Gaining a Competitive Advantage in Sport with Beetroot

Why even bother focussing on beets? They make an absolute mess, turn your pee and faeces red and often the very mention of beets conjure up distressing memories of a steaming mound of tasteless red mush on the dining room table at your nan’s house.. failing this, I find it hard to not picture a deranged Dwight Schrute from the office every time I think of beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Ok, this may not be your exact experience. You may, in fact, cherish the sweet, richness that beets provide. You even might be clued up on the biological hack that I’m about to present to you regarding these little beauties. Fair warning though.. if you are not prepared for it, the red dying effect can certainly be a little surprising.

But what if I present to you the idea of using beet juice to gain a competitive advantage in sports?

Recently, scientific articles have suggested that beets could potentially provide us with tangible, very real benefits to our athletic performance. A plethora of studies have focussed on this link between consuming beets and increased energy efficiency. This is thanks to vegetable nitrates; of which are extremely well concentrated in beets.

When athletes train, over time they get more efficient. Oxygen delivery to the muscles increases, changes in lungs can allow us to take in bigger, more efficient breaths, increased cardiovascular output can be achieved as a result of strengthening of the heart. Our bodies may even make more red blood cells to boost the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. These are all observable observations that indicate adaptivity.

However, with these physical adaptations in mind, the actual energy output of that oxygen remains unchanged, we understand that a certain amount of oxygen will produce a certain amount of work. If we compare a Lamborghini to the run of the mill vehicle, we know that the Lamborghini would run faster due to the size & efficiency of its engine; not that gasoline acts differently in each vehicle. The output is not determined by the fuel source, but by the engine.

Beets have shown to reduce the oxygen cost of exercise, allowing divers to hold their breath longer and allowing athletes to achieve higher power outputs (running speed) on the same amount of breaths.

Research shows us that the increased basal mitochondrial function is boosted after consuming beets. Remember back to biology in school: Mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell? Yeah. Well, they increase energy output, from the same fuel source. This allows us to switch from the run of the mill to the Lamborghini engine, on the same fuel.

Studies have shown that athletes that consumed beetroot juice before training have shown marked improvement in their athletic performance. Beetroot juice is extremely high in nitrates, which converts to nitrite and then on to Nitric Oxide (NO) in the body. One specific study involving 38 adults showed an increase of 21% in NO after consuming a beetroot supplement, taking only 45 minutes to take effect. NO serves multiple functions relating to cardio-respiratory health such as increased blood flow, gas exchange & mitochondrial efficiency. NO repeatedly shows a reduction in blood pressure and improved cognitive ability.

This has been well documented, with the literature suggesting that beetroot juice can improve energy output from the available oxygen and increase time to exhaustion. Beets are also a great source of fiber, folate, manganese, potassium, iron and vitamin C, they are made up of almost 90% water and have a relatively low glycemic load, meaning they are not harsh on blood sugar spikes. Beets are also high in dietary fiber, which is a very important component of the diet.

Beets extraordinarily vibrant pigment comes from a compound known as betanin. Betanin comes from a family of compounds known as betalains that are known to have a number of health benefits. Betanin, the most studied of these chemicals has shown to provide powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; betanin is also used widely as a colouring agent in food processing as it produces intense purple-red staining with very little negative side effects.

Combining beets with other components of a healthy diet is also important. Consuming leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach and arugula (rocket) is another great way to increase nitrate consumption. Garlic has also been shown to boost NO levels by activating nitric oxide synthase, the enzymes that catalyse the conversion of NO from the amino acid L-arginine. This process significantly increases the bioavailability of NO in the body, contributing to the same benefits to athletic performance. L- Arginine is popularly supplemented and commonly found in large amounts in various nuts and seeds.

Beets are cheap man, and easy to whack in a juicer. Albeit not easy to clean and will absolutely stain everything it touches, that betanin rich pigment is pervasive.

A small price to pay for their obvious performance benefits.

Ways to get beets into the diet:

Juice shots:

Whack peeled beet and ginger along with celery into a juicer and neck back. This will wake you up like nothing else, I used to smash one of these in and dive in a cold shower and beat my chest like a gorilla, the screams would wake my neighbours up. These are for the hardcore crowd as these shots of beet juice are intense, sometimes traumatic to consume, the very thought of necking that sweet, antioxidant-rich juice can make people recoil in horror. You can suck it up and get on with it OR try some of the other delicious ways to cook beets and slip them into your regular diet. You can also use beet juices intense purple pigment to colour dishes. Like: what else can I dye purple? Hummus? Bread? Me nans favourite white sweater? Aye, go on then.

Borsht

Borscht is a delicious soup, commonly consumed in Eastern Europe. It boasts a vibrant red colour and distinctive sweet and sour taste, both thanks to its main ingredient – beetroot. Borscht is a great way to get beets into the diet and can be seasoned and tweaked if you are averse to the sweetness of the beets. One side note is that betalains can diminish in heat, so its possible that cooking beets in this way can slightly reduce its nutritional profile.

The first time I had this prepared for me was from a Russian couch-surfer that stayed with us randomly back in England! We showed her Newcastle brown ale and Greggs pasties and she returned the favour with this delish soup, it was excellent for the hangover! Bear in mind, borscht can be made in a load of different ways but alas, here is my Lithuanian friend Alex’s Babushkas TOP SECRET recipe!

Start with making a homemade broth! I highly recommend making your own from scratch, either from veggies or from bones. All great soup starts with great broth, yes you can buy it, but making your own is top-notch. I absolutely adore bone broth, if you’d like to know more about its many benefits and how to make it, check out my blog post on bone broth HERE.

I also have a podcast episode all about the benefits of bone broth if you’d prefer to listen. RenewsCast podcast is available on Spotify & Apple podcasts!

If you are veggie/vegan or don’t like the idea of using bones, my good friend and registered holistic nutritionist Renee has an excellent post on saving and using all your veggie scraps that you’d normally throw away to make delicious, nutritious veggie broth! Check that out HERE.

Ok. So you have your broth ready to go, lets prep the veggies!

Mirepoix-“Zazharka”(prepped sautéed vegetables to put in the soup):

3 large red beets washed, peeled and grated

2 carrots grated

1 medium onion, chopped

Olive oil

1 tbsp vinegar

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp sugar

Ingredients for the soup:

Half a head of large white cabbage grated or thinly chopped

3 medium potatoes cut in cubes

1 can of kidney beans (none traditional but tasty)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Garlic/garlic paste to taste

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Garnish: Sour cream and parsley/dill(up to preference)

Grate the peeled beets on the large grater holes(for bigger chunks) and place them in the large skillet with some olive oil and vinegar and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add tomato paste and sugar into the skillet and sauté until it’s soft(about 5-10 mins)
Remove from pan and set aside
Use the same skillet to sautee chopped onion in with some added oil. After couple of minutes add the grated carrots and sautee for another 5 minutes or until soft. Set aside once it’s done

Back to the soup:

Top the broth/stock up with some more water to be able to cover all the vegetables that you will be putting into the soup. If you have enough, don’t worry about the water.
Place the cut potatoes into the soup pot and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft
Add the cabbage and mirepoix (“Zazharka”) into the pot. If you like kidney beans you can add that too(but that’s optional and just my grandma’s change to recipe:D)
Add garlic, salt and pepper to your taste. You can also add one chilli pepper into it if you’d like to add some spice, but it’s optional too.
Chop parsley and garlic/use garlic paste and stir them in. Simmer for another 10-20 minutes then leave the soup for about half another off the heat before serving
Serve with some chopped parsley and sour cream dayuuum

Beet kvass – fermented beets

Another dish that edges towards the hardcore side, if you adore the vinegary, fresh and lively taste of pickled and fermented vegetables like me this is a killer dish! This is also one of the simplest introduction to fermenting/pickling you can find. Simply peel and cut your beets into pieces half the size of your thumb and throw in a mason jar, top the beets with brine (water with around 2 tablespoons of salt).

This simple fermentation allows the growth of gut friendly Lactobacillus bacteria which delivers a delicious tangy flavour, as well as adding a plethora of health benefits alongside the beets such as reduced bloating, reducing candida overgrowth, lowering inflammation, protecting the gut walls, improving mood and lowering chances of many chronic diseases – gut health is important!

Baked beets

Easy peasy, zero messing about. You don’t even have to bother peeling these little b*st*rds (although they take way less time to roast if you do), just cut the top and tail off your beets and slice them in half. Throw them in a roasting tray, drizzle them in olive oil and sea salt and give them a good chuff about in the tray to mix evenly coat them. Roast the beets for 30 mins (50-60 if you didn’t peel them) checking and stirring every 20 mins. I like to take them out at the last 10 mins and drizzle them with a little balsamic vinegar and a dash of honey and throw them back in for the last ten mins. This accentuates the natural acidic sweetness of the beets. You can serve them as a side dish, toss them up with some bulgar wheat or quinoa as a side with meat or throw them in a salad – all up to you wherever you want to yeet your beets

Make more time for beetroot in your life ladies and gents. Althought their benefits are not specific to athletes, consuming beets will no doubt improve your atheltic performance. And daym, they are super tasty!