Today, I’m talking all about nitrates - naturally occurring compounds that are composed of nitrogen and oxygen.

These compounds may just be that game changer you need to enhance your health and performance so keep reading to learn how they work and where you can get them from via food.

Dietary nitrates are found primarily in vegetables such as spinach, arugula, celery and especially beetroot. Once consumed, nitrates (NO3) are converted in the body to nitrites (NO2) and then to nitric oxide (NO). Yes, that nitric oxide you hear so much about due to its role in vascular health and exercise performance.

A quick primer about nitric oxide. NO helps relax and widen blood vessels, improving blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues. The NO3 to NO2 to NO pathway becomes particularly important during low-oxygen conditions, such as intense exercise. This makes dietary nitrates especially valuable for active individuals for the following reasons:

1. Improved cardiovascular health -by increasing nitric oxide availability, nitrates help lower blood pressure and improve endothelial function. Regular consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk and better arterial flexibility.

2. Enhanced blood flow - better circulation supports not only heart health but also brain function and peripheral tissue oxygenation.

3. Mitochondrial efficiency - some research suggests nitrates may improve mitochondrial efficiency, meaning cells require less oxygen to produce the same amount of energy. This has implications for both aging populations and individuals with metabolic dysfunction.

4. Improved exercise economy - supplementation with beetroot juice or other nitrate-rich foods has been shown to reduce the oxygen cost of sub-maximal exercise. This means you can perform the same workload while using less oxygen.

5. Increased time to exhaustion - nitrates may help delay fatigue during endurance activities such as running, cycling, rowing and swimming.

6. Enhanced high-intensity performance - there is growing evidence that nitrates may benefit repeated sprint performance and high-intensity efforts by improving muscle contractile efficiency and blood flow to fast-twitch fibers.

7. Better recovery potential - improved circulation may enhance nutrient delivery and waste product removal, potentially supporting recovery between efforts.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? I’m sure you are wondering about more of the details so let’s get into those.

As mentioned previously, good food sources of nitrates are beetroot, spinach, arugula, Swiss chard and celery.

The typical effective dose ranges from 300-600 milligrams of nitrate, which can be easily consumed via concentrated beetroot juice. Personally, I use beetroot powder in my morning smoothie which also contains spinach.

If you do want to use a nitrate supplement, such as beetroot powder or the like, it is ideal to consume if about 2-3 hours before training.

And, even better would be to use nitrate rich foods and/or supplements for 3-7 days before an important training session or competition to really get better “bang for your buck”.

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