Beet juice... what are you taking?

thanks for the follow-up. PRobably all the better to drop it esp. with concerns for affects of too much nitrates as it may.

Test #2 is in the books. Results remain inconclusive.

As I said earlier, I plan to test beet juice over the next few weeks. I did the same workout I've done every 5 days or so for the past two months. The workout was 2 sets of 12x30secs (35sec walk recovery to the next 200m mark on the track before starting the next rep). My objective is to increase the average distance run during the 30 seconds.

Here are my distance averages for each 30-second rep workout since early December. I was recovering from prostate surgery and the flu for the first several so I anticipated some improvement, which can be seen over the last few workouts.

127m

127m

131m

125m

125m

126m

137m HR Ave: 150

135.8m HR Ave: 151 w/8oz Lakewood beet juice 2.5 hours before

138m HR Ave: 153 w/8oz beet juice 1 hour before

Comments: 138m is a PR by 2.2m or 1.6%. However, HR ave was 2 beats higher, which could account for the improvement. Plus, I'm recovering from surgery, so a continued improvement would be expected. Perceived effort was high (unchanged). Post-workout fatigue was very high (slightly higher than normal). I had to nap BEFORE driving home. That's never happened before.

I shortened the time to supplement with beet juice to one hour because I have a long-term problem with hypoglycemia. I was concerned that the carbs in the beet juice (92 calories) would spike and then cause a crash in my Blood Glucose.

Bottom line: Results from beet juice are still inconclusive.

It takes 2 (+) h for the nitrate in BRJ to be absorbed and converted to nitrite - quite possibly longer if co-ingested with food (which will slow gastric emptying). Drinking it just 1 h before your workout therefore really isn't giving it a proper test (at least for others for whom hypoglycemia isn't a concern).

I didn't see the comment about waiting at least 2 hours before working out until today when I revisited this thread. I'll try that.

I'll establish a new baseline and test another bottle of beet juice. I must say, beet juice tastes awful so I'm not looking forward to it. It will probably not be until after the USATF Masters Indoors on March 13-15.

Have you tried tart cherry juice?

However, you'd have to be careful and have it with something with protein/fat if you have problems with hypoglycemia, as the cherry juice can spike then crash blood sugar.

I found this interesting about beetroot juice:

We still have a lot to learn in this area. Research to date uses an array of strategies with variable amounts (~300-600mg nitrate) and timing of supplementation (single acute dose, split/top up acute doses, chronic loading). As a side note, athletes using beetroot juice should avoid using mouthwash or gum as they reduce the bacteria available in the mouth, essential for the conversion of nitrate to nitric oxide (Sports Dieticians Australia).

zasaa wrote:

Nothing like a thread, whch could have been interesting, being taken over by 2 pussies having a slap fight.

Ha, indeed. These types of threads are hilarious.

You get two numpties going at it - long post after long post - thinking some sort of intellectual honor is at stake and that people are enthralled to see what's coming next. Whilst the reality is that most people simply tune out after a seeing a couple of these tennis posts and look at what ANYONE else is posting...

Jack lalanne the fitness godfather used to drink it daily

Swore by it...

Jack unbeknownst to many transitioned to swimming as he got older...avid avid swimmer...

So still no idea if taking vile tasting Beetroot juice is gonna make me faster???

Thanks Letsrun for nothing

Earlyboy wrote:

So still no idea if taking vile tasting Beetroot juice is gonna make me faster???

Thanks Letsrun for nothing

Well...why don't try it yourself and see if it works? If not, there's always caffeine. ?

I have been using this juice daily , and I notice a difference in perceived effort .

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1174/5908/products/food-drink-biotta-beetroot-juice-500ml-1_18b9464c-43cc-462c-a473-cb5a210c3c7d_2000x.jpg?v=1565765152

Bumping an older thread.

Fisky - any more results to report?

I don't know if it's available in the US but it works great for me. No red pee. No red poop and easy to drink.

https://sparksportsnutrition.com/shop/fueling-system/spark-the-beet/

I am taking beetroot juice also pomegranate juice and it tastes much better.

Both have many benefits for healthy life. I was starting this after reading some article about its benefits. I am taking beetroots gummies by Goli Nutrition.

Thanks for the mention of the Goli gummies. My son liked the Hilo Blood Red KNO3-containing gummies, but they've stopped making them.

Newest paper:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34625064/

Andrew Coggan wrote:

Not dogma, published Hiya, I'm ok but I've done me back in. I fink it was the seats int Station. Uncomfortabubble. Hows thee?.

Exercise economy/efficiency is indeed determined by numerous factors, but that doesn't make it hard to quantify. The changes due to nitrate ingestion are small, but do seem to be real, as this meta-analysis shows:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26772523

Finally, as for blood doping/EPO/thermoregulation, there is no conflict: if you can turn over ATP more rapidly and go faster because you can deliver more oxygen, you will create more heat that needs to be dissipated. However, since that is also largely the job of the CV system, then blood doping/EPO may help with that process as well (since blood flow to muscle can be reduced).

No. That's not how Thermoregulation works. You don't even understand the basic principle. Heat dissipation is the limiting factor in metabolism. There is no superhuman thermodynamic state. How can there be? This is basic Biology.

What is beet’s alleged benefit for runners?

runne wrote:

What is beet’s alleged benefit for runners?

Oh my! And we've come full circle.

The last few doc appts i've had some elevated bp. i was looking for natural solutions and came across a lot of research on beet juice to decrease hypertension.

This is just one of several studies.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Dietary Nitrate from Beetroot Juice for Hypertension: A Systematic Review - PubMed

According to current therapeutic approaches, a nitrate-dietary supplementation with beetroot juice (BRJ) is postulated as a nutritional strategy that might help to control arterial blood pressure in healthy subjects, pre-hype...

Link:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30400267/

I just started taking it a week ago and started swigging some beet juice through out the day.

I don't know how sustainable the effects are.