3 Ways Athletes can Add Beet Juice to Their Diet

It has taken the endurance sports world by storm. In the quest for higher endurance levels, elite and everyday athletes alike are finding a magic potion in....wait for it....beet juice.

No, beet juice doesn't taste great, but it works. A study at the University of Exerter's School of Sports and Health Sciences found evidence that cyclists who consume a half a liter of beet juice for six days were able to go 16 percent longer in a time trial than those who don't take beet juice.

The reason is that beets are loaded with nitrates, and the theory is that when dietary nitrates makes it way into the body, it helps reduce the amount of oxygen an athlete needs to work out.

So where can you get beet juice? Here are three different ways to make beet juice a part of your diet, so that you can perform better than ever at your next event.

More: Can Beet Juice Instantly Improve Your Endurance?

Juicing

Beets are a common garden plant across North America, mostly in the summertime. They take about 6 to 8 weeks to grow.

If you don't have your own garden, beets can be found at supermarkets and farmer's markets and rammed through a juicer. The downside? They don't taste great...many think they taste like dirt.

To add some sweetness to the flavor, you can juice beets along with apples, carrots and more to come up with a drink that you can get down.

In all, experts recommend no more than eight ounces of beet juice three times a week.

More: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Juicing

Cooking

Beets can be eaten raw, but getting creative with cooking beets is probably the way to go.

They can be added to salad, soup and stir-fry. They can be baked, broiled, cooked and roasted. There are thousands of ideas on the Internet to get beets out of the garden and into your belly.

One warning: Beets will stain clothing and skin when you cook with them. No white shirts!

More: 4 Tips to Boost Performance

On the Market

If you don't have a juicer, there are products on the market that take "make the sausage" on your behalf. Beet It is a company in the United Kingdom that sells beet juice by the bottle, making it with 90 percent beet juice and 10 percent apple juice to tame the flavor.

Beet it also has stamina shots of beet juice and lemon juice for an added boost before your event.

While the effects of a quick jolt of beet juice just before a race isn't proven, studies have shown that drinking beet juice in the days leading up to an event works, and athletes like marathoner Ryan Hall and many Tour de France riders now drink beet juice as a regular part of their diet. The popularity of the natural endurance booster is starting to trickle down.

More: Minty-Fresh Beet Juice to Boost Endurance