by GRP dietician Megan Chacosky

Continuing this summer’s “Food First” series, July’s featured food for health and performance is an entire food group: nitrate-rich plants! Nitrate-rich plants are a family of vegetables known for their naturally occurring levels of nitrate compounds, a specific combination of nitrogen + oxygen atoms. While you may know the term “nitrates” or “nitrites” from the additive curing process of certain meats, like ham, bacon, or deli meats, the nitrates naturally found in plant sources have a very different effect in the body: nitrates from cured meats are much smaller in total amount and are much more likely to give off extra, unwanted free oxygen atoms (or “free radicals”); nitrates from plant sources are naturally more abundant and more likely to result in nitric oxide, an antioxidant compound. (Additionally, most nitrate-containing plants are excellent sources of other healthful nutrients like vitamin C, folate, potassium, and iron.)

In addition to functioning as a health-preserving antioxidant, nitric oxide also plays a role in vasodilation, or the slight widening of blood vessels. When we consume nitrate-rich plant sources, we start to break down nitrates into nitric oxide within the mouth and continuing along the digestive tract. As nitric oxides levels rise, blood vessels expand and allow for greater blood flow and oxygen to travel to working muscles, or to gradually reduce elevated blood pressure. For this blood-flow enhancing benefit in and out of sport, ~400mg doses are recommended to elicit increased nitric oxide effects in most* people. See below for some potent food sources:

(*Research shows that people vary in responsiveness to the effects of dietary nitrates, based on genetic predispositions for the total ability or rate of producing nitric oxide. The best way to objectively determine both your ability to produce nitric oxide and your rate of peak levels, is to invest in some inexpensive pH testing strips: test saliva before supplementing, try a sample amount of food or beetroot concentrate product, then test saliva again ~1, 2, & 3 hours later to check nitrate levels.)

While nitric oxide starts to increase gradually after eating, it may take as long as 2-3 hours before levels peak; so unlike most “typical” sport supplements, if you’re trialing nitrate-rich products for a specific in-session oxygen delivery boost, you’ll want to plan ahead. Additionally, implementing more high-nitrate plant foods throughout your in-season meals can also benefit cardiovascular and immune health in a broader sense than simply a singular sport performance. Considering the best sources of nitrate-rich plants are raw leafy greens, this might actually work in your favor when it comes to thinking about a well-balanced overall sport fueling plan, as meals or snacks closer to start time should have a higher fluid and simple carbohydrate focus for efficient in-event fueling. The currently recommended guidelines for dosing, timing, and style of supplementing are listed in the table below.

As we wrap up July, there are currently ample garden sources to build bright salads, enhanced breakfast or post-workout recovery smoothies, and flavorful sauces or seasonings that all pack a nitrate punch. Some of my favorite recommendations are including Swiss chard, arugula, and beet greens in salads, blending beets with blueberries and spinach for smoothies or homemade popsicles, making a fresh basil pesto for pasta, or a cilantro-laden chimichurri and roasted potatoes to compliment a protein of your choice. In the sport seasons beyond what your backyard can provide for nitrate sources, try using sport products that have harnessed the power of nitrates - primarily from the potent beet source - in the form of beetroot powders or drink concentrates. GRP’s own beetroot juice sponsor product, JuicePerformer, makes 3 power-packed beetroot juice concentrates to support athletes year-round throughout big training blocks and race weekends.