what banned substances were found). 
• Read and research if a supplement works from reliable sources (no, Bodybuilding.com is not a reliable source). If you do not know where to find reliable sources, ask me or any sports dietitian as well as coach, physician or athletic trainer. 

Remember, you can't out supplement a bad diet! Focus on fueling for performance instead.

Let food be thy medicine

          

Thoughts on Supplements

I get asked about supplements a lot. In fact, I just gave a presentation about it last weekend. My take home message from that talk, which I would like to share with you, is this: 

“In the sports world, where millions of products with special ingredients are marketed with claims of enhanced performance, it is ironic that sports foods containing an everyday nutrient (carbohydrate) may be best able to deliver on these claims.”

 -British Journal of Sports Medicine

There are so many products that promise everything, literally! However, the best thing you can do (and most delicious!) is to make sure you are meeting your energy demands, or calorie, by eating enough carbohydrate. That is the fuel your body really needs. Consider adding sport drinks, gels, or other food products that are rich in carbohydrate to supplement your training and leave the other stuff alone. I think you will be happy with the results!

Reference:

BJSM reviews: A–Z of supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance Part 2Br J Sports Med 2009;43:10 807-810

More Talk About Supplements

Do you know what your sport supplement is? This is a great article written by Sheila Tucker, MA, RD, LDN from Boston College. She explains in great detail the differences between popular supplements and the safety concerns. I highly recommend you take time to read! The take home message from Sheila is...

"Competitive athletes would be unwise to chance taking any supplements, outside of sports drinks or carbohydrate replacement, for fear of violating any NCAA or International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations."