Boosting Athletic Edge: Crafting a Nutrient-Packed Pre-Workout Snack with Beetroot, Bananas and Oats

Neha Murugan, Namratha Pramod, Swetha Guntoju

Abstract: Athletic performance is influenced by a range of factors that includes genetics, training recovery and nutrition while the food plays an important role in enhancing an athlete?s performance, recovery and long term health. Athletic performance determines success in training and competition. Beetroot is used to enhance athletic performance due to the presence of dietary nitrate which gets converted to nitric oxide that leads to various functional benefits in the body. Bananas are a great source to replenish the lost glycogen stores. Bananas are rich in potassium that helps to prevent muscle cramps and helps in proper muscle functioning. Oats is beneficial for athletes as it helps in muscle recovery, repair and to provide energy for a longer duration of time. The combination of these three ingredients together for the development of a healthy pre- workout snack had been made. Objective: This study aims to develop a healthy pre workout snack that provides sufficient energy for the athletes. Methodology: Two variants were developed, first variant with beetroot powder and the variant with boiled beetroot and cocoa powder to see the major acceptable product. The sensory evaluation was done for both the variations. Conclusion: The Results showed that the mean scores of beetroot pancakes are higher compared to that of the cocoa pancakes.

Keywords: beetroot, athletic performance, pre ? workout nutrition, muscle recovery, energy enhancement