In recent years there has been a growing interest in the biological activity of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris rubra) and its potential utility as a health promoting and disease preventing functional food. As a source of nitrate, beetroot ingestion provides a natural means of increasing in vivo nitric oxide (NO) availability and has emerged as a potential strategy to prevent and manage pathologies associated with diminished NO bioavailability, notably hypertension and endothelial function. Beetroot is also being considered as a promising therapeutic treatment in a range of clinical pathologies associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Its constituents, most notably the betalain pigments, display potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and chemo-preventive activity in vitro and in vivo. The purpose of this review is to discuss beetroot’s biological activity and to evaluate evidence from studies that specifically investigated the effect of beetroot supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, cognition and endothelial function.

New Findings: What is the topic of this review?We review sex differences within physiological systems implicated in exercise performance; specifically, how they integrate to determine metabolic thresholds and fatigability. Thereafter, we discuss the implications that these sex differences might have for long‐term adaptation to exercise. What advances does it highlight?The review collates evidence from recent physiological studies that have investigated sex as a biological variable, demonstrating that the physiological response to equivalent ‘dosages’ of exercise is not the same in males and females; thus, highlighting the need to research diversity in physiological responses to interventions. The anatomical and physiological differences between males and females are thought to determine differences in the limits of human performance. The notion of studying sex as a biological variable has recently been emphasized in the biosciences as a vital step in enhancing human health. In this review, we contend that the effects of biological sex on acute and chronic responses must be studied and accounted for when prescribing aerobic exercise, much like any intervention targeting the optimization of physiological function. Emerging evidence suggests that the response of physiological systems to exercise differs between males and females, potentially mediating the beneficial effects in healthy and clinical populations. We highlight evidence that integrative metabolic thresholds during exercise are influenced by phenotypical sex differences throughout many physiological systems. Furthermore, we discuss evidence that female skeletal muscle is more resistant to fatigue elicited by equivalent dosages of high‐intensity exercise. How the different acute responses affect the long‐term trainability of males and females is considered, with discussion about tailoring exercise to the characteristics of the individual presented within the context of biological sex. Finally, we highlight the influence of endogenous and exogenous sex hormones on physiological responses to exercise in females. Sex is one of many mediating influences on the outcomes of exercise, and with careful experimental designs, physiologists can advance the collective understanding of diversity in physiology and optimize outcomes for both sexes.

Exercise‐induced muscle damage (EIMD) is characterized by symptoms that present both immediately and for up to 14 days after the initial exercise bout. The main consequence of EIMD for the athlete is the loss of skeletal muscle function and soreness. As such, numerous nutrients and functional foods have been examined for their potential to ameliorate the effects of EIMD and accelerate recovery, which is the purpose of many nutritional strategies for the athlete. However, the trade‐off between recovery and adaptation is rarely considered. For example, many nutritional interventions described in this review target oxidative stress and inflammation, both thought to contribute to EIMD but are also crucial for the recovery and adaptation process. This calls into question whether long term administration of supplements and functional foods used to target EIMD is indeed best practice. This rapidly growing area of sports nutrition will benefit from careful consideration of the potential hormetic effect of long term use of nutritional aids that ameliorate muscle damage. This review provides a concise overview of what EIMD is, its causes and consequences and critically evaluates potential nutritional strategies to ameliorate EIMD. We present a pragmatic practical summary that can be adopted by practitioners and direct future research, with the purpose of pushing the field to better consider the fine balance between recovery and adaptation and the potential that nutritional interventions have in modulating this balance.

Physiological stress induced by intense exercise is associated with energy substrate depletion, hyperthermia, mechanical muscle damage, oxidative stress, inflammation and nervous system fatigue. The resulting symptoms manifest as reduced performance potential, likely due to increased muscle soreness and decreased muscle function,2 disturbed muscle position sense and reaction time3 as well as increased stiffness and swelling that can last for several days.4 The aetiology of reduced performance potential will vary depending upon the exact physiological stress being recovered from. For example, eccentric exercise is associated with a large mechanical stress and relatively low metabolic cost,5 whereas intermittent sprint exercise may involve both a large mechanical stress and a heightened metabolic cost.6 It is possible that the underlying time course of recovery between different exercise stressors is different, and this consequently may influence how recovery strategies could be implemented. For the purpose of this review, exercise will be subdivided into two categories: ‘eccentric exercise’ that refers to the stress caused from exercise incorporating high mechanical stress (eg, eccentric contractions) and ‘high-intensity exercise’ that refers to stress caused from exercise with a high metabolic cost as well as some elements of eccentric muscle contractions (eg, repeat sprint sports).