Not to be done on your own until your doctor prescribes this in 50 years. After my next stroke I'm going to demand beets for the extra oxygen it can deliver. I don't care if it hasn't been clinically proven. We'll be dead before something as simple as this is clinically proven.
https://nutritionfacts.org/2017/12/28/how-to-use-canned-beets-to-improve-athletic-performance/?
Vegetable nitrates, concentrated in green leafy vegetables and
beets, underwent a great makeover a few years ago. They went from being
understood as inert substances to
having
a profound effect on the power plants within our cells, reducing the
oxygen cost during exercise. This means they can allow us to bust out
the same amount of work with less oxygen. One little shot of beet juice
allowed
free divers to hold their breath for more than four minutes, or about a
half-minute longer than usual. For others, improved muscle efficiency
allowed
athletes to exercise at a higher power output or running speed for the
same amount of breath. I profiled this fascinating discovery in an
unprecedented 17-part video series (see below), the longest I think I’ve
ever done. That was back in 2012, but what does the new science say?
That’s what I cover in my video,
Whole Beets vs. Juice for Improving Athletic Performance.
Most of the studies were done on men, but it
works
on women, too, including African-American women who are an even more
neglected research demographic. Drinking beet juice results in the same
workload power outputs using significantly less oxygen. But what about
whole beets? They are cheaper, healthier, and found in any produce
aisle, but there had never been studies on actual beets… until now.
Whole beetroot consumption acutely
improves
running performance. They gave physically fit men and women a cup and a
half of baked beets, which is equal to about a can of beets, 75 minutes
before running a 5K. They started out the same, but during the last
mile of the 5K race, the beet group pulled ahead compared to the placebo
group, who were given berries instead. Though the beet group
participants were running faster, their heart rate wasn’t any higher. If
anything, they reported less exertion.
Faster time with less effort? They don’t call them block-rocking beets for nothing! :)
If nitrates are so good, then why not just take them in a pill?
Although dietary nitrate supplements can work, their long-term safety is
questionable. Non-vegetable sources of nitrates may have detrimental
health effects, so if we want to improve our performance, we should
ideally obtain nitrates from whole vegetables. The industry knows this,
so instead it markets an array of nitric oxide-stimulating supplements.
However, there is little or no
evidence of a performance improvement following supplementation with these so-called NO boosters. The evidence is with the vegetables.
How much money can companies make selling beets, though? How about a novel
beetroot-enriched
bread product? We’ve tried to get people to eat their fruits and
vegetables, and where has that gotten us? But, hey! Lots of people eat
white bread, so why not have them eat red bread? And indeed it worked:
red beet bread brought down blood pressures and improved the ability of
arteries to relax and dilate naturally. Bread, therefore, may be an
effective
vehicle to increase vegetable consumption without significant dietary
changes,” because heavens forbid people should have to change their diet
to improve their health…
If you want to put the whole discovery in context and get the detailed mechanism, see my 17-part video series:
How else can we support athletic performance? See
On the other hand,
Paleo Diets May Negate Benefits of Exercise.
It’s great that we can improve athletic performance eating a few beets, but what about people who could
really benefit from a more efficient use of oxygen? That’s the subject of my video
Oxygenating Blood with Nitrate-Rich Vegetables. Also check out
Slowing Our Metabolism with Nitrate-Rich Vegetables.
In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.
