Lionheart

I’ve decided to try a beet supplement to increase my performance. Does anyone have strong preferences for something, along the lines of “Super Beets”?
Thanks

Iride01 

If this revolving around cycling discussion or is this just a general diet question?

I'd just eat beets if you are asking about general diet and health. I like them simmered or steamed. Young beets I've sliced thin and put in my salads. Sort of messy though with beet juice getting on your fingers and everything you touch.

Might surprise you the next day when you look in the commode and see red streaks in the water. <grin>

wolfchild

Other than illegal performance enhancing drugs, there is no natural supplement or legal supplement out there that will increase your performance...There is no evidence out there that any of the natural and legal nutritional supplements sold out there actually work to increase performance or are beneficial to health...Eat real food.

canklecat

Some of my friends swear by the beet stuff. Dunno, tried some beet root capsules for a month, didn't notice any difference. I've eaten a lot of beets, cooked and pickled, and can't say I noticed any differences. But I still buy 'em occasionally because the dollar store occasionally gets good quality beet pickles for a buck.

Same with cherry juice and other stuff touted as great for inflammation, anti-oxidants, etc. Can't feel any difference. And it's expensive for a placebo. I probably get enough anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories cheaper through eating good food and aspirin or my prescription meds.

There are some non-prescription supplements and substances that do have definitely effects on most people, but opinions differ over whether those effects are beneficial for athletes. I've found GABA helps relieve some muscle spasms, but it also makes me drowsy so I take it only at night when necessary. It feels similar to taking melatonin. It's just an amino acid, chemically related to prescription gabapentin -- which also seems to help some folks but not everyone.

Ditto natural sources for beta ecdysterone. I feel significant differences. Some folks don't. Sports regulatory organizations are considering whether to ban or regulate it but so far haven't taken any action. It ain't as potent as anabolic steroids and you can get it by eating a lot of some types of greens, shellfish (including the shells) and bugs, for folks with eclectic tastes. And because it's from natural sources the potency varies quite a bit from batch to batch, which may be why some folks report good results and others feel no improvements.

Some folks report great results from foods and drinks containing resveratrol. Red wine contains resveratrol. But red wine, and most alcohol, gives me a sinus headache, so any benefit is negated by the alcohol. I could probably just eat red grapes and see if there's any benefit. Instead I just bought some resveratrol supplement because it's cheap. And it may get even cheaper. Turns out the invasive weed kudzu is a rich source of resveratrol, so the entire Southeastern US might have a cash crop on its hands... and growing up every utility pole.

Carbonfiberboy 

Beets, beetroot juice, inorganic nitrate, all about the same thing, different ways of consuming it. Many studies have been done looking for affects on athletic performance. They show mixed results. Some show a 2.5-4% improvement in endurance particularly. Others don't show any such thing. There are confounders aplenty. The biggest confounder is whether or not the subjects used mouthwash or a toothpaste which might damage or kill mouth bacteria. Another confounder is whether or not the subjects consumed nitrate rich vegetables in their normal diet. There are others.
https://www.pnas.org/content/109/33/13144

You have to eat a lot of beets or drink a lot of beetroot juice. The affect is dose-dependent. You're looking for a daily dosage of about 1.5g of nitrate. It's a lot cheaper to use sodium nitrate, 2g a day. Whether or not you get an athletic boost from it, it's good for your health.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full...AHA.110.153536
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4008816/

chaadster

I don’t regularly use it currently— probably should, though— but I have used and like PureClean’s beet juice powder:

https://purecleanperformance.com/pages/pureclean-powder

I like all of their stuff which I’ve tried, and they have beet powder in several products. I use Beetums and Fundaminos usually.

burnthesheep

Of note, lots of the stuff out there I've read on this topic leads me to believe the "gain" might not be in the nitrate or whatever from the beets........but rather your ability to mobilize your existing energy stores by the drinks providing vitamin b12.

I don't necessarily believe that, but have heard it stated.

hubcyclist

SiS (whose products I enjoy and use) have just released some nitrate products

https://www.scienceinsport.com/us/sh...tm_content=bau

Carbonfiberboy 

If the nitrate dose is the same, studies show little to no difference between beetroot juice and sodium nitrate. Whether one supplements nitrate or not, the main thing seems to be - don't use mouthwash. Most interestingly, nitrate is ineffective on elites. One wonders.

alo

Similar but different, I like dark red grape juice.

GhostRider62

I just put bacon on my arugula

ZHVelo

Personally caffeine does improve my performance and my memory isn't good but I am rather certain studies do exist that show for many people this is the case. Caffeine is not illegal (anymore). Additionally, I would suggest to fond a good electrolyte supplement. Personally I believe I can go on the low end of carb/calorie intake, but hydration really punishes me, both the longer the ride goes and particularly after a long ride. If I drink 3L versus say just 1.5L in the hours left in the day after a long ride, I notice a huge difference in how I feel the next day. Adding electrolytes to that helps even more.

Staying on topic, I tried drinking beet juice, couldn't really tell a difference but it tastes so awful I stopped. So I do echo the comment I am quoting - eat real food. I changed my diet to include more fruits. Vegetables not so much, because fruits can easily be eaten as a healthy snack, but who likes to eat a carrot as a snack...and it doesn't even have to be expensive if that is a worry, I try to eat 1 kiwi and one tomato a day and both are not expensive, and then I just look for what fruit is on offer and go for that, strawberries, apricots, other type of berries (though usually strawberries are best value) and oranges/mandarines usually are the ones I end up buying. This is on top of the healthy Müsli with fruits for breakfast. And I swear I feel better, I lost weight and can keep it low.

rubiksoval

Caffeine is proven.

There's also substantial evidence for nitric oxide (beets) and beta-alanine and creatine and a couple of other things.

Nothing will have the same impact as something illegal, but there is research-proven impact.

Beet root powder/juice also has a significant impact on blood pressure, so has substantial health benefits along with potential performance benefits.

LAJ

I'm also a fan of PureClean stuff. Along with creatine, I also supplement with L-Citrulline.