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Beetroot Juice, Garlic, Cod Liver Oil

There are many natural substances that have been shown to have a positive impact on endurance performance. Take beetroot juice for instance (though why anyone would want to drink such vile stuff when red grape juice or even a bag of rocket might confer the same benefits without tasting foul and turning your **** purple)...if nitrate rich juice like beetroot extract might improve time to failure in endurance terms by some 15%, how is that regarded in the clinic?

Is that a legitimate way to enhance performance...ie. sound nutrition or could it be regarded as cheating?

I know that Acetyl L Carnitine is now on WADA's radar...but not so long ago it wasn't. (Whether or not it works is a different matter).

Do we just look at what is on the prohibited substance list? If a team is ahead of the game (ie using a substance that isn't on WADA's radar yet) are they just being smart, or are they cheating?
 
Mar 4, 2012
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I remember reading an article in my college paper, saying that ingesting high quantities of fructose (like you'd find in the 2:1 drinks) actually makes you dumber, and cod liver oil would counteract that. So I guess that's a legitimate use for it.
 
Cancellator said:
I remember reading an article in my college paper, saying that ingesting high quantities of fructose (like you'd find in the 2:1 drinks) actually makes you dumber, and cod liver oil would counteract that. So I guess that's a legitimate use for it.

Well, aside from smartening up the odd dumbo who drinks sugary drinks, cod liver oil aids vasodilation...improving the elasticity of blood vessels. It's the one thing I ask athletes to take...mainly because the vit D keeps respiratory illness at bay.