Beetroot juice could help us exercise for longer, new research suggests. The study found the drink enhanced people's performance in exercise after they drank it for two weeks. It reduced the workload on the heart and made the organ better able to deliver oxygen to the body's muscles.
This means people can work out for longer before their muscles become fatigued, researchers said.
People who drank the bright red juice also had lower blood pressure, a finding which backs up previous research on this topic. Researchers said the benefits of the drink come from the fact it contains the molecule nitrate.
When converted in the body, nitrate can dilate the blood vessels and increase blood flow, both important factors for exercise performance. Nitrate also triggers a series of chemical reactions in the blood, which can increase oxygen in areas of the body which are specifically lacking supply. As well as beetroot, high concentrations of nitrate are also found in celery, cabbage and other leafy green vegetables such as spinach and some lettuce.
As part of the study, men who drank beetroot juice for 14 days had lower blood pressure and more dilated blood vessels when they were exercising and when they were resting.
Blood vessels also dilated more easily and the heart consumed less oxygen when they were working out.
