ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

about us

/

contact

/

20.02.2023


Nitrate in food makes your muscles (a little) stronger and faster

From research with athletes, we now know that supplementation with 600 milligrams of nitrate can improve sports performance. Regular foods also contain nitrate - and the more vegetables such as beets, spinach and lettuce you eat, the more nitrate you consume. Does this dietary nitrate also affect the functioning of muscles?


Nitrate in food makes your muscles (a little) stronger and faster


Study
Australian researchers measured the nitrate intake of 1470 Australian women over the age of seventy. They got the women to do some basic physiologic tests, then looked to see if they found any correlation between the results and nitrates.

They brushed off the effect of as many other factors as possible with statistics.

Results
The more nitrates the women consumed, the greater the force with which they could squeeze a dynamometer with their hands and the faster they could get up from a chair. The effect wasn't earth-shattering, but hey, it was statistically significant. Every bit helps.

Click on the figure and table below for a larger version.


If you have someone else's kidney, you may live longer on boron


If you have someone else's kidney, you may live longer on boron


Conclusion
"This investigation highlights potential benefits of habitual nitrate-rich diets on muscle strength and physical function in a large cohort of older Australian women", write the Australians.

"Considering poor muscle strength and physical function are associated with a range of adverse health outcomes (e.g. falling, fractures, CVD, and mortality), increasing dietary nitrate especially although vegetables may be an effective way to limit any age-associated declines in muscle function."


Nitrate in food makes your muscles (a little) stronger and faster


Source:
J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2019 Jun;10(3):601-10.

More:
Beetroot for bone strength 13.02.2023
Daily cup of nitrate-rich leafy vegetables helps prevent cardiovascular disease 23.08.2021
Spinach and rucola work just as well as beetroot for athletes 15.07.2016

Archives:
Unusual Muscle Building Strategies
Nitric Oxide (NO)


High intake of vitamin K1 keeps bones strong (and muscles too) More alpha-carotene, more muscle strength More dietary fiber, more muscle (and less body fat)

High intake of vitamin K1 keeps bones strong (and muscles too)
Women over the age of 70 are less likely to break a bone and have more muscle strength the more vitamin K1 they ingest.

More alpha-carotene, more muscle strength
The more of this phytochemical people over fifty have in their blood, the greater their muscle strength.

More dietary fiber, more muscle (and less body fat)
Is this because dietary fiber increases your sensitivity to insulin? Or is there more going on?