Beet It Sport has been used in another scientific study, which has reportedly found that the natural dietary nitrate contained in the drink has an oxygen conserving effect. This can enable swimmers to hold their breath for longer, which would certainly be a benefit for swimmers and triathletes!
The Beet It Sport shot drink is made from 100% natural ingredients, consisting of concentrated beetroot juice (98%) cut with lemon juice (2%).
Beet It Sport shots have been the focus of research in over 150 universities into the benefits of natural dietary nitrate supplementation. The research has identified that the drink’s naturally high dietary nitrate content (400mg per shot) interacts with enzymes in saliva to generate nitric oxide (NO) in the blood system.
NO is a vasodilator (widening of blood vessels) that can increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the muscles, thereby boosting strength and endurance.
The latest study looked at oxygen efficiency. Dietary nitrate has been shown to reduce the oxygen cost in a variety of situations, and the study aim was to analyze its effect on arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) after dynamic apnea (DYN) performance – a competitive freediving category.
In the study, 14 healthy male apnea divers (aged 33 ± 11 years) received either 70ml of concentrated nitrate-rich beetroot juice or a placebo on different days. At 2.5 hours after ingesting the juice, they were asked to perform 2 × 75 m DYN dives in a pool with 4.5-min recovery between dives.
Each dive started after a 2-min countdown and without any warm-up apneas, hyperventilation, or lung packing techniques to boost performance. SaO2 and heart rate were measured via pulse oximetry for 90 seconds before and after each dive. Mean SaO2 nadir values after the dives were 83.4 ± 10.8% with beetroot juice and 78.3 ± 11.0% with placebo (P < 0.05).
At 20 seconds post-dive, mean SaO2 was 86.3 ± 10.6% with beetroot juice and 79.4 ± 10.2% with placebo (P < 0.05). In conclusion, beetroot juice juice was found to elevate SaO2 after 75m DYN. These results suggest ‘an oxygen conserving effect of dietary nitrate supplementation, which likely has a positive effect on maximal apnea performance.’
Beet It Sport shot is available at UK retailers including Sainsbury’s, Holland & Barrett and Amazon, with an RRP of £1.49. Beet It Organic variety (0.3g nitrate content) can be purchased from Waitrose, RRP £1.49.
