Health&Nutrition
LAB RAT: Beet It
March 31, 2010By Dave Chaundy-Smart
In the name of science, Canadian Running editorial director David Chaundy-Smart drank half a litre of beetroot juice every day for six days leading up to a 5K race.
Reporter Stuart Stevens took performance enhancement drugs to research an article for Outside magazine and asked “do performance drugs make you just one per cent faster and stronger? Or 10 per cent? Are the enhancements so subtle that only elite athletes gain an edge, or are they powerful enough that an everyday wannabe like me would notice a dramatic change?” His article doesn’t really answer the question, but he didn’t try beets - nitrate-rich tubers available at a grocery store, with no prescription from a dubious doctor.
A study cited by Canadian Running science editor Alex Hutchinson found that after drinking 500 mL of beetroot juice for six days, eight men increased their time to exhaustion on a stationary bicycle by 16 per cent. A Swedish study had similar results, stating that “two separate mechanisms are involved: one that reduces VO[2 Max] and another that improves the energetic function of the working muscles.”
My doctor running buddy dismissed it. “Here’s the deal Dave,” he began, “there’s nothing in those beets that could increase your performance more than the placebo effect.” Of course, it isn’t really a placebo unless you believe it will work, so I decided that I might up my benefit another 14 per cent if I already believed in beets. I took 500 mL a day over a week that would culminate in a 5K race.
I bought my juice from a local health food store, and at $5 per half-litre bottle, it wasn’t cheap. I was able, however, to produce two litres at home from $3 worth of boiled beets. A can of beets cost $2 and mulched into about a litre of juice. The flavour of the boiled beets was the mellowest and easiest to drink.
That said, the first sip of the dark red juice might test your commitment, although after a few days, I began to almost savour the simultaneously sweet and herbaceous flavour. Almost. Beets can also turn your urine and stools red because some digestive systems are unable to break down the dyes, but this is harmless. Some people find that beets give them stomach gas, so consume small quantities before trying to take the 500 mL dose.
Did it work? I definitely felt especially great on the track towards the end of the week, perhaps partly because I had no time for my sitting-down hobby, which is quaffing the other anti-oxidant rich red drink (the one with alcohol that comes from France). I was delighted to place third in the race - a local 5K - and set a PB that was a 4.4 per cent decrease in my previous time.
The winner overtook my second place at 4K and the leader in the last 100m. “I’m a 5K specialist, 25 years I’ve been racing,” he said afterwards, “I can tell you’re not a 5K specialist.” I didn’t confess that his victory would have been even more complete had I not been beet-loading. Even if it wasn’t the beets, I added a nutritious food to my diet that I’ll probably keep. After all, even a decreased amount will give me the placebo effect promised by my doctor friend.
