Is beet juice the key to ‘beeting’ altitude sickness?

A team of researchers from Sweden and Norway has found that drinking beet juice can ease many of the symptoms of altitude sickness, according to a statement from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Aside from the obvious challenges of climbing a really tall, steep slope, the difficulty of mountain climbing is enhanced by the effects that high altitude and low air pressure have on the human body—namely, a decreased ability to take up oxygen.

With this decrease in oxygen comes difficulty for the body in producing nitric oxide, which is required for normal blood vessel function. While this is another area in which the body learns to compensate over time, this is where the researchers hypothesized that nitrate-rich beet juice can help.

It’s the nitrates that help

The research team tested beet juice’s effectiveness at helping the body to acclimate on a 39-day expedition to Kathmandu and the Rolwaling Valley in Nepal.

Previous research has shown that blood vessels contract at high altitudes, but in their study, published in Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry, the team found that test subjects who drank beet juice saw restored normal blood vessel function at high altitudes.

The test subjects included both men and women whose blood vessel function was checked with an ultrasound both before and during the expedition. Some were given beet juice with no nitrate as a placebo, and others were given high-nitrate beet juice. The study participants who drank nitrate-rich beet juice saw restored blood vessel function within 24 hours.

“Next time you plan a trip at high altitude, maybe it is worth carrying a bottle of beet juice in your backpack,” said Svein Erik Gaustad, the study’s corresponding author. “It may be the extra boost your body needs to deliver enough oxygen to your tired muscles and keep you healthy when you are climbing a high mountain.”

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