Dietary Nitrate

Beets & greens

What does Dietary Nitrate do in your body?

Leafy greens and beets are rich in nitrate, which mouth bacteria help turn into nitric oxide — a blood vessel relaxer.

What does Dietary Nitrate do?

Converted nitrate → nitrite → nitric oxide, which widens blood vessels.

Which foods contain Dietary Nitrate?

Beets, spinach, arugula, celery, lettuce.

What does Dietary Nitrate interact with?

Antibacterial mouthwash blunts the conversion by killing mouth bacteria.

What is known and unknown about Dietary Nitrate?

Vegetable nitrate modestly lowers blood pressure in short trials. Processed-meat nitrites are a different context (see sodium nitrite).

Evidence & sources

• Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation modestly lowers blood pressure in short-term trials. Evidence: moderate. Known: Meta-analysis of RCTs. Unknown: Long-term effects unclear. Source: Siervo et al., Journal of Nutrition, Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults (2013).

Connected topics

• Blood Vessels
• Spinach
• Mouth & Teeth
• Sodium Nitrite
• Aerobic Activity
• Hazard ≠ Risk

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General education only, not medical advice. Drafted Oct 2026 · pending qualified expert review.