Beet Juice Make Breathing Easier at High Altitudes
When test subjects drank beet juice, their bodies were able to create more nitric oxide, their blood vessels widened, and more air was moved to their muscles.
Researchers were able to measure the blood flow through ultrasound.
The study was published in Nitric Oxide and is the first to look at dietary nitrate and its effects on endothelial functioning at high altitudes.
The study concludes:
"Acute dietary NO3−supplementation may abolish altitude-induced reduction in endothelial function, and can serve as a dietary strategy to ensure peripheral vascular function in lowland subjects entering high altitude environments."
So the next time you're thinking of scaling a mountain or running a marathon, drink beet juice beforehand and give your body a boost of nitric oxide.