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I've never liked beets. I blame my mom who forced me to eat them one horrible night when I was 10. My attitude, though, may have to change, as a new study has found that beetroot juice could boost stamina and increase exercise duration.

In this study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, eight men aged 19 to 38 drank 500 milliliters of organic beetroot juice for six consecutive days before undergoing cycling tests. They then repeated those steps, substituting a placebo for the beetroot juice.

So how'd they do? Surprisingly well. They cycled 16 percent longer following beetroot juice consumption versus the placebo. "This is an impressive improvement which would translate into a one to two percent reduction in the time to complete a fixed distance," says Andrew Jones, lead study author and professor of applied physiology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, adding that the juice also reduced blood pressure.

Researchers believe the nitrate in the juice is eventually converted to nitric oxide in the body, which causes peripheral blood vessels to dilate, thus improving oxygen supply to muscles and reducing blood pressure. Nitric oxide also influences the efficiency with which muscles contract during exercise, Jones says.

The findings could benefit everybody from endurance athletes to the elderly. "Because the oxygen cost of exercise was less with beetroot juice consumption, this could make tasks like walking to the store easier for groups like the elderly," Jones says.

While other high-nitrate foods like lettuce and spinach might have similar effects, Jones recommends sticking with beetroot juice, as nitrate is more concentrated in a juice. And whether you'll get a boost from a single dose or a consecutive dose, Jones doesn't know.

No matter, if you feel better when exercising after drinking beetroot juice, why not give it a go? Who knows -- maybe I'll even join you.