Beetroot naturally boosts Nitic Oxide

This summarises an article in Bodybuilding .com by supplement Guru Jim Stoppani.

Supplementing with beet juice or powder (dehydrated juice) has been suggested in a number of studies to enhance exercise performance. The purported benefits include greater exercise endurance, greater power output, and less fatigue. This means that during a typical weightlifting workout, it could improve your strength, allow you to complete more reps with a given weight, and allow you to better maintain rep ranges and strength toward the end of the workout. All of this can help increase muscle strength, muscle growth, and muscle endurance.

Consider supplementing by taking about 500 mg of beet extract (up to 40g of ENDURObeet powder) Or, look for supplements, such as pre workout supplements which provide beet extract along with other supplements, such as arginine or citrulline which use the arginine-NO (Nitric Oxide) pathway. One of the best times to use these supplements is 30-60 minutes before workouts. Another ideal time would be about 30-60 minutes before sexual activity to boost your performance.

A recent study found that using an antiseptic mouthwash such as Listerine killed off a significant number of the bacteria in the mouth that convert nitrate into nitrite. This reduces the NO produced from sources such as beets. So if you're using beets or a beet extract product to increase NO levels, consider ditching the antiseptic mouthwash, at least before taking any nitrate source.

Boosting NO levels is beneficial for cardiovascular health since it relaxes blood vessels, allowing them to widen. This keeps our blood vessels functioning properly and prevents them from getting "stiff" as we age. Relaxing or dilating the blood vessels also helps to deliver more blood flow to tissues like muscle fibers.

When you train, your muscle cells create waste products that pull water into them. With greater blood flowing to the muscles, the muscle cells can draw more water into them, resulting in a bigger muscle pump. While some experts feel that the muscle pump has no true physiological significance, it can lead to long-term muscle growth because the muscle pump places a bigger stretch on the membranes of the muscle cells. This stretch signals chemical reactions that instigate long-term muscle growth by increasing muscle protein synthesis.

More and more research is showing the many performance benefits of supplementing with beetroot.  The powder is proving to be the most convenient way to take in terms of measuring dosage and transporting.