There has been plenty of publicity about the benefits of juice and its effects on lowering blood pressure but are you aware of the benefits it has for sports men and women.
is high in dietary nitrate which is then converted by enzymes in Saliva into which has been discovered, by researchers at the University of Exeter, that enables people to exercise for up to 16% longer.
So what are the benefits of increasing your levels?
Studies by the University of Exeter have shown that improves stamina and increases the body’s ability to use oxygen more efficiently.
For the study, nine club-level competitive male cyclists were asked to compete in time trials over 4km (2.5 mile) and 16.1km (10 mile). All the riders were asked to do each time trial twice. Each time they were asked to drink half a litre of juice beforehand. On one occasion they had normal juice, on the other occasion (unbeknown to the cyclists) the juice had the nitrate removed.
The researchers monitored athletes' VO2 levels (showing the amount of oxygen consumed) during exercise to ensure that the cyclists worked at maximum effort on each occasion.
Results showed that when the cyclists drank ordinary juice they had a higher power output (measured in watts) for the same level of effort which suggests that their muscles and cardio-vascular system were being more efficient. On average, riders were 11 seconds (2.8%) quicker over the 4km distance and 45 seconds (2.7%) faster over the 16.1km distance.
Interesting!
