Potential benefits of dietary nitrate ingestion in healthy and clinical populations: A brief review

This article provides an overview of the current literature relating to the efficacy of dietary nitrate (NO 3 − ) ingestion in altering aspects of cardiovascular and metabolic health and exercise capacity in healthy and diseased individuals. The consumption of NO 3 − ‐rich vegetables, such as spinach and beetroot, have been variously shown to promote nitric oxide bioavailability, reduce systemic blood pressure, enhance tissue blood flow, modulate muscle O 2 utilisation and improve exercise tolerance both in normoxia and in hypoxia, as is commonly observed in a number of disease states. NO 3 − ingestion may, therefore, act as a natural means for augmenting performance and attenuating complications associated with limited O 2 availability or transport, hypertension and the metabolic syndrome. Recent studies indicate that dietary NO 3 − might also augment intrinsic skeletal muscle contractility and improve the speed and power of muscle contraction. Moreover, several investigations suggest that NO 3 − supplementation may improve aspects of cognitive performance both at rest and during exercise. Collectively, these observations position NO 3 − as more than a putative ergogenic aid and suggest that increasing natural dietary NO 3 − intake may act as a prophylactic in countering the predations of senescence and certain cardiovascular‐metabolic diseases.