Dietary Nitrates
Track your response to a plant-based diet. High dietary nitrates correlate with sufficient intake of leafy greens, like spinach and salads.
What are Dietary Nitrates?
Unlock the hidden power of leafy greens! Dietary nitrates, found in abundance in spinach and beetroot, act as a natural nitro-boost for your body. By relaxing your blood vessels, these plant-based compounds sharpen your athletic edge and keep your heart beating strong.
Why are Nitrates found in the urine?
Urine naturally contains nitrates as waste products from the diet. Roughly 60% to 70% of the nitrates you eat are excreted in your urine within 24 hours. Usually 1.0 to 1.4 mmol per day.
Why track your Dietary Nitrates?
Tracking dietary nitrates is a primarily way to leverage their cardiovascular and athletic performance benefits. While historically viewed as a potentially harmful food additive, dietary nitrates from natural plant sources is now considered a "conditionally essential nutrient" for cardiovascular health and endurance.
We've all heard how top athletes take beet juice before a race. Marathoner Paula Radcliffe was a major proponent of drinking beet juice to boost endurance. Beet juice enhances athletic performance primarily by increasing nitric oxide levels in the blood, which improves oxygen utilization, boosts muscle contraction efficiency, and increases endurance.
Use BodyCheck to track this essential compound!