Are you looking for a natural way to enhance your exercise routine? Find out if you should take beets for your workout.
Eating healthily and focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables is a great way to give your heart health a necessary boost. Moreover, if you eat the right kinds of vegetables, you can also enhance your workouts.
One of these exercise-positive vegetables is a red root vegetable known simply as the beet. According to studies, like the 2016 study from Northumbria University in England, beets can help with muscle recovery.
As part of the study, participants were either given 250 milliliters (ml) of beet juice, 125 ml, or a placebo at different times after completing 100-drop jumps. The results show that consuming the highest dosage of beet juice leads to less muscle soreness post-exercise.
Beets and Post-Workout Benefits
After strenuous exercise, your body can undergo oxidative stress as a result of antioxidants fighting free radicals. As a result, your body experiences inflammation and muscle soreness.
However, beets can help due to their nitrate content, says study author Glyn Howatson, Ph.D., director of research and innovation for the department of sport, exercise, and rehabilitation at Northumbria. Nitrates have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce inflammation after an intense workout.
In addition, the anti-inflammatory properties can also benefit your heart health. By regularly consuming beets, you can lower your blood pressure and decrease your risk for heart disease.
Howatson suggests drinking 7 to 10 ounces of beet juice immediately after an intense workout that involves heavy resistance. By doing so, you can reduce muscle soreness and help your body recover faster.
Some examples of heavy resistance or workouts that consist of forceful changes in direction include sprinting, field sports, and court-based sports. If you regularly participate in intense training sessions and feel sore for days afterward, then drinking beet juice can help.
However, not everyone is a fan of the taste of beets, but there are ways you can manage this. For example, you can mix it with other anti-inflammatory fruits and veggies like blueberries or cherries. You can also take beet supplements, as these are easier to consume than whole beets and are usually available in different flavors.
The Outlook
Eating beets is a great way to give your workout performance and overall heart health a much-needed boost. Its nitrate content helps improve your post-workout recovery while also improving heart-health risk factors like blood pressure.
If you don’t like the idea of regular eating beets, you can turn them into a juice, smoothie, or take supplements like HeartBeet Complete. This supplement comes in a dark cherry taste and can effectively promote your circulation, energy levels, and more. If you’re ready to give your exercise performance and heart health the support they deserve, then start consuming beets and take HeartBeet Complete.
