Drinking Beetroot Juice May Improve Athletic Performance

New findings published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology suggest that drinking high nitrate beetroot juice improves decision-making and sprint performance during exercise.

During the study, researchers at the University of Exeter collected data from 16 male team sport players that each received 140ml of Beet It Sport, high nitrate beet juice for seven days.

On the seventh day, the sportsmen who were all members of rugby, hockey or football teams completed an intermittent sprint test that consisted of two 40 minute sessions that were repeated in two minute blocks. They were also given cognitive tasks designed to test how accurately and how fast they made decisions.

After drinking nitrate-rich beetroot juice, the participants carried out the same tests again. And then again drinking a placebo version with the nitrate stripped out.

Findings revealed that those who consumed the nitrate-rich version saw a 3.5 percent improvement in both sprint performance and a 3 percent improvement in the time it took them to make accurate decisions.

"These new results suggest that beetroot juice could improve both physical performance and decision-making during team sports such as rugby and football. In events like the Rugby World Cup, every second counts in those crucial moments, so this improvement could make all the difference," researcher Andrew Jones said in a statement.

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