Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Triathletes Benefit From Drinking Both Beetroot Juice and Coconut Water


Coconut water is the liquid that is taken from unripe coconuts and has multiple health benefits. It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's a perfect sports drink, full of pure sugars, salts and vitamins, making it a great re-hydration drink to replace lost fluids and minerals after working out.

Coconut water is the purest liquid second only to water itself. It has Ayurvedic qualities to help with digestion and it can reduce urinary problems. It is full of electrolytes, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, helping with the recovery time for triathletes.

Beetroot juice is a natural energy drink that should also be part of an triathletes diet. Recent studies have indicated that beet juice boosts athletes stamina by making muscles more fuel-efficient. It was previously known that beetroot juice had medicinal qualities in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system, by helping reduce blood pressure. New findings have enhanced the current benefits making it a popular drink for sports professionals.

A group of scientists from the University of Exeter whose findings are published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, recently studied a group of men aged between 19 to 38. They discovered that drinking beetroot juice (half a litre a day) for a week enabled the test subjects to cycle on exercise bikes for 16 per cent longer than their counterparts taking a placebo. The juice doubled the amount of nitrate in the volunteers' blood and cut the rate at which their muscles used up energy and oxygen. The overall effect meant increased stamina at a reduced energy cost.

My advice to triathletes is to have beetroot juice in the morning to help improve performance and then coconut water after exercise to help the body recovery.




Mike Kirkman,
Helping you start your first Triathlon
http://www.triathlon2win.com




No comments: