Beet juice increases muscle strength

Many athletes consume beet juice to improve their sports performance. However, the mechanisms involved are still poorly understood. A British study has recently provided some answers to this phenomenon...

Nitrate ions are important for the body because they constitute a reserve of nitric oxide, a vasodilator gas, and participate in its homeostasis in the tissues. Previous studies have shown that these ions are crucial for muscle function, regulation of contraction, mitochondrial respiration, and blood flow distribution, especially during exercise. Nitrate ions are present in large quantities in beets, but also in radish, celery, lettuce, and spinach.

A recent article in Acta Physiologica reports the results of a study in which 10 healthy volunteers were given a quantity of potassium nitrate equivalent to that contained in 1 kg of beet, all radioactively labeled, to analyze the path of these ions in the body. The participants then performed a rapid physical exercise (60 quadriceps contractions in 5 minutes). Muscle strength was slightly increased after ingestion of nitrate ions compared to the control group. Nitrate ion concentrations increased in the saliva, blood, and skeletal muscle of the volunteers, and decreased only in the muscles involved.

This study provides the first direct evidence of the importance of nitrate ions during exercise, and informs us about the mysterious effects of beet juice... These results are significant for the understanding of sports physiology, but also in the physiopathology of neuromuscular and metabolic diseases involving a nitric oxide impairment.