[Closed] Beetroot Juice

Don't worry about the kitchen...I thought I had bowel cancer the first time 😉

I drink it in the run up to long races and events...I can't say for certain that it worked or if it was the fact I was being more conscientious in my diet but I do feel less fatigued and suffered less cramps.

I drink one medium glass a day for 7 days preceding an event (I think that's what it said in Cycling weekly ages so stuck to that).

Oh and 'Beet it' that's the nicest tasting of them I've found.

It's also made in Suffolk, so must be good!

I drink a glass as soon as I get back from a run, usually with a teaspoon of strong chili sauce in for a bit of a kick. Not sure if it works at helping me recover, but it seems to.

Do you guy juice your own or buy it in? Not sure I will persist if it becomes a faf.

my friend was a guinea pig to a university test involving beetroot juice and performance. bottom line was that it actually did work, but he really, really begrudged drinking it by the end of the experiment.

it was bought stuff he was on as well. I cant remember the name of it though

I drink it before an event and don't bother with taking it for a prolonged time. I go for the Beet It shot and chill it so it's palatable. Not sure if it works but definately distracts other riders when you spit and they think you're coughing up blood

I've dabbled with using it before time trials, but couldn't conclude any significant difference. I'll probably try again this season as I don't mind the taste and every little helps! Makes your wee red mind.

got a juicer? Try this for an instant hangover cure/pick me up, you can almost feel it cleansing your insides, but dont be alarmed when you get purple pee:

Half a pineapple, 2 oranges, 2 raw beetroots (including leaves if they are still on).

Blitz in a juicer (not a blender) and drink.

Tried week long dosing with 500ml a day of normal, bought juice. Also tried one off shots before a race.

'Seemed' to make CX races less painful....

Lot of positive science out there too, and its mentioned in Friel books.

Don't know about the juice per se, but I swear by a beetroot or two a day. Rather than try and summarise the benefits myself, here's what the Torygraph had to say a while back:

Rich in potassium, antioxidants and folic acid, beetroot was found to lower blood pressure back in 2008, by scientists at Barts and the London School of Medicine. In 2009, a University of Exeter study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that drinking 500ml of beetroot juice before exercise improved stamina. A second Exeter study last year found that cyclists could shave seconds off their time – similar benefits were found for runners in a US study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in April.
The reason for beetroot’s winning ways, says Professor Andy Jones, from the sport and health sciences department at Exeter, is nitrate, a nutrient found in soil that helps build protein. This converts into nitrite in the body and then into nitric oxide, which has a “double whammy” effect: it widens blood vessels, increasing blood flow; and it reduces the oxygen needed by muscles, enabling them to work more efficiently.
“We found this works most effectively in high-intensity exercise, typically races that last up to 30 minutes,” says Prof Jones (who tweets under the name @AndyBeetroot). He says your average runner might feel the benefits of beetroot more than elite athletes whose muscles are already efficient.

However, those eager to achieve a new personal best would need to eat four or five beetroot to make a difference. Pickled or boiled beetroot is of limited value, unless you drink the water it is boiled in. A similar problem exists with supplements, with eight to 10 capsules needed daily.
Which is why experts say the best way to get the benefits is to drink the juice. “Shots” containing 7cl of concentrated juice, and 0.4g of nitrate, have been developed as a sports drink and for use in studies, by the James White drinks company in Ipswich. Managing director Lawrence Mallinson, who supplied shots to Team GB, says that beetroot juice now accounts for half of the firm’s £5 million turnover.
You would need to drink about 500ml (half a litre) of ordinary strength juice to get the same nitrate levels. Consuming this amount of beetroot juice has no side-effects, says Prof Jones – other than turning your urine pink.

I'm no scientist, but that seems fairly conclusive to me. Though by the sounds of it I'm going to have to double my daily intake 😯

[url= http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/12december/pages/beetroot-juice-probably-not-elixir-of-life.aspx ]The science explained [/url]

Interesting. I gave blood on Tuesday and then rehydrated by drinking a litre of BeetIt ... hoping it would help recovery, back on the bike faster etc.

Made the toilet activity interesting ... amber coloured Pish and extraordinary number twos!

A litre 😯

I don't really ride seriously enough to say if it makes a difference but I do occasionally use it before a particularly long ride (75+ miles), probably getting more of a placebo effect than anything though as you're supposed to take it for at least 3 days before to get the full benefit.
Beet It is good (I actually prefer the normal drink rather than the shot, even though you need to drink more it's a lot nicer tasting). I noticed it's now in cartons at my local Tesco rather than the big glass bottles so more convenient.
And yeah you think your world is ending when you go to the toilet after if you've forgotten about taking it (not in anyway painful, just alarmingly coloured).

I'm off to a beer festival tomorrow and they have a selection of ciders too. One of them being a beetroot cider 😯

I've tried it, can't stand the taste. So I'm wondering how others deal with this issue, if indeed, you have an issue with the taste ?.
I see mention of chilli sauce, but is anyone adding anything else to deal with taste issues ?.

Caveat:
[i]I don't really ride seriously enough[/i]

This too, I'm not an [i]athlete[/i].
😉

I,love the stuff, always have.
It was one of the first things offered as a herbal helping hand when I started racing "back in the day" and I've stuck to it since.
You can always find beets in either the fridge or in the veg tray at home, I'd say I cook/use them at least 5 days of 7. I think I'm kinda used to the effects by now (not that I'd say precisely what they are) but do feel a bit grog if I've not had any for say 4-5days, so I'd say I'm probably addicted to them 😆
I've not tried the drinks nor shots, but I might do that now as some have suggested above that they're not bad at all.

You get used to the colour of your pee and stools, nothing to worry about unless you actively promote the candid observation of your toilet duties.. 😯

I tried it after the nurse recommended it for lowering blood pressure. Agree with the effect on number 2s! 😯

[i]I tried it after the nurse recommended it for lowering blood pressure[/i]

I have a friend who's elderly mother consumes beetroot juice daily, to lower her BP.

Apparently, it has worked.

I bought a juicer a few years back, tried lost of different recipes, one of my favs was beetroot, gives you a real hit of soil, washing up is a pain in the butt, now the juicer lives hidden away in the cupboard.

Another fav was 'Melumba' Melon and Cucumber, awesomely refreshing. Fresh ginger, orange and carrot is another good one.

Eating beetroot is far more enjoyable IMO.

[i]beetroot, gives you a real hit of soil[/i]

This was my experience and totally yucky !.

Come on, someone on STW has the recipe to make beetroot juice palatable / drinkable.

Just add more apple juice, although I like it as is.

beetroot, gives you a real hit of soil

This was my experience and totally yucky !.

Or add chilli, I find if drinking it ( very rare ) I have to add chilli and ice.

Cooking, well you can add most things, fave is toasted walnuts, peanuts and chilli. You get a neat heat crunch with the warmth of the beet.

Mostly I add them to veggie stews, pot roasts, grills and the like.
Rarely do I eat them cold, odd that. ..,

[i]Peeling and washing might of helped.[/i]

Chapeau !.

I was discussing the juice from cartons.
🙄

I can't stomach the taste but would be willing to add something, not chilli.

Anyway, its not that big an issue, gains are marginal and I'm not in competition.

Just thought I'd ask about adding stuff to disguise the original flavour.

2 raw beetroots +leaves if it has them, maybe chop off the bottom and rinse.
half a pineapple
2 oranges

put through a juicer is a delicious, revitalising hangover cure. You can almost feel it cleansing the crap out of your body.

and it gives you pink pee.

and say it 3 times you get this guy

[img] [/img]

The shots seem to work very well, and are 'palatable' as you just neck it.

Expensive mind

I've only had one of the concentrated shots once before a race last year. I'd been ill all week (don't swim in canals and accidently drink the water...), including the morning of the race so wasnt optimistic, but felt top of my game as soon as I got going. You know when you get on the bike and just feel good/strong? Felt like that. Still, might have had nothing to do with the beetroot!

The normal Beet It (which has some apple juice in it to) is just about drinkable to me but sometimes if I'm not in the mood I just hold my nose and try not to gag :p I certainly wouldn't drink it as a normal drink (their tomato juice drink is nice though...)

[i]don't swim in canals and accidently drink the water...[/i]

Yeeeewww !
😯

[i]You know when you get on the bike and just feel good/strong? Felt like that.[/i]

I have this after fish and chips the night before the ride.

I hate the shop bought stuff but I tried making it fresh - juiced a couple of beetroots with a good size chunk of ginger, strained it and it was delicious! Really good for the liver too apparently.

[i]chunk of ginger[/i]

I've heard people mention Ginger before. Might be worth trying to sort something.

Damn you , Organic. The only reason I opened this thread was to add the very same pun, only mine would have been ol' Mike appears if you neck three glasses of the shite back-to-back...