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The Effects of Dietary Nitrate (Beetroot Juice) Supplementation on Exercise Performance: A Review

Received: 15 July 2014     Accepted: 30 July 2014     Published: 10 August 2014
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Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent vasodilator that increases blood flow and induces various intracellular actions such as increased mitochondrial and contractile efficiency. NO bioavailability may be increased by direct consumption of dietary nitrate and its sequential reduction to nitrite, a regulator of NO-induced hypoxic signaling. Dietary nitrate consumption reduces blood pressure, protects from ischemia-reperfusion injury, and improves endothelial dysfunction. Recently, the popularity of dietary nitrate as an ergogenic aid has been increased dramatically. Most exercise studies have administered dietary nitrate in the form of beetroot juice containing 5-8 mmol of nitrate and a few studies have used sodium and potassium nitrate (8-10 mg/kg). The most prominent and consistent effects of dietary nitrate supplementation is a reduction in the oxygen cost of exercise and an increase in exhaustion time at submaximal workloads. This effect was observed after either a single bolus (2-3 h prior to exercise) or a long-term (2-15 days) supplementation. The ergogenic effects of beetroot supplementation appear to be dose-dependent and are most often observed after long-term ingestion (approximately 6 days), at high exercise intensities and in less fit individuals. The ergogenic value of beetroot supplementation in endurance athletes is not clear; many studies have documented no improvements and a few studies an enhanced performance (0.4% to 3%) in time- and distance-trials. Clearly, more research is needed to document (i) the optimal dosage of beetroot ingestion for enhancing exercise performance in athletes, (ii) the effects of dietary nitrate consumption on training adaptations, (iii) the efficacy of beetroot supplementation in increasing exercise tolerance in individuals with chronic disease, and (iv) the safety of long-term beetroot consumption.

Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15
Page(s) 97-110
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Dietary Nitrate, Nitric Oxide, Nitrite, Beetroot, Endurance, Exercise, VO2, Performance, Supplements

References
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    Andreas Zafeiridis. (2014). The Effects of Dietary Nitrate (Beetroot Juice) Supplementation on Exercise Performance: A Review. American Journal of Sports Science, 2(4), 97-110. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15

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    Andreas Zafeiridis. The Effects of Dietary Nitrate (Beetroot Juice) Supplementation on Exercise Performance: A Review. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2014, 2(4), 97-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15

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    Andreas Zafeiridis. The Effects of Dietary Nitrate (Beetroot Juice) Supplementation on Exercise Performance: A Review. Am J Sports Sci. 2014;2(4):97-110. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15,
      author = {Andreas Zafeiridis},
      title = {The Effects of Dietary Nitrate (Beetroot Juice) Supplementation on Exercise Performance: A Review},
      journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {97-110},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20140204.15},
      abstract = {Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent vasodilator that increases blood flow and induces various intracellular actions such as increased mitochondrial and contractile efficiency. NO bioavailability may be increased by direct consumption of dietary nitrate and its sequential reduction to nitrite, a regulator of NO-induced hypoxic signaling. Dietary nitrate consumption reduces blood pressure, protects from ischemia-reperfusion injury, and improves endothelial dysfunction. Recently, the popularity of dietary nitrate as an ergogenic aid has been increased dramatically. Most exercise studies have administered dietary nitrate in the form of beetroot juice containing 5-8 mmol of nitrate and a few studies have used sodium and potassium nitrate (8-10 mg/kg). The most prominent and consistent effects of dietary nitrate supplementation is a reduction in the oxygen cost of exercise and an increase in exhaustion time at submaximal workloads. This effect was observed after either a single bolus (2-3 h prior to exercise) or a long-term (2-15 days) supplementation. The ergogenic effects of beetroot supplementation appear to be dose-dependent and are most often observed after long-term ingestion (approximately 6 days), at high exercise intensities and in less fit individuals. The ergogenic value of beetroot supplementation in endurance athletes is not clear; many studies have documented no improvements and a few studies an enhanced performance (0.4% to 3%) in time- and distance-trials. Clearly, more research is needed to document (i) the optimal dosage of beetroot ingestion for enhancing exercise performance in athletes, (ii) the effects of dietary nitrate consumption on training adaptations, (iii) the efficacy of beetroot supplementation in increasing exercise tolerance in individuals with chronic disease, and (iv) the safety of long-term beetroot consumption.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Effects of Dietary Nitrate (Beetroot Juice) Supplementation on Exercise Performance: A Review
    AU  - Andreas Zafeiridis
    Y1  - 2014/08/10
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15
    T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
    SP  - 97
    EP  - 110
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8540
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.15
    AB  - Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent vasodilator that increases blood flow and induces various intracellular actions such as increased mitochondrial and contractile efficiency. NO bioavailability may be increased by direct consumption of dietary nitrate and its sequential reduction to nitrite, a regulator of NO-induced hypoxic signaling. Dietary nitrate consumption reduces blood pressure, protects from ischemia-reperfusion injury, and improves endothelial dysfunction. Recently, the popularity of dietary nitrate as an ergogenic aid has been increased dramatically. Most exercise studies have administered dietary nitrate in the form of beetroot juice containing 5-8 mmol of nitrate and a few studies have used sodium and potassium nitrate (8-10 mg/kg). The most prominent and consistent effects of dietary nitrate supplementation is a reduction in the oxygen cost of exercise and an increase in exhaustion time at submaximal workloads. This effect was observed after either a single bolus (2-3 h prior to exercise) or a long-term (2-15 days) supplementation. The ergogenic effects of beetroot supplementation appear to be dose-dependent and are most often observed after long-term ingestion (approximately 6 days), at high exercise intensities and in less fit individuals. The ergogenic value of beetroot supplementation in endurance athletes is not clear; many studies have documented no improvements and a few studies an enhanced performance (0.4% to 3%) in time- and distance-trials. Clearly, more research is needed to document (i) the optimal dosage of beetroot ingestion for enhancing exercise performance in athletes, (ii) the effects of dietary nitrate consumption on training adaptations, (iii) the efficacy of beetroot supplementation in increasing exercise tolerance in individuals with chronic disease, and (iv) the safety of long-term beetroot consumption.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Exercise Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at Serres, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

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