Abstract
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.
Keywords
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Biography
C. M. T. van der Avoort is a doctoral degree candidate, Institute of Sport and Exercise Studies, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Biography
K. L. Jonvik is an associate professor, Institute of Sport and Exercise Studies HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Biography
L. J. C. van Loon is a professor, Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Biography
J. Nyakayiru is a researcher, Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Biography
L. B. Verdijk is an associate professor, Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Biography
M. T. E. Hopman is professor, Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: May 05, 2020
Accepted:
February 22,
2020
Received:
September 23,
2019
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This study was part of the EAT2MOVE project and supported by a grant from the Province of Gelderland, the Netherlands.
This trial was registered at www.trialregister.nl, NTR6276.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank the volunteers for their participation in this study.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS This study was designed by C. van der Avoort, L. van Loon M. Hopman, and L. B. Verdijk; data were collected by C. van der Avoort and analyzed by C. van der Avoort L. van Loon, M. Hopman, and L. B. Verdijk; data interpretation and manuscript preparation were undertaken by C. van der Avoort, L. van Loon, M. Hopman, and L. B. Verdijk. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
