Last updated: 16-Aug-18
The benefits of the purple wonder root vegetable beetroot are growing in the world of sports science. New independent research from the University of Exeter has demonstrated, for the first time, that consumption of a single 7cl concentrated BEET IT Sport shot is all that’s needed to significantly improve sprint and high-intensity intermittent running performance.
One BEET IT Sport shot boasts 400mg of natural dietary nitrate – more than any other natural nitrate supplement. Crucially, the new research reported 400mg of nitrate to be the optimal amount required for performance enhancement – a seemingly critical number for nitrate.
Photo credit: www.beet-it.com
Following consumption, dietary nitrate becomes converted to nitrite by bacteria located on the tongue. Once swallowed, nitrite ultimately is converted to nitric oxide (NO) in the acidic stomach before entering the blood system in the intestines. NO is a potent vasodilator that naturally increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the working muscles. A greater supply of oxygen to the working muscles results in significant boosts to strength and endurance performance.
During ultra-marathon exercise, the levels of nitric oxide (NO) in the body may become reduced, as NO is constantly being broken down and used up. The pocket-sized purple power of a BEET IT Sport Shot will provide a beneficial ‘top-up’ of NO during exercise to ensure you maximise your endurance performance potential. Alternatively, the new BEET IT Sport Flapjack Bar combines 200mg of natural nitrate with 24g of medium-slow-release carbohydrate. A perfect pocket-sized, mid-race snack to ‘top-up’ the NO and blood glucose levels for dual-fatigue prevention.
The latest research from the University of Exeter was carried out on 36 active individuals, who were given one BEET IT Sport shot per day over a five-day period. The manageable intake of one 70ml beetroot shot per day was shown to significantly increase sprint performance over distances of 5m (by 2.3%); 10m (by 1.6%) and 20m (by 1.2%). Although small, these improvements in short-duration sprint performance are highly meaningful to sports performance outcomes and could give you the boost you need to finish a race strong.
Beet IT Sport shots are used for most university research projects worldwide into the sporting and medical benefits of nitrate, because they are a convenient and consistent natural source of nitrate. The highly variable nitrate content found in raw beetroots and other nitrate rich vegetables (e.g. spinach, chard and lettuce) makes them too unreliable for research.
However, vegetables (not cooked, as nitrates can be lost) can be a natural nitrate source. On average to obtain the optimum 400mg dose of natural dietary nitrate (one 70ml BEET IT Sport shot), you would have to consume (see chart) more than 300g of uncooked beetroot, 250g of uncooked Swiss chard or 85g of rocket – quite a lot of veggie fibre bulk to consume just before an ultra race!
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