By now you’ve surely heard about the latest endurance power-fuel, beet juice. With a handful of studies to attest for it’s positive effects on endurance as well as some world class athletes adding it to their diets, the age of the beet is upon us. But if you dive into this trendy red vegetable a bit more, is it all that it is hyped up to be?
How Beet Juice Works
The theory behind the performance gains that have been documented from beet root juice is based around their inorganic nitrate content. When we consume beet juice, these nitrates are converted into nitrites via good bacteria that is naturally present in our saliva. This can then be used to make Nitric Oxide (NO) which is a very important signaling molecule that the human body needs to function properly. NO has been theorized to aid in endurance performance because it dilates blood vessels in skeletal muscles. By increasing the size of these vessels, more blood can flow to them and thus provide muscles with more oxygen.
Beyond the Trend
So if it’s nitrates we’re after, is beet juice really all that it is hyped up to be? From this perspective alone, there are a good amount of vegetables out there with significantly more nitrate content than beets. Take arugula for example, which has nearly twice as much nitrate. While this leafy green has never specifically been tested for its effects on athletic performance, our current understanding of nitrates suggest it would be better than beet juice.
Kidney Health
Beets are extremely high in oxalate, a key component to kidney stones. A half cup of beet contains approximately 43 mg of oxalate, compared to arugula which only has about 0.71 mg. If you were to start your morning routine off with a glass of juice from either of these vegetables, your kidneys would surely thank you for choosing the latter.
In Conclusion
Beet juice aids in performance according to current research. However, are there other vegetables that aid even more? Are there vegetables that are easier on the kidneys? Evidence suggests the answer to both of these questions is “yes”, but until specific performance-based research is conducted on these other nitrate-rich alternatives, we cannot say for sure.
So what can you do?
- Don’t rely on beet juice alone, and avoid consuming massive amounts for the sake of your kidneys.
- Experiment on your own with the other nitrate-rich vegetables listed in Table 1.
- Start incorporating more nitrate-rich vegetables into your daily routine, not just your pre-workout meal/drink.
- Drink/eat slowly. Remember, nitrates must be converted into nitrites before NO can be utilized by the body. Bacteria in the saliva are responsible for this change. If you’re juicing, swish the juice around in your mouth a few times before swallowing. If you’re eating, make sure to chew thoroughly.
- Avoid things like mouth wash or tooth paste immediately before or after eating/drinking nitrate-rich vegetables. These substances will kill the bacteria necessary for creating nitrite.
Does coffee hydrate just as well as water?
Lidder S1, Webb AJ. (2013) Vascular effects of dietary nitrate (as found in green leafy vegetables and beetroot) via the nitratenitritenitric oxide pathway. Br J Clin Pharmacol. Mar;75(3):67796
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Is there a supplement for arugula or some other way of getting it into your system in a concentrated form? Aren’t the beet juice products concentrated in some fashion?
As a more serious comment, just because beetroot contains a relatively high amount of oxalate, doesn’t necessarily mean it should be avoided – unless you have a history of kidney stones, surely? Millions of people eat oxalate-high foods day in day out without issue. Chocolate, tea, nuts…I see what you are getting at but you’d need an awful lot of arugula/rocket to get the same beneficial effects.
Keeping the nitrate-rich foods in your mouth for longer (point #4 in “So what can you do?”) won’t impact the eventual level of NO in the bloodstream – the nitrate->nitrite conversion doesn’t happen when the food is first consumed. Rather, the nitrates are absorbed through the stomach and small intestine and then concentrated in the saliva. The conversion occurs when this nitrate-rich saliva is recirculated into the mouth. This article from Runner’s World columnist Alex Hutchinson goes into the details: http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/should-you-gargle-beet-juice
You make a very good point, David. My #4 is essentially an initial step of getting to what you described here. Many people eat/drink too quickly, which reduces the amount of saliva that is produced and also reduces the digestive tracts ability to fully breakdown food to obtain nutrients. Both of which are key to getting full nitrate content out of these vegetables and eventually getting them into the saliva to be converted.