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Want More Efficient Muscles?

Eat Nitrate-Rich Spinach, Leafy Green Vegetables And Fruits...

After taking a small dose of inorganic nitrate for three days, healthy people consume less oxygen while riding an exercise bike. A New study in the February issue of Cell Metabolism demonstrates that improved performance to increased efficiency of the mitochondria that power our cells.

Based on the new findings, the researchers aren't yet recommending people begin taking inorganic nitrate supplements. They encourage we eat more fruits and vegetables, leafy green vegetables in particular, because of their well-known, wide range of health benefits.

"We're talking about an amount of nitrate equivalent to what is found in two or three red beets or a plate of spinach," said research scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. "We know that diets rich in fruits and vegetables can help prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes but the active nutrients haven't been clear. This study shows inorganic nitrate as a candidate to explain those benefits."

Photo of Carrots and SpinachInterestingly, up until recently nitrate wasn't believed to have any nutritional value at all. It was even thought that this natural component of vegetables might be toxic. The researchers showed that dietary nitrate feeds into a pathway that produces nitric oxide with the help of friendly bacteria found in our mouths. Nitric oxide has been known for two decades as a physiologically important molecule. It opens up our blood vessels to lower blood pressure, for instance.

The new study offers yet another benefit of nitrate and the nitric oxides that stem from them. It appears that the increased mitochondrial efficiency is owed to lower levels of proteins that normally make the cellular powerhouses leaky. "Mitochondria normally aren't fully efficient," they explained.

"Among the more consistent findings from nutritional research are the beneficial effects of a high intake of fruit and vegetables in protection against major disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes," the researchers concluded. "However, the underlying mechanism(s) responsible for these effects is still unclear, and trials with single nutrients have generally failed. It is tempting to speculate that boosting of the nitrate-nitrite- NO pathway may be one mechanism by which vegetables exert their protective effects."

Journal Reference: "Dietary Inorganic Nitrate Improves Mitochondrial Efficiency in Humans" Cell Metabolism, 2011

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Administrator's Note: This article is reprinted here with the permission of Vitamin Power.