Nitrates, concentrated in green leafy vegetables and beets, underwent a great makeover a few years ago from inert substances to having profound effects on the power plants within all our cells, reducing the oxygen cost during exercise, meaning we can bust out the same amount of work with less oxygen. So, one little shot of beet juice allows free divers to hold their breath for over four minutes; they get about a half minute longer, and for others, this improved muscle efficiency allows athletes to exercise at a higher power output or running speed for the same amount of breath. I profiled this discovery in an unprecedented 17-part video series, the longest I think I've ever done—it was just so fascinating, But this was back in 2012; what's happened since? Well, this all led to many athletes, elite and amateur alike consuming beetroot juice prior to competition, but what does the new science say?
Well, most of the studies were done on men; turns out it works on women too, even African-American women, an even more neglected research demographic. Same workload power outputs using significantly less oxygen after drinking beet juice—but forget beet juice, what about whole beets? Cheaper, healthier, can find them in any produce aisle, but there had never been studies on actual beets, until now.
IIUC it's the nitrates or nitrites in the beets that's of interest. Where can these be purchased? Dump a few mg's in to a glass of Sunny D and you should be good to go.
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