From better workout stamina to detox: Are beets the next power food?

This week, I came across this interesting report from the Journal of Applied Physiology: Beet juice boosts stamina so much that, after drinking it, people were able to extend the length of their workouts by 16%. They ended up less worn out, too. After exercising, the beet juice drinkers had lower resting blood pressure than a control group (already made up of people who were hitting the gym for a shorter amount of time). The researchers behind the study believe that this happened because a nitrate found in beets causes us to take in less oxygen, making exercise less tiring. No other food has ever been shown to have such an effect.

I thought that was pretty impressive. So I looked into this beet business a little more. It turns out beets themselves are incredibly high in antioxidants; and they’ve been shown to help prevent heart disease, certain cancers, and inflammation. Further, there’s a whole line of thinking that connects beet juice to liver detoxification. I tend to be a little skeptical about detox claims, but beets are, indeed, rich in a phytonutrient called betaine which, studies show, helps prevent and get rid of fatty deposits in the liver.

I’d always heard that the downside to beets and beet-related things was that they were high in sugar. Apparently, I’m not the only one. My nutritionist friend Stephanie Middleberg says that she gets that question all the time, but that in reality, beets’ carb content is similar to that of a fruit. There are only 8 grams per serving of sugar, which, Stephanie says, is a totally fine amount.

It doesn’t hurt that beets are also extremely easy to prepare: In boiling water, they take about 30 minutes, or you can roast them in a pan for about as long. It may not be the most original combination on the block, but I’ll put it out that I’m a huge fan of the serve-with-goat-cheese route. (For a more creative take, here’s a recipe—with video!–for roasted beets with walnuts, garlic, and orange juice that the New York Times’s Mark Bittman culled from Jean-Georges Vongerichten.)

None of this, of course, tackles the matter of beet juice which, honestly, doesn’t sound all that good. I’ll try anything once, though, so I asked veggie chef extraordinaire Matt Downes for a good recipe for a first-timer. It turns out, he actually loves beet juice. Like, really loves it. I found this heartening, and forged ahead with combo he suggested. To my relief, it was absolutely delicious—rich, a little zingy, and totally satisfying. And, maybe it was in my head, but it really did feel “clean” to drink. Below, what to use:

Matt’s Beet Juice (all this gets cut up and goes in a juicer)
*1 large beet, or 2 small
*1 apple
*2 carrots
*knob of ginger, 1″ long
*3-4 leaves of greens (from Matt: beet greens are a really nice touch here…they’re smaller, so I’d up it to about 6-8)
*1 lemon