 Nitrates, concentrated in green leafy vegetables and beets, underwent a great makeover a few years ago from inert substances to having profound effects on the power plants within all of our cells, reducing the oxygen costs during exercise, meaning we can bust out the same amount of work with less oxygen. So one little shot of beet juice allows freedivers to hold their breath for over 4 minutes, they get about a half minute longer. For others, this improved muscle efficiency allows athletes to exercise a higher power output or running speed for the same amount of breath. I profiled this discovery in an unprecedented 17-part video series, the longest I think I've ever done. It's just so fascinating. But that was back in 2012. What's happened since? Well, this all led to many athletes, elite and amateur alike, consuming beetroot juice prior to competition. Well, what does the new science say? Well, most of the studies were done on men. It turns out it works on women too, even African American women, and even more neglected research demographic. Same workload power outputs using significantly less oxygen after drinking beet juice. But forget beet juice, what about whole beets? Cheaper, healthier, can find them in any produce aisle. But there had never been any studies on actual beets until now. Whole beetroot consumption acutely improves running performance. They gave physically fit men and women a cup a half of baked beets, which is equivalent to about a can of beets, 7 to 5 minutes before running a 5K. They started out the same, but during the last mile of the 5K race, the beet group pulled ahead, compared to the placebo group who were given berries instead. Though they were running faster, their heart rate wasn't any higher. So if anything, the beet group reported less exertion. Faster time with less effort, they don't call them block rock, and beets for nothing. But if nitrates are so good, why not just take them in a pill? Nitrate supplements with names like Hellfire. Although they can work, their long-term safety is questionable. Non-vegetable sources of nitrates may have detrimental health effects. If we want to improve our performance, we should really ideally obtain nitrates from whole vegetables. The industry knows this. Instead, the market's an array of nitric oxide-stimulating supplements. However, there's little or no evidence of the performance improvement following supplementation with these so-called NO boosters. The evidence is with the vegetables. How much money can companies make selling beets, though? So how about a novel beetroot-enriched bread product? We've tried to get people to eat their fruits and veggies, and where has that gotten us? But hey, lots of people eat white bread, so why not have them eat red bread? And indeed, it worked. Red beet bread bought down blood pressures. Improved the ability of arteries to relax and dilate naturally? Bread, therefore, may be an effective vehicle to increase vegetable consumption without significant dietary changes because heavens forbid people should have to change their diet to improve their health.