Regular consumption of beetroot juice has positive cardiovascular effects during exercise and leads to increased endurance, a clinical study has found.

New research published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, found healthy male subjects who drank beetroot juice for 15 days had lower blood pressure and more dilated blood vessels at rest and during exercise.

Blood vessels also dilated more easily and the heart consumed less oxygen during exercise with beetroot juice consumption.

The researchers suggest that regular consumption of beetroot means exercise can be “performed at a given workload for a longer period of time before the onset of fatigue.” They also posit that beetroot juice can be used as a dietary supplement to enhance oxygen delivery to the muscles and reduce the work the heart does during exercise.