Whether you are looking to decrease blood pressure or improve exercise performance, dietary nitrates have been the talk of the town. Although the research is in its early stages, the findings are promising.
When dietary nitrate is consumed, it is converted to nitric oxide (NO), resulting in increased vasodilation of the blood vessels supplying oxygenated blood to the exercising muscles. Research has shown that this process increases the volume and speed of oxygen and nutrient delivery to the muscles, resulting in an improved maximum oxygen uptake. Also, NO allows mitochondria within the muscles to operate more efficiently, producing more energy per unit of oxygen. Berry et al. (2015) explains this alternative pathway as a backup system for NO production during exercise.
Although the research of Berry et al. (2015), Vanhatalo et al. (2010), and Muggeridge et al. (2014) states no significant difference in heart rate, significant evidence suggests that the benefits of dietary nitrate can increase plasma nitrite, improve exercise performance, and decrease resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Berry et al., 2015). Other benefits include improved circulation, increased energy and brain activity, prevention of chronic disease, detoxification, boosted blood levels, delayed aging, improved mental health, and an increased ability to fight free radicals and inflammation (Berry et al., 2015).
Additionally, Vanhatalo et al. (2010) found that dietary nitrate supplementation may prove to be a therapeutic agent for the treatment of hypertension. Hypertensive participants have shown that a 5 mmHg reduction in blood pressure has the potential of reducing the incidence of stroke by 22% and coronary heart disease by 16%.
Efficacy of dietary nitrite supplementation is dependent on factors such as the age, health, diet, and fitness training status of an individual. Other factors include the intensity, duration, and nature of the exercise task.
Highest levels of dietary nitrate are found in vegetables, including celery, beets, arugula, and spinach. However, certain methods of preparing vegetables, such as boiling, may result in nitrate losses.
Increasing your dietary nitrate intake can be easily accomplished by adding beets to your smoothies, using spinach and arugula in your salad, snacking on celery and peanut butter, or stir frying root vegetables, such as carrots and broccoli.
References
Berry, M. J., Justus, N. W., Hauser, J. I., Case, A. H., Helms, C. C., Basu, S., & …Miller, G. D. (2015) Dietary nitrate supplementation improves exercise performance and decreases blood pressure in COPD patients. Nitric Oxide, 48(A critical examination of the ergogenic/therapeutic effects of supplementation to increase nitric oxide bioavailability), 22-30. doi:10.1016/j.niox.2014.10.007
Muggeridge, D. J., F. Howe, C. C., Spendiff, O., Pedlar, C., James, P. E., & Easton, C. (2014). A Single Dose of Beetroot Juice Enhances Cycling Performance in Stimulated Altitude. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 46(1), 143-150 8p. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182a1dc51
Vanhatalo, A., Bailey, S. J., Blackwell, J. R., DiMenna, F. J., Pavey, T. G., Wilkerson, D. P., & … Jones, A. M. (2010). Acute and chronic effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on blood pressure and the physiological responses to moderate-intensity and incremental exercise. American Journal of Physiology (Consolidated),(4), 1121. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00206.2010
Written by Nicole Lindel ~ Nutrition Education Master’s Student at Columbia University