Just beet it

Beetroot juice increases your stamina, according to a recent study.

As the years go by, most people find their stamina to keep up with a strict exercise regime drops significantly. Unless you are a fitness freak, as you age you will find that if you could run four kilometres without breaking into a sweat in your youth, you start panting after just a few metres. But now a recent study conducted by a university in England shows that drinking beetroot juice boosts your stamina and can help you exercise for up to 16 per cent longer. The study shows that nitrate in beetroot juice leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake, making exercise less tiring.

The study further reveals that drinking beetroot juice reduces oxygen uptake to an extent that cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training. Though there is no better substitute for training, especially in the case of athletes, these findings regarding beetroot juice could prove extremely helpful to them.

The team that conducted the research also believes that the findings could be of great interest to endurance athletes. They could also be relevant to elderly people or those with cardiovascular, respiratory or metabolic diseases.

The study was conducted with eight men aged between 19 and 38. They were given 500ml per day of organic beetroot juice for six consecutive days before completing a series of tests involving cycling on an exercise bike.

After drinking beetroot juice, the group was able to cycle for an average of 11.25 minutes, which is 92 seconds longer than the usual. This would translate into an approximate 2 per cent reduction in the time taken to cover a set distance. The group that had consumed the beetroot juice also had lower resting blood pressure. Most professional and amateur athletes try having a banana or two to increase their levels in short breaks during the sport. Pete Sampras used to do it and so does Rafael Nadal. And with most athletes adhering to strict diet plans, beetroot could just become a part of it as well.

The research was carried out by the University of Exeter and Peninsula Medical School and published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The research team now hopes to conduct further studies to try to understand in more detail the effects of nitrate-rich foods on exercise physiology.

Who knows what further findings would suggest, but as of now beetroot juice might just become a part of the staple diet of amateur as well as professional athletes.