nutritional products
appliance of SCIENCE
KATE CRACKNELL REVIEWS THE RESEARCH BEHIND SOME OF THE NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET TODAY
T
here’s wide range of nutritional products on the market, all of which provide operators with a valuable secondary revenue stream – and all making strong claims as regards the benefits to members of using the products. But what’s the science behind these claims? We investigate.
Manufacturer James White has developed a concentrated beetroot shot called Beet It: a 7cl concentrated organic beetroot juice cut with lemon juice to reduce its natural sweetness – with nothing else added. Beetroot juice is naturally high in
James White
dietary nitrate, which enzymes in saliva convert into nitric oxide (NO) in the blood system. It’s thanks to this ability to immediately boost NO levels that the research world has become so excited by it – this NO boost provides the body with an alternative source of oxygen, drawing it from the blood rather than from the air you breathe. James White now supplies research
The juice is said to help give the body an oxygen boost
january 2012 © cybertrek 2012
projects in the UK (nine universities), the US (three universities), Australia (two universities plus the Australian Institute of Sport), Sweden (two universities), as well as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand.
In one study, beetroot juice was shown to increase VO2 max in cycle time triallists
In a paper published by the University
of Exeter in March 2011, the increased oxygen usage effi ciency (increase in VO2
max) resulting from use of
the beetroot juice was shown to benefi t cycle time triallists with an improvement of around 2.7 per cent. The most recent paper, published in
September 2011, focused on benefi ts in ameliorating the effects of hypoxia – a condition in which the body (or a part of the body) is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. This is particularly relevant for those involved in high altitude training and activities such as mountaineering and diving. The study shows beetroot supplementation helps speed the recovery from hypoxia. All these papers demonstrate the benefi t of increasing the oxygenation of the blood. One 7cl shot of Beet It has a dose of
about 4mMol of natural dietary nitrate – a sensible daily dose. The manufacturers say that, while there could be a marginal
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 67
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