Juice for athletes
One loves them, the other hates them. The beet is not everyone’s friend, but it does have a lot of health under its red skin. Why is their juice so popular? And what about the nitrates?
Red beets are a family of sugar and fodder beets. They are also called ‘kroten’ or ‘kroten’, especially in the West of the country. You can enjoy them all year round: small summer beetroot with foliage in summer and winter beetroot from their big brother in winter. They are available fresh on the market and at the greengrocer. In the supermarket you will find pre-cooked beets in the refrigerator compartment.
Red pee and poop
Beets owe their beautiful color to two substances, betanin and vulgaxanthin. Betanin from the root vegetable is also used to make other products such as jams, ice cream and sauces red. It is then called beetroot red or it is stated as E162 on the packaging.
About one in ten people see in the toilet the next day that he or she has eaten beetroot. The English call it beeturia. Under certain circumstances, the stomach and intestines do not process the dye betanin, so it leaves your body through the natural route. The result is bright red to pink pee and poop. If you forgot that there were beetroots on the menu yesterday, it might come as a shock. It seems as if there blood in the stool or urine, but this phenomenon is completely harmless and disappears by itself.
Nitrate
The beetroot is just like spinach and lettuce a nitrate-rich vegetables. Several but small studies have shown that nitrate has a positive effect on endurance. It causes the blood vessels to widen, blood pressure drops and you use less oxygen during exercise.
Many endurance athletes swear by beetroot juice, because it contains a high concentration of nitrate. There is no need to drink beet juice every day. Drinking half a liter of this red substance spread throughout the day during the three days before a competition would already improve performance. Beet juice is available ready-made, but you can also make it yourself by pureeing raw or cooked beets. Not everyone can appreciate the taste of beetroot juice, mix in some apple or orange if you like.
Disadvantages
Despite the healthy properties of nitrates, they also have a drawback. Nitrates are partially converted into nitrite by storage, heating and eating, which can be converted into potentially carcinogenic nitrosamines. Previously, it was therefore advised to eat beetroot no more than twice a week. This recommendation has since been withdrawn. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that it is very unlikely that exposure to nitrate via vegetables will lead to health risks.
Beetroot juice is not included in the EFSA safety assessment. Drinking beet juice every day would add to your intake of other sources of nitrate and you may still be getting too much. Because the Nutrition Center prefers to err on the side of caution, they recommend being cautious with beet juice and not drinking it daily.
Prepare
Fresh, raw beets are best cooked in the peel. This way they retain their taste and color. The cooking time depends on the size, summer beets are cooked after 20-25 minutes, but winter beets only after about 2 hours. When cooked long enough, the skin will come off easily. You only need to warm up (pre)cooked beets, but they are also delicious raw in a salad.
Try:
- Risotto with beetroot and monkfish
- Summer beets with anise
- beet-cucumber soup
- Pasta with beetroot and bacon
- vegetable juice
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