Beetroot and Nitrates — The Endurance Supplement That Actually Works

Introduction

In 2009, a research team at the University of Exeter published a paper that changed how sports scientists thought about a common vegetable. They found that drinking beetroot juice reduced the oxygen cost of exercise — meaning subjects could perform the same physical work using less aerobic energy. The mechanism was novel, the effect size was meaningful, and the practical application was simple. Dietary nitrate — from beetroot juice and other green vegetables — has since become one of the most scrutinised performance nutrition topics in sports science, with direct relevance to the aerobic demands of football.

The Science

The nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway: Dietary nitrate (NO₃⁻), consumed from beetroot juice or green leafy vegetables, is reduced to nitrite (NO₂⁻) by anaerobic bacteria in the mouth and gut. Nitrite is then further reduced to nitric oxide (NO) in skeletal muscle, particularly under hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions during exercise. Nitric oxide has multiple performance-relevant effects:

1. Vasodilation: NO relaxes smooth muscle in blood vessel walls, reducing vascular resistance and lowering blood pressure. This reduces the cardiac workload required to deliver a given blood (and oxygen) flow to working muscles.

1. Mitochondrial efficiency: NO inhibits cytochrome c oxidase (complex IV) in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, reducing the oxygen required per ATP produced. This paradoxically means muscles produce the same ATP output with less oxygen consumption — improving what exercise physiologists call exercise economy.

1. Muscle contractility: Elevated NO facilitates calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, potentially improving fast-twitch muscle fibre contractile properties at moderate doses.

Performance effects:

• Reduces oxygen cost of moderate-intensity exercise by 3–5%
• Extends time to exhaustion at submaximal intensities
• Improves exercise economy (same output, lower O₂ cost)
• May specifically benefit athletes with lower fitness levels more than elite athletes (whose mitochondria are already highly efficient)

Dose and timing: Research converges on 300–600 mg dietary nitrate as the effective range — equivalent to approximately 500 mL of concentrated beetroot juice. Peak plasma nitrite elevation occurs approximately 2–3 hours post-ingestion. For a match at 15:00: consume at 12:00–12:30 (before or after the pre-match meal).

What Research Says

Lansley et al. (2011) published a key mechanistic study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise confirming that 6 days of beetroot juice supplementation (500 mL/day) reduced the oxygen cost of walking and running by 2.8% and 2.1% respectively, and improved 4-km and 16.1-km time trial performance by 2.8% and 1.5% respectively. These are meaningful performance effects at doses achievable through food.

Wylie et al. (2013) specifically tested dietary nitrate effects on high-intensity intermittent exercise — a protocol designed to simulate team sport demands — in Journal of Applied Physiology. Supplemented participants completed significantly more high-intensity exercise bouts before reaching exhaustion, with the benefit most pronounced in efforts matching football’s 80–90% VO2max intensity range.

Thompson et al. (2016) published a football-specific study, measuring Yo-Yo IR2 performance in trained male footballers following 5 days of beetroot juice supplementation. The supplemented group improved Yo-Yo IR2 performance by 4.2% compared to placebo — a statistically significant and practically meaningful improvement in the exact test used to assess football fitness.

Did You Know? In the 2012 London Olympics, multiple endurance event medal-winners were later reported to have included dietary nitrate strategies in their preparation. The proximity of the science publication (2009) to the 2012 Olympics made it one of the fastest ever translations from research to elite competition practice. Currently, several Premier League clubs include concentrated beetroot juice (or nitrate-loaded food protocols) in their pre-match nutritional guidelines — particularly for matches requiring sustained high-intensity output over 90 minutes.

Applied to Football

Practical dietary nitrate implementation:

1. Time supplementation 2–3 hours before the match. Peak blood nitrite (the active intermediate) occurs at 2–3 hours. Most concentrated beetroot juice products (e.g., Beet It Sport) specify this timing.
2. Do not use antibacterial mouthwash before consumption. The first step in the nitrate → nitrite conversion occurs in the mouth via specific bacteria. Mouthwash kills these bacteria and completely eliminates the ergogenic effect. This is the most common error in athlete beetroot use.
3. 5-day loading accumulates greater benefit than single-dose. Sustained supplementation builds higher background nitrite levels. For important matches, begin beetroot supplementation 5 days before.
4. Food-based alternatives work equally well. Rocket, spinach, celery, and red-leaf lettuce are very high in dietary nitrate and can substitute for beetroot juice in players who dislike the taste. Equivalent dietary nitrate content is achievable through food.
5. Effect is more pronounced at lower fitness levels. Elite athletes with optimised mitochondrial efficiency show smaller absolute effects. Sub-elite players may see proportionally greater benefits, making beetroot particularly valuable at lower competitive levels.

Key Takeaways

• Dietary nitrate reduces the oxygen cost of exercise by 3–5% via nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation and mitochondrial efficiency
• Football-specific research confirms 4.2% improvement in Yo-Yo IR2 performance after 5 days of beetroot supplementation
• Timing: 2–3 hours pre-match for peak plasma nitrite; 5-day loading outperforms single-dose
• Do not use antibacterial mouthwash before consumption — it eliminates the oral bacteria needed for nitrate reduction
• Food-based sources (rocket, spinach, celery) provide equivalent nitrate at lower cost than commercial products

References

• Lansley, K. E., Winyard, P. G., Bailey, S. J., Vanhatalo, A., Wilkerson, D. P., Blackwell, J. R., … & Jones, A. M. (2011). Acute dietary nitrate supplementation improves cycling time trial performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(6), 1125–1131.
• Wylie, L. J., Kelly, J., Bailey, S. J., Blackwell, J. R., Skiba, P. F., Winyard, P. G., … & Jones, A. M. (2013). Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. Journal of Applied Physiology, 115(3), 325–336.
• Thompson, C., Vanhatalo, A., Jell, H., Fulford, J., Carter, J., Nyman, L., … & Jones, A. M. (2016). Dietary nitrate supplementation improves sprint and high-intensity intermittent running performance. Nitric Oxide, 61, 55–61.

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Written by Hüseyin Akbulut, MSc Sport Scientist · Founder of Sporeus

Hüseyin Akbulut is the founder of Sporeus and author of THRESHOLD (EŞİK), a 540-page Turkish-language book on endurance science.

• 540pp THRESHOLD Book
• MSc Sport Sciences
• Marmara University

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