Roots

Mrs P is a regular client. Over the years she has called upon me  to provide advice on various property related matters from buying and selling to disputes over leasehold covenants, building defects, in more recent years following earthquake damage to a ceiling and just last week when a heavy mirror decided to fall off the wall in her flat with no prior warning.

She is a nice senior lady, long time retiree from working in a bank and apart from the usual aches and pains that go with advancing years leads an active life.

On my recent summoning, my last call of that day, Mrs P handed me a very oversized wine glass, almost full to the brim with a rich, pinky, reddish liquid.

Overcoming a squeamishness in case it was a blood sample she wanted me to take to the hospital for her, I then thought about having to decline the offer of alcohol as I was still at work and in the car.

It was beetroot juice.

Apparently she was now drinking significant amounts of it on a daily basis. Fruit juices are perfectly fine but my previous experience of drinks made from vegetables has not been pleasant. Usually an impulse buy, when having been persuaded by clever packaging in the organic aisles of the supermarket, I have been disappointed and disgusted in equal proportion by foul odour emitting liquids of dodgy hue,  with unidentified earthy bits in suspension and one hell of an after taste, not to mention discolouration to teeth, tongue and lips.

The Mrs P serving of beetroot was in complete contrast. Cool from the fridge, odourless (the beetroot, not Mrs P), and smooth in texture it was a most surprisingly refreshing treat.

Obviously a big fan of beetroot , Mrs P showed me the carton in which it had been purchased at her local Waitrose.

In pop culture style it was branded "Beet-it" with bright lettering and images and with much of the printed surface promoting the health and related benefits of the stuff. There was some emphasis on the blending in of 10% apple juice in order to counter the usual muddy tints and suggestions in natural, unadulterated beetroot.

My attention was drawn immediately to a warning that consumption can lead to a pinkish tint in urine. I made a short mental note not to panic and call my doctor if that sort of side effect materialised later on that evening. I am at that age when anything out of the ordinary in bodily functions can be a cause for concern indeed.

Beetroot; it is a fascinating root vegetable with a bit of an understated pedigree.

There are references to beet in 800BC with it being grown in that allotment known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and also offered to the Greek deities at Delphi. The latin name of Beta Vulgaris, roughly meaning I think in literal translation, rude beet, is not really self promoting compared to more sexily name vegetables such as potato, turnip, swede and carrot.

Grown widely in Europe and Scandinavia it formed a diet staple in pickled form, salads, borsch and accompanying herring dishes. Those who have unwittingly spilt beetroot juice on their clothes will know well of the intensity of staining potential as a direct illustration of the application of the extract in food colouring.

Mrs P had obviously been attracted in her new favourite tipple to the alleged medicinal properties of the stuff. In the early civilisations and Middle Ages beetroot was used to temper blood ailments, digestion problems and as a source of vitamins and minerals (although not known by any name in the pre enlightenment era).

The producers of "Beet-it" do reinforce the health benefits of their juice with references and on-line links to ongoing research by mainly sports scientists.

2014/2015
"Dietary nitrate modulates cerebral blood flow parameters and cognitive performance in humans"
2013
"Effects of nitrate on the power-duration relationship for severe-intensity exercise"
"Beetroot juice can significantly benefit athletic performance at altitude"
"Effects of nitrate supplementation via beetroot juice on contracting rat skeletal muscle microvascular oxygen pressure dynamics"
"Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships"
2012
"Acute dietary nitrate supplementation improves dry static apnea performance"
"Blood pressure-lowering effects of beetroot juice and novel beetroot enriched bread products in normotensive male subjects"
2011
"Acute dietary nitrate supplementation improves cycling time trial performance"
"A toast to health and performance! Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure and the O2 cost of exercise"
2010
"Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances muscle contractile efficiency during knee-extensor exercise in humans"
2009
"Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans"
2008
"Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite"
2007
"Effects of dietary nitrate on oxygen cost during exercise"

Impressive list by all accounts.

I am through my second big carton of "Beet-it" since my introduction to it by Mrs P.

I do feel more able to cope with the intensive efforts of road and mountain bike riding which may be an affect of the oxygenisation of my bloodstream. My memory appears sharper, at least to me and not those people....um, err, ooh...oh yes, my wife and son what I live with.

Perhaps, and best of all I can now sprint to the upstairs loo without being out of breath in order to watch with fascination as an almost fluorescent pink stream of urine courses into the bright white ceramic pan.