A Nitrate-Rich Vegetable Intervention Elevates Plasma Nitrate and Nitrite Concentrations and Reduces Blood Pressure in Healthy Young Adults

Background Emerging evidence suggests that increasing dietary nitrate intake may be an effective approach to reduce blood pressure. Beetroot juice is often used to supplement dietary nitrate, whereas nitrate intake levels from habitual diet are low. An increase in the habitual intake of nitrate-rich vegetables may represent an alternative to nitrate supplementation. However, the effectiveness and acceptability of a nitrate-richvegetables diet remain to be established. Objective The aim was to investigate the effect and feasibility of two different intervention strategies to increase dietary nitrate intake, on plasma nitrate/nitrite concentrations and blood pressure. Design A randomized, crossover trial was used. Participants Participants were healthy men and women (both n=15; age: 24 +/- 6 years) from the Netherlands. Intervention Participants were instructed to consume similar to 400 mg nitrate at lunch, provided through nitrate-rich vegetables and dietary counseling, or beetroot juice supplementation. Both interventions lasted 1 week, with 1-week washout (January to April 2017). Main outcome Plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured in an overnight fasted state (before and after intervention) and similar to 2.5 hours after lunch (before and throughout intervention on day 1, 4, and 7). Statistical analysis Two-factor (time x treatment) repeated-measures analyses of variance were performed. Results Mean plasma nitrate concentrations increased with both interventions, with a larger increase in beetroot juice vs nitrate-rich vegetables, both in a fasted state and similar to 2.5 hours after lunch (day 1, beetroot juice: 2.31 +/- 0.56 mg/dL [373 +/- 90 mu mol/L] vs nitrate-rich vegetables: 1.71 +/- 0.83 mg/dL [277 +/- 134 mu mol/L]; P Conclusion Short-term consumption of dietary nitrate in the form of nitrate-rich vegetables represents an effective means to increase plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations, and reduces blood pressure to the same extent as beetroot juice supplementation

A Nitrate-Rich Vegetable Intervention Elevates Plasma Nitrate and Nitrite Concentrations and Reduces Blood Pressure in Healthy Young Adults

Background Emerging evidence suggests that increasing dietary nitrate intake may be an effective approach to reduce blood pressure. Beetroot juice is often used to supplement dietary nitrate, whereas nitrate intake levels from habitual diet are low. An increase in the habitual intake of nitrate-rich vegetables may represent an alternative to nitrate supplementation. However, the effectiveness and acceptability of a nitrate–rich-vegetables diet remain to be established. Objective The aim was to investigate the effect and feasibility of two different intervention strategies to increase dietary nitrate intake, on plasma nitrate/nitrite concentrations and blood pressure. Design A randomized, crossover trial was used. Participants Participants were healthy men and women (both n=15; age: 24±6 years) from the Netherlands. Intervention Participants were instructed to consume ∼400 mg nitrate at lunch, provided through nitrate-rich vegetables and dietary counseling, or beetroot juice supplementation. Both interventions lasted 1 week, with 1-week washout (January to April 2017). Main outcome Plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured in an overnight fasted state (before and after intervention) and ∼2.5 hours after lunch (before and throughout intervention on day 1, 4, and 7). Statistical analysis Two-factor (time × treatment) repeated-measures analyses of variance were performed. Results Mean plasma nitrate concentrations increased with both interventions, with a larger increase in beetroot juice vs nitrate-rich vegetables, both in a fasted state and ∼2.5 hours after lunch (day 1, beetroot juice: 2.31±0.56 mg/dL [373±90 μmol/L] vs nitrate-rich vegetables: 1.71±0.83 mg/dL [277±134 μmol/L]; P<0.001). Likewise, mean plasma nitrite concentrations increased with both interventions, but were higher after lunch in beetroot juice than in nitrate-rich vegetables (day 1: 2.58±1.52 μg/dL [560±331 nmol/L] vs 2.15±1.21 μg/dL [468±263 nmol/L]; P=0.020). Fasting mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not change, but mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure assessed ∼2.5 hours after lunch were significantly reduced throughout both intervention periods (P<0.05), with no differences between beetroot juice and nitrate-rich vegetables (day 1, systolic blood pressure: –5.1±9.5 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure: –5.3±8.9 mm Hg). Conclusion Short-term consumption of dietary nitrate in the form of nitrate-rich vegetables represents an effective means to increase plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations, and reduces blood pressure to the same extent as beetroot juice supplementation

Increasing nitrate-rich vegetable intake lowers ambulatory blood pressure in (pre)hypertensive middle-aged and older adults : A 12-wk randomized controlled trial

Background Emerging evidence suggests that increasing dietary nitrate intake may be an effective approach to improve cardiovascular health. However, the effects of a prolonged elevation of nitrate intake through an increase in vegetable consumption are understudied. Objective Our primary aim was to determine the impact of 12 wk of increased daily consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables or nitrate supplementation on blood pressure (BP) in (pre)hypertensive middle-aged and older adults. Methods In a 12-wk randomized, controlled study (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), 77 (pre)hypertensive participants (BP: 144 ± 13/87 ± 7 mmHg, age: 65 ± 10 y) either received an intervention with personalized monitoring and feedback aiming to consume ∼250–300 g nitrate-rich vegetables/d (∼350–400 mg nitrate/d; n = 25), beetroot juice supplementation (400 mg nitrate/d; n = 26), or no intervention (control; n = 26). Before and after intervention, 24-h ambulatory BP was measured. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA (time × treatment), followed by within-group (paired t-test) and between-group analyses (1-factor ANOVA) where appropriate. Results The 24-h systolic BP (SBP) (primary outcome) changed significantly (P-interaction time × treatment = 0.017) with an increase in the control group (131 ± 8 compared with 135 ± 10 mmHg; P = 0.036); a strong tendency for a decline in the nitrate-rich vegetable group (129 ± 10 compared with 126 ± 9 mmHg; P = 0.051) which was different from control (P = 0.020); but no change in the beetroot juice group (133 ± 11 compared with 132 ± 12 mmHg; P = 0.56). A significant time × treatment interaction was also found for daytime SBP (secondary outcome, P = 0.011), with a significant decline in the nitrate-rich vegetable group (134 ± 10 compared with 129 ± 9 mmHg; P = 0.006) which was different from control (P = 0.010); but no changes in the beetroot juice (138 ± 12 compared with 137 ± 14 mmHg; P = 0.41) and control group (136 ± 10 compared with 137 ± 11 mmHg; P = 0.08). Diastolic BP (secondary outcome) did not change in any of the groups. Conclusions A prolonged dietary intervention focusing on high-nitrate vegetable intake is an effective strategy to lower SBP in (pre)hypertensive middle-aged and older adults. This trial was registered at www.trialregister.nl as NL7814

Increasing vegetable intake to obtain the health promoting and ergogenic effects of dietary nitrate.

Item does not contain fulltextIncreased consumption of dietary nitrate increases plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations, and has been shown to elicit cardio-protective effects and improve exercise performance. Nitrate consumption in the habitual diet is mainly dependent on nitrate-rich vegetables, such as green leafy and root vegetables, with total vegetable consumption accounting for approximately 50-85% of our daily nitrate intake. Whereas 'supplementation' with dietary nitrate in research studies has mainly been accomplished through the use of (concentrated) nitrate-rich beetroot juice, dietary strategies focusing on increased intake of nitrate-rich vegetables may represent a similarly effective alternative for increasing dietary nitrate intake and, as such, obtaining the associated cardiovascular health and ergogenic benefits.1 november 201