Beet juice?

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53x12
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by 53x12

So I have been reading and been told by a few people that I need to start drinking beet juice and/or eat whole beets. Any WW try beet juice over an extended time period? Notice any increase in your endurance or is it more of a marketing hype? I enjoy sliced beets on my salads, so I don't mind eating them. But not sure I would spend money to buy pre-processed beet juice when I can just do that at home.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

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Pharmstrong
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by Pharmstrong

It appears to be working for Froome.

Musiker
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by Musiker

I drink beet juices from time to time (we have our own juicer).. I like it mixed with ginger and other good stuff, just don't freak out when you start peeing red, hehe!

yongkun
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by yongkun

I do drink it from time to time. Anyone know if it is okay to leave them overnight? Quite a hassle to peel them at time, probably juice a few days worth of juice at one go.

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53x12
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by 53x12

Musiker wrote:I drink beet juices from time to time (we have our own juicer).. I like it mixed with ginger and other good stuff, just don't freak out when you start peeing red, hehe!


Have you noticed any benefit from it since you started doing it?
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

No benefit from single serve:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23212319

No benefit to elite cyclists:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22526247

6 days on beet juice improved 10km TT time:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22248502

That's all I could find at this stage.
"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
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KWalker
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by KWalker

Search for user AndyBeetRoot on Twitter- friend of Jeukendrup's and the guy that is behind most of the research regarding beet juice. Its interesting to read exactly how much and how often one needs it for an ergogenic affect- according to his recs most people don't drink enough and drink it at the wrong time. Also interesting to learn that using antibacterial mouthwash apparently prevents the nitrate to nitrite conversion upon ingestion and it thus becomes useless.

My teammate swears by it, but he doesn't technically drink enough for it to do anything.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
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53x12
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by 53x12

Tapeworm wrote:No benefit from single serve:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23212319

No benefit to elite cyclists:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22526247

6 days on beet juice improved 10km TT time:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22248502

That's all I could find at this stage.


I found a few studies but they focused more on nitrate supplementation rather than actually beet juice supplementation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Dietary+nitrate+supplementation+enhances+muscle+contractile+efficiency+during+kneeextensor+exercise+in+humans

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Dietary+nitrate+supplementation+reduces+the+O2+cost+of+walking+and+running%3A+a+placebo-controlled+study

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Dietary+nitrate+reduces+muscle+metabolic+perturbation+and+improves+exercise+tolerance+in+hypoxia

This one showing direct impact on cycling performance, although a time trial and is a different study than the time trial study you provided. Participants had the higher power output for the same VO2 by drinking 0.5L of beetroot juice 2.5 hours before the TT. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Acute+dietary+nitrate+supplementation+improves+cycling+time+trial+performance


I have also read that some studies have concluded that some athletes might have a benefit from beet juice while others do not. Those that would benefit are those that have low blood nitrite levels to being with (duh) vs. those who already have high levels wouldn't benefit (duh). So highly trained athletes might already have high nitrite levels so would see no benefit and/or they might need to drink beetroot juice for several days or a week to have a benefit vs. the average Joe could still benefit from 2.5-3 hours before the event.
Last edited by 53x12 on Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

KWalker
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by KWalker

Half a liter is a lot more than I see amateurs chugging an hour before a race.

Find that guy I rec'd on Twitter, beet juice is all he does. He's posted a lot of somewhat skeptical results of different dosages. IIRC 250ml was the minimum and it was needed 2-3hrs before the event (and was isolated from other nitrate supplementation in that it was the only one that provided a statistically significant improvement).
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
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53x12
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by 53x12

Thanks K, I will find the guy on Twitter and see what he has to say. From my limited reading of this topic matter, it isn't the ml's that matter so much as the nitrite amount in the bottle/drink since that varies highly from where the beets were grown, kind of fertilizer used, when they were harvested, how they were prepared...etc. So really one has to look at overall nitrite level from the juice rather than specific volume. I think they even have highly concentrated "shots" now.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

slowrider
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by slowrider

I eat beet greens and beets for this vasodialation benefits. Beets are great source of healthy carbs. They also have beta-alanine.
Sunlight and certain beneficial mouth bacteria are important in this NOS cycle. The nitrates in food you eat is just one step.
I guess celery might also work since its high in nitrates too, but only buy organic, bulk stuff is very much the most
pesticide laden stuff there is.

DCnoJ
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by DCnoJ

It's completely anecdotal but I won my first race of the year right after starting my beet juice regiment. Hit an all-time PR in max wattage at the finish of the almost 3 hour RR.

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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

^ what was the protocol you were using for the juice?

I also read somewhere that garlic juice yielded even better results than the beet juice... but for some reason its not as popular. :mrgreen:
"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
"I'm not a real doctor; But I am a real worm; I am an actual worm." - TMBG

DCnoJ
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by DCnoJ

I always aimed for 2 hours before, but most rides are done real early in the morning so it was typically consumed 1-1.5 hours before. 8 ounces of beet juice. In the case for that specific race it was taken just an hour beforehand. Also, no anti-bacterial toothpastes or mouthwashes are used beforehand because I've read that it prevents the nitrate being turned into nitrite as the mouth's saliva has a role in this.

I found best results, flavor, and ease of consumption from Biotta's.
Image
Tapeworm wrote:^ what was the protocol you were using for the juice?

I also read somewhere that garlic juice yielded even better results than the beet juice... but for some reason its not as popular. :mrgreen:

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jaketim114
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by jaketim114

I drank it before a bunch of collegiate (A) races this year, couldn't really tell a difference.

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