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By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer Sat Oct 2,
7:10 am ET
LONDON When Chris Carver ran an ultra-marathon in Scotland last year, which
challenges athletes to run as far as possible within 24 hours, he ran 140 miles
(225 kilometers).
Determined to do better in this year's race, Carver added something extra to
his training regime: beetroot juice. For a week before the race, he drank the
dark purple juice every day. Last month, Carver won it by running 148 miles
(238 kilometers).
"The only thing I did differently this year was the beetroot juice," said
Carver, 46, a professional runner based near Leeds, in northern England.
He said more exercise would have improved his endurance, but to get the same
result he attributes to the juice an extra eight miles it would likely have
taken an entire year.
Some experts say adding beetroot juice to your diet like other foods such as
cherry juice or milk could provide a performance boost even beyond the blood,
sweat and tears of more training.
In two studies conducted at Exeter University on 15 men, Stephen Bailey and
colleagues found cyclists who drank a half-liter (about a half-quart) of
beetroot juice several hours before setting off were able to ride up to 20
percent longer than those who drank a placebo blackcurrant juice.
By examining the cyclists under a scanner that analyzes how much energy is
needed for a muscle to contract, Bailey and colleagues discovered beetroot
juice allows cyclists to exercise using less oxygen than normal.
"The beetroot juice was effective even without any additional training," Bailey
said. "It reduces the energy requirements on your muscles so you can last
longer." While the beetroot juice was provided free by its manufacturer, Exeter
University paid for the research.
Bailey said the high nitrate content of beetroot juice is responsible for its
athletic benefits. Scientists aren't exactly sure how it works, but suspect
having more nitric oxide in your body, a byproduct of nitrate, helps you
exercise with less oxygen. Bailey said the same effects might be possible if
people ate more nitrate-rich foods like beetroot, lettuce or spinach.
Bailey and colleagues calculated beetroot juice could translate into a 1 to 2
percent better race time, a tiny improvement likely only to matter to elite
athletes. They are still tweaking the dosage but say athletes should consume
the juice a few hours before training so their body has time to digest it.
Their latest study was published in June in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
"Drinking beetroot juice is not going to turn a recreational runner into an
Olympic champion, but it might make tolerating more exercise easier so you can
train more," said Dr. Andy Franklyn-Miller, a sports medicine expert at the
Centre for Human Performance in London. He was not connected to the research
and has not received any funding from beetroot juice makers.
Franklyn-Miller said since people often reach an athletic plateau where more
training doesn't help, beetroot juice could give you an extra edge you wouldn't
get otherwise.
"It's not banned, so there's no reason not to try it," he said. Still, he
warned drinking too much of the juice could lead to side effects like abdominal
cramps, diarrhea or purple urine.
Previous studies in Britain and the U.S. have found beetroot helps the heart by
lowering blood pressure.
Other experts warned manipulating your diet can't replace the benefits of
training. "Certain foods can help you maximize the benefits from exercise, not
reduce the amount you're doing," said Roger Fielding, director of the
Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at Tufts University.
He was not connected to any research on beetroot or any other nutritional
supplements.
For serious athletes, Fielding said changing your diet could help. "If a very
small improvement is valuable to you, it's possible something like beetroot
juice could do that," he said.
Other studies have shown drinking things like pickle juice or having a small
carbohydrate snack during a marathon, can prevent cramps and improve
performance. Scientists have also found cherry juice, which helps reduce
exercise-induced swelling, could be strong enough to reduce some athletes' use
of anti-inflammatory pain medication.
Fielding said the benefits of beetroot juice and other foods and drinks could
have wider benefits and might one day be used to help elderly people with
muscle weakness.
Some elite athletes warned beetroot juice may not be to everybody's taste. "A
few of my friends think it's really disgusting," said Colin McCourt, 25, a
British runner competing at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi this month.
In April, McCourt started drinking cherry and beetroot juice, which he credits
with helping him train longer and more often. "I feel like I get a benefit from
it, even if it's minimal," he told Associated Press Television.
McCourt said he will continue to adjust his training regimen in preparation for
the London 2012 Olympics, but plans to maintain his juice habit. "There will be
a lot more beetroot juice if my stomach can take it."