A natural drink to increase sports performance and endurance? According to Men’s Fitness , instead of protein-based shakes, it is possible to drink a natural supplement based on nitrates, which as we know are in theory dangerous substances for health, used in the food industry of processed meats to give the pink color to the cured meats and sausages (together with nitritri). Normally, nitrates and nitrites arrive by ingestion in the stomach , where the acid environment favors the formation of the same in nitrosamines, substances dangerous for humans, for example carcinogenic. However, nitrates are also found in plant foods (nitrites in low, negligible quantities), in a form which, in association with the other vitamins of the plant, does not allow the transformation of nitrates into nitrosamines.

Now, why would the nitrates taken from plants favor sports performance? 
This is what a study published in Nitric Oxide, a specialized medical journal, has announced , which explains how red turnip juice (or beetroot) can help athletes in sports performance, because it improves blood circulation by promoting the formation of red blood cells, allowing therefore to the muscles a better performance in high intensity exercises, fatiguing them less and favoring subsequent recovery. To do this, it would be enough to drink beetroot juice two hours before sporting activity . Where to find it? It is present in many organic shops, for example in the Naturasì shops.

If you want to combine this juice with an excellent pre-workout snack (and get a much better tasting drink), you can instead try combining the juice of a beet with the juice of half a lemon and the addition of a ripe banana or half a ripe avocado, and a handful of almonds. This way we will have a perfect smoothie ideal for training . It is important to avoid associating red turnip juice with animal proteins during the same meal: therefore, no Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or egg whites omelette!