I eat beets because I like them and they are generally healthy. I've tried BeetElite shoots and they are tasty, no idea if they work, I tried pre-loading a few days or just downing it before a race. Beets me if it works.

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I noticed you didn't take a stand on which is better (on either issue: performance or health). Do you think nitrite is equal to nitrate for performance? Do you think it (nitrite) is bad for you?

I know you're not asking me but my 2 cents anyway... :) from what I have read and heard, synthetically spiked powders like BeetElite perform about as well as the real thing...it's just that you are taking in sodium nitrite, which according to the experts is bad. How bad...well everyone has to make that decision for themselves. Many athletes I know don't want to take synthetics and opt for Beetit, Red Ace, juicing...etc.

how many beets does it generally take to reach the recommended 500ml (by some) amount of beet juice? I have some powder to mix that states that each teaspoon scoop matches one beet. Would love to know how many scoops to use for an effective dose.

The nitrate content of vegetables varies considerably, depending on when/where they were grown, whether they were fertilized, etc. Roughly speaking, though, one beet contains ~3 mmol, or ~200 mg, of nitrate. 500 mL of beetjuice (e.g., Biotta brand), OTOH, contains ~9 mmol, or ~600 mg, of nitrate. IOW, one bottle is equivalent to roughly 3 beets.

AFAIK, BeetElite is the only one that has gone this route, but there are so many products on the market these days that I could very well be wrong on that.

As for nitrite vs. nitrate, *if matched in terms of how much they elevated plasma nitrite levels*, then the only real difference would be the rate at which they became available. The first part would be a bit of a tall order, however, since conversion of nitrate to nitrite is dependent upon our microbiota and varies between individuals.

Good stuff Andrew. By the way, I just wanted to follow-up on this question to you:


Does this mean it would be beneficial for excesses such as weight lifting...or do you just mean shorter, more intense bouts of endurance activities?