The Joys of Beet Juice! Product Review: Biotta Juices

Let me start this post by saying that never in a billion gazillion years did I ever think I would be writing about beet juice.  Never ever ever.

First off - as a child - I hated beets.  Hell, as an ADULT - I HATED beets.  Couldn't stand them and generally just avoided them.  Nothing ruined a salad (or anything else) like a random beet.

However, as a triathlete - I'm consistently looking for any (legal) edge I can find - and when I came across Biotta Juices (who is a sponsor for the Big Sexy Racing Triathlon Team that I'm a part of) - I was incredibly intrigued at some of the claims being made in regards to the benefit of beet juice.  So I figured I'd give it a try.

Consider me a beet convert.

Now - I preface anything I'm about to say with the following:  I'm no rocket surgeon.  A lot of the stuff on the internet goes into an incredible amount of detail of how beets and beet juices can benefit you and such.  So I'll break it down in the simplest way possible based on my understanding:  Beets have a very high concentration of dietary nitrates in them which result in a lower energy burn during endurance events.  This basically means that you can go longer on the same amount of energy.  That means more endurance.  It gets much more involved than that - but that's the basic gist of it.

On top of that - beets are just generally healthy for you anyway.  Lots of benefits outside of endurance related stuff include tons of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that's just generally good for your day to day health.

So how have I been using it?  Well, I've been drinking about 1/2 a bottle of Biotta Beet juice daily and have noticed significant improvements in my mood and feelings post training.  I'm dead in the middle of training for one of my "A Races" - so I'm putting in quite a bit of training.  I've found that I generally feel less tired and exhausted day in and day out - which is a gigantic plus for my family as I've become less irritable.  The change was enough that my wife has noticed it and commented on it - and now I have a beet juice requirement each morning.

I've also made steady gains in performance at a quicker rate (which is due to more training with is partially due to the beet juice) this season.  That's the main kicker.  Performance increases are what the game of triathlon is all about, and Biotta has certainly helped me with that.

So the natural question is:  Why use Biotta?

It's for more than the immune system!

Nutritional mumbo jumbo.

Simple:  It's easy and convenient.  It can be found at your local Whole Foods, and it's convenient and easy to drink without taking up a ton of space in the refrigerator.   You don't have to actually do anything except for pop the top of the bottle, pour it, and drink up.

Originally, my wife wanted to try using our juicer to make "our own" beet juice.  The problem with that is that it's messy (the beets WILL stain your juicer) and (somewhat) time consuming.  With my schedule packed the way it currently is - I simply don't have the time to "juice" beets.  What would inevitably happen is that I would just avoid it altogether and stop doing it.

That's where Biotta shines, it's easy, relatively inexpensive, and accessible.

Pop the top, pour, and go.

Qualitat!

Now - the cons of beet juice?  Well, the taste is something that has to be acquired.  Unless you love beets (and while I realize that a lot of people do - I certainly wasn't one of them) - it'll take some getting used to.  Personally, I went straight to it and just downed it until I was used to it - but I've heard from friends that they mix it with other fruit juices (which doesn't effect the concentration of the juice or the benefits you get from it).

The other downside is that it will turn your urine and your poop red (or even purple).  It's completely harmless, but it does happen.  I'll save you the gruesome details, but I woke my wife up in the middle of the night when I thought something seriously went wrong in the bathroom.
This video does a great job of summing it up:

Other than that - it's a great juice and you should really head to your local Whole Foods and pick up a bottle or check them out at Biotta Juices.  To top it off, they have lots of other juices which are pretty good as well  I'm partial to their Breuss Vegetable juice - (which has beets, by the way) and their mango juice is absolutely delicious.

Ignore the stuffed monkey and concentrate on the juice.  Mmmmmmmm delicious!

My dog wanting to get in on the Biotta action.