The benefits of beetroot powder

It’s not very often that something new in sports nutrition comes along, but beetroot powder is the hottest new sports performance supplement on the market. The evidence supporting the benefits of beetroot powder is so strong, that the AIS has classified it as a Group A Supplement – meaning that it works! It’s the nitrate content of beetroot powder that makes it such a powerful supplement. You might be wondering what makes a natural supplement so beneficial?

This blog will explain everything you need to know about beetroot powder supplements and why you should add a nitrate supplement to your stack.

What is beetroot powder?

Beetroot powder is made by drying concentrated beetroot juice at low temperatures and crushing it into a powder. It is sold as either capsules, or as a powder.

Beetroot powder is the superior form and we will explain why below. Beetroot powder is a natural but potent source of nitrate. If you are seeking performance benefits, beetroot powder is better than simply consuming beetroot. Why? To obtain a clinical dose of nitrate from beetroot juice, you would have to juice enough beets to produce almost a litre of juice.

If you’re into juicing, you know that you’d have to juice a LOT of beetroots to product that much juice. So beetroot powder provides a quick, convenient source of nitrate.

Nitrate is a naturally occurring organic compound of nitrogen and oxygen which has the chemical formula NO3- . It occurs naturally in many natural foods we eat, especially leafy greens like spinach, silverbeet and even bok choy. Beetroot is a particularly good source of naturally occurring nitrate. Within our body, nitrate is converted into nitric oxide and it is nitric oxide that has performance enhancing effects on our body.

As a natural nitrate supplement, beetroot powder has several benefits:

Nitric oxide acts to open and expand our blood vessels allowing more oxygen and other essential nutrients to be delivered to our muscles. Nitrate is converted into nitric oxide more readily in oxygen poor environments, meaning it acts faster in oxygen starved muscles, opening blood vessels to speed up oxygen delivery to those areas.

Several well designed studies have shown that dietary nitrate decreases the oxygen cost of exercise. This is pretty much a complicated way of saying that it increases exercise efficiency. In turn, this increases time to exhaustion.

Beetroot powder is a great supplement for endurance athletes, strength athletes and general gym goers. It is also useful if you are seeking improved cardiovascular health.

Beet 500 is a great supplement for endurance athletes, strength athletes and general gym goers.

Beetroot powder is one of the best supplements for endurance athletes including runners, cyclists, swimmers and triathletes. Drinking beetroot juice can significantly increase the time it takes for you reach exhaustion by as much as 15%, and increase your speed over a set distance. If you’re hunting down a PB on race day, beetroot powder can help you achieve that.

For gym goers and those in strength sports, beetroot powder a great way to achieve the ultimate pump through opening the blood vessels and promoting blood flow. If you’re seeking vascularity, beetroot powder is the supplement for you. In addition, studies have shown that when they consume beetroot juice, strength athletes can push out more reps before reaching failure.Therefore beetroot powder can allow more volume to be lifted in a training session.

Due to it’s ability to open blood vessels, beetroot powder can have a positive impact on blood pressure. Used in conjunction with exercise and a healthy diet, it may help lower blood pressure in some people that experience hypertension. VPA^® recommends discussing beetroot powder with your health provider if you do have pre-existing conditions. Beetroot juice, and therefore beetroot powder, contains other healthful compounds which act as antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

One serve of BEET 500 is 25g and this provides you with 500mg of nitrate. Ideally, 500mg of nitrate should be consumed around 30 minutes before training or competing for maximum benefit. Heavier people may require a larger dose, and this can be adjusted by adding another 1/2 or full dose. Due to it’s strong beetroot flavour, Beet 500 should be taken on it’s own with water and not mixed with other flavoured products. You could add other unflavoured amino acids to it if you would like.

BEET 500 may have two mild side effects. The first is that for those with FODMAPS intolerance, it may cause mild digestive issues. This side effect is rare, but we would always recommend that endurance athletes trial Beet 500 in training and never for the first time on race day. Beetroot powder may also cause pink coloured urine and stools as the beetroot pigments are processed from our bodies.

So there you have it, a summary of the benefits of beetroot powder to both sports performance and health. Beet 500 really is a supplement that can benefit all people!