Blonyx Research Update: Nitrates for Power and Endurance, Beta-Alanine for Women, and What Actually Works for Cyclists

Beetroot Juice Improves Both Power and Endurance Performance

This review pooled 33 studies to see whether beetroot juice, a concentrated source of dietary nitrates, improves both aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance, as past reviews usually mostly looked at one or the other. Across 519 athletes, beetroot juice significantly improved high-intensity interval sprint performance, mean power output, and VO2max, with low variability between studies for all three outcomes. The likely mechanism is that dietary nitrates convert to nitric oxide in the body, which improves blood flow, mitochondrial efficiency, and muscle contraction, lowering the oxygen cost of producing force. Effects held up across both acute and multi-day dosing protocols and different sports, though the researchers note subgroup differences weren't statistically confirmed and shouldn't be treated as settled.

My thoughts: Beetroot juice and nitrates keep earning their spot as one of the better-evidenced ergogenic aids out there. This study is broader than most, and it actually found benefits across both power output and aerobic measures, not just one or the other. Match it to the right kind of effort, and it holds up well.

An Early, Female-Only Look at Beta-Alanine Supplementation

This review pooled 11 randomized trials including 312 women total to see whether beta-alanine is effective in women specifically, as most existing evidence comes from male or mixed-sex samples. Time-to-exhaustion improved significantly with beta-alanine supplementation, supporting a benefit for sustained high-effort exercise capacity in women. There was no significant pooled effect on peak power, anaerobic performance, VO2max, or body fat percentage. The certainty of evidence was rated very low across every outcome, including time-to-exhaustion, because of the small number of trials and reporting gaps in the underlying studies.

My thoughts: We've recommended beta-alanine to female athletes for years based on male data and reasonable extrapolation, so it's exciting to finally see trials specifically conducted with women that point in the same direction. It’s worth flagging that the certainty of the evidence here is still very low, so this fills a gap more than it settles the question.

What a New Review Says Cyclists Should Take to Improve Performance

This review pulled together the current evidence on both performance and health-support supplements specifically for cyclists. On the performance side, it named beta-alanine, caffeine, carbohydrates, carnitine, creatine monohydrate, dietary nitrates, electrolytes, exogenous ketones, N-acetylcysteine, and sodium bicarbonate as having supporting evidence. On the health side, it flagged iron, vitamin D, and calcium as important for staying consistently healthy enough to train, with iron supplementation only recommended when a blood test confirms a deficiency.

My thoughts: This study is a strong confirmation that the core Blonyx lineup, including creatine, beta-alanine, nitrates, and electrolytes, is exactly what lands for cyclists. On the health side, if you're not sure about your vitamin D or general micronutrient status, a daily multivitamin like Multivit+ is a reasonable, low-risk way to cover the gaps. Just make sure to get your iron checked with an actual blood test before supplementing that micronutrient specifically.

— That's all for now, train hard!