{"id":253889,"date":"2025-12-27T10:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T10:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/253889\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T10:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T10:49:09","slug":"a-new-study-shows-beetroot-juice-boosts-performance-and-recovery-heres-why-you-should-be-drinking-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/253889\/","title":{"rendered":"A new study shows beetroot juice boosts performance AND recovery. Here’s why you should be drinking it"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been well documented that beetroot juice is beneficial to endurance athletes (this study<\/a> from 2014 proves that), but a new study<\/a>, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, which explored how beetroot juice affected a group of climbers\u2019 performance and recovery, found some very promising results for runners too. <\/p>\n

What did the study find?<\/p>\n

In a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study, researchers divided 27 climbers into three equal groups \u2013 one control, one placebo, and the beetroot juice group. The team set out to evaluate a range of performance and recovery measures, including pressure pain threshold, isokinetic and isometric strength, flexibility and horizontal jump. Participants underwent various tests for these measures at baseline, while climbing and post-test. <\/p>\n

A week after baseline testing, the climbers consumed 70ml of beetroot juice (containing 400mg nitrate), placebo, or water 2.5\u2009hours before ascending to 3,720 meters. Researchers also assessed participants\u2019 DOMS<\/a> in their quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius (calf) muscles two hours pre-climb, immediately post-climb, and 12, 24, 48, and 72\u2009hours after descending.<\/p>\n

The team found a statistically significant decrease in DOMS in the gastrocnemius muscles 24\u2009hours post-descending in the beetroot juice group compared to the control group, but, interestingly, not for the quads. They also identified noticeable improvements in pressure pain threshold, estimated VO2 max<\/a>, flexibility, and isokinetic and isometric strength indicators in the beetroot juice group compared to the other groups.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for runners?<\/p>\n

While this study is specific to climbers, it adds to a quickly growing body of scientific evidence highlighting the powerful recovery potential of beetroot. What is particularly interesting from this study is the role that beetroot and nitrates can play in the reduction of DOMS, something all runners would benefit from. <\/p>\n

Another recent study<\/a> found that drinking beetroot juice during recovery enhanced isometric strength and horizontal power while reducing DOMS in volleyball players and another research team reported<\/a> that chronic beetroot juice reduced post-exercise muscle pain and improved post-exercise recovery performance. Another study<\/a> found that high (250\u2009ml) and moderate (150\u2009ml) beetroot juice reduced muscle pain following a recovery protocol. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s always advisable to check in with a medical professional before trying something new, though, as those with low blood pressure may encounter some issues (the nitrates in beetroot can lower blood pressure) \u2013 and if you\u2019re prone to kidney stones, the oxalates in beetroot can also increase risk.<\/p>\n

Why does beetroot juice improve performance and recovery?<\/p>\n

High in nitrate concentration, beetroot juice can enhance physical performance by boosting nitric oxide (NO) levels, explain the researchers. Scientifically known as the \u2018nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway\u2019, it supports the body\u2019s NO production \u2013 particularly when oxygen levels are low. The increased NO availability from beetroot consumption has previously been associated with cardiovascular benefits, including reduced blood pressure and improved endothelial function (how healthy the inner lining of your blood vessels is).<\/p>\n

Involved in a range of cell processes, nitric oxide aids vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels), thus potentially increasing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to working muscles during exercise. The team highlights previous research suggesting that beetroot juice may enhance athletic performance by elevating oxygen levels, glucose, and nutrients such as potassium, betaine, sodium, magnesium, and vitamin C<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aside from this, beetroot juice is generally nutrient-rich, containing carbohydrates, fibre<\/a>, protein<\/a>, vitamins, and minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, and iron) \u2013 plus other beneficial compounds like betalain and flavonoids, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. So, it would make sense to see recovery-based benefits from increased consumption.
<\/p>\n

Don’t miss a beet<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that this was a relatively small \u2013 albeit rigorous \u2013 study, so further research is needed to confirm the results. The study authors hope future research will include more innovative physiological testing to help gain a better understanding of individual responses to muscle-damaging activities. <\/p>\n

In the meantime, though, the current evidence suggests that drinking beetroot juice could be a very low-effort way to help support your recovery and maximise those running gains <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s been well documented that beetroot juice is beneficial to endurance athletes (this study from 2014 proves that),…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[97448,18,2918,19,17,77914,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-253889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-beetroot-juice","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-gym","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-muscle-recovery","14":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115791145484911540","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}