Beet-en to Death (incase you missed it... a reminder of my infatuation with beets)

This past summer I posted a lot about beets. Prehaps too much. Some may even call it a bit of an obsession.....

Regarles, my interest in these stained red roots came mainly from the surge of attention the athletic community have given them in recent years. Essentially, if beets could make be a better athlete... thats a functional "Ergogenic" food and im all about it!

So, the real question. Was my summer of beet bonification nothing more than promoting another sensationalized "superfood" or can beets actually make the fast and strong faster and stronger!?

Presented with an opportunity to do some independent research at school this term, I set out to find the answer to my newly burning question.

As you may have expected, its not simply the beet but a specific compound found in beets (and other vegetables) that have launched them in to the fitness community spotlight. It turns out when we eat beets were also eating a whole bunch of nitrates which chemically "reduce" in the body during digestion and form nitrites which essentially produce whole bunch of nitric oxide or NO. The last of these is pretty much what fitness freaks and health professionals are so excited about.

Why?

Nitric Oxide is apparently a major key to physical health and performance.

Heres how: 

This graphic makes short of a fairly extensive and growing body of research outlining the multiple ways in which Nitrates from beets (and many other vegetables) effectively support athletic performance by producing Nitric Oxide when digested.

So yes, the science is there. Beets and other nitrate rich vegetables do stand to have a notable impact on physical performance by increasing nitric oxide production in the body.

But does that mean..

As you may have guessed, not quite. Beets (nitrate sources, that is) can stand to support top athletic performance but this means nothing if your not already supporting your performance with proper training, nutrition, and rest.

My recommendation? Train Hard. Eat Well. Sleep Enough. and then if your a sports nutrition nut like me....... Eat more beets!! (*about 2 cups of beet juice consumed by athletes daily has shown most effective results in studies)

What about you? Would you ever consider trying Beets as an ergogenic aid??  

Info-graphing Your Path to Successful New Year's Change.