Beetroot juice works at high altitude too

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

08.09.2013

Beetroot Juice is still effective at an altitude of 2,500 metres, write sports scientists from Kingston University in an article that will be published soon in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Beetroot juice is still effective at an altitude of 2,500 metres, write sports scientists from Kingston University in an article that will be published soon in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Beetroot juice is still gaining popularity in the endurance sports world. Ask doping hunters who spend their time studying urine samples: they are increasingly seeing urine that is a bright red colour. The popularity of beetroot juice is not completely unfounded. Human studies have shown that beetroot juice can increase endurance athletes' speed by two to three percent.

Beetroot juice contains nitrate. In the human body nitrates are precursors for nitrogen monoxide [NO].

If the body gets less oxygen during inhalation it starts to make more NO from nitrates. Because NO makes blood vessels more supple, the transport of blood and oxygen to the organs improves. In addition, an increase in NO synthesis makes the conversion of nutrients into energy by the mitochondria more efficient. [[Cell Metab. 2011 Feb 2;13(2):149-59.]

If you live at sea level you may be troubled by altitude sickness if you move to the mountains. The problem is that you experience a sudden shortage of nitrates, NO and oxygen. Once you get used to the altitude your body deals more efficiently with nitrates, and the enzymes that produce NO become more effective. Then you feel normal again. If you then return to sea level your muscle cells will temporarily be capable of generating more energy. That's how altitude training works.

Beetroot juice works at high altitude too
The British researchers wondered whether beetroot juice would help to improve endurance athletes' performance at altitude, so they did an experiment with nine cyclists. They got them to do a timed ride of 16.1 km in a lab where the atmospheric conditions of 2,500 metres altitude had been created.

Three hours before the timed ride started the cyclists were given 70 ml concentrated beetroot juice to drink: Beet-It, produced by James White Drinks. [Nitrate] It takes three hours for the nitrates from the beetroot juice to enter the bloodstream. Beet-It is available from webstores.

On another occasion the cyclists were given beetroot juice that did not contain nitrate [Placebo].

After drinking the beetroot juice that contained nitrate the cyclists completed the ride 38 seconds faster than after drinking the placebo. Beetroot juice made the cyclists two percent faster.

Beetroot juice works at high altitude too

The figure above shows how beetroot juice improves performance: it reduces the body’s oxygen requirements. Beetroot juice makes the muscle cells deal more efficiently with oxygen and energy.

"Although we have reported that beetroot is a practical yet effective ergogenic aid for exercise at simulated altitude, additional work is required to investigate the mechanism responsible for this effect and the optimum supplementation strategy in order to maximize performance", the researchers conclude.

Source:
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013 Jul 10. [Epub ahead of print].

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