Thursday, July 14, 2011

Beetroot Juice containing Nitrate Improves Cycling Economy


Topic:Beetroot Juice containing Nitrate Improves Cycling Economy
Keywords:ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE - Nitrate, Beetroot Juice
Reference:"Acute dietary nitrate supplementation improves cycling time trial performance," Lansley KE, Winyard PG, et al, Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2011 June; 43(6): 1125-31. (Address: Sport and Health Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, St Luke's Campus, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom).
Summary:In a randomized, crossover study involving 9 club-level competitive male cyclists, consumption of beetroot juice (0.5 L/d) containing ~ 6.2 mmol nitrate, 2.5 hours before completion of a 4- and 16.1-km cycling time trial was found to be associated with elevations in plasma nitrite and significant increases in mean power output during the 4-km and 16.1-km cycling time trials. Consumption of beetroot juice rich in nitrate was found to improve 4-km performance by 2.8% and 16.1 km performance by 2.7%. The authors state, "These results suggest that acute dietary nitrate supplementation with 0.5 L of BR improves cycling economy, as demonstrated by a higher PO for the same VO2 and enhances both 4- and 16.1-km cycling TT performance."

1 comment:

Mike said...

I drank 16 ounces of beetroot juice before my daily swimming training session and I did improved my overall times...will try other several times before jumping to a conclusion but I must say that I really enjoyed it!

Peace

Mike