Nitrates in Sports Nutrition: A Natural Performance Boost

Endurance athletes are always looking for science-backed ways to improve performance, delay fatigue, and recover faster. One of the most effective — and natural — tools to emerge in recent years is dietary nitrates.

Found in vegetables like beetroot, spinach, and arugula, nitrates are now widely used by top-level athletes to increase endurance and power output.

But how do they work? And how should you use them to see results?

Let’s break it down.

What Are Nitrates?

Nitrates are naturally occurring compounds found in certain vegetables. Historically, nitrates were primarily associated with food preservation and agriculture, but recent research has highlighted their potential benefits for athletic performance.

Once consumed, they follow a fascinating path in the body. First, nitrates are converted into nitrites and then into nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that plays a vital role in blood flow and muscle efficiency.

Nitric oxide helps your body in three key ways:

• It dilates blood vessels, improving oxygen delivery
• It enhances nutrient transport and waste removal
• It improves mitochondrial efficiency and muscle contractility

In short, your muscles get more oxygen and perform better.

Nitrates are compounds that dilate blood vessels and improve blood flow, which directly benefits athletic performance.

What Does Science Say About Nitrates?

Over the last decade, numerous studies have examined the ergogenic potential of nitrate supplementation, especially from beetroot juice and other nitrate-rich foods, with the following key findings:

• Enhanced endurance: Several studies report that nitrate supplementation can improve time-to-exhaustion during aerobic exercises, such as cycling, running, and rowing. This means athletes can sustain activity longer before fatigue sets in. 
• Reduced oxygen cost: Nitrates have been shown to lower the oxygen consumption required for submaximal exercise, making workouts more efficient. 
• Improved high-intensity performance: Some research suggests that nitrates enhance performance in high-intensity, short-duration activities by improving muscle contractility and reducing energy demand.
• Faster recovery: While evidence is still emerging, some findings indicate nitrates might aid recovery by improving blood flow and reducing muscle soreness. Indirectly, they improve recovery by allowing nutrients to be better absorbed.

Various studies show potential benefits of nitrates in improving performance by enhancing endurance and reducing the oxygen cost of exercise.

How to Take Nitrates?

The most natural way to increase nitrate intake is through diet. The richest sources of nitrates are fresh beets, beetroot juice, and leafy greens, such as spinach, arugula, or kale.

These are all excellent sources of nitrates during the day or when you don't train. On training days, it's best to reduce the fiber intake, as it can cause digestive problems or add extra weight from unnecessary fluid — that's when sports supplements are the perfect solution.

Nitrates+ offers excellent extracts of standardized nitrates, based on 3 natural sources of nitrates (beetroot, arugula, and red spinach) and arginine HCL that improve blood flow, increase oxygen utilization (indirectly boosting VO2 max), and delay fatigue during intense exercise.

The most efficient way to intake nitrates is with supplements, especially on training days when you want to limit your fiber intake.

Pro Tips on How to Use Nitrates

While supplementation with nitrates can provide immediate benefits, especially if combined with certain amino acids, such as arginine, some studies indicate that an intake over several days will enhance baseline nitric oxide levels and maximize performance gains.

Moreover, combining nitrates with other ergogenic aids, such as caffeine, beta-alanine, or creatine, can offer additional benefits, but more research is needed to explore these interactions.

Especially the combination with beta-alanine targets different aspects of exercise performance: beta-alanine for buffering capacity and nitrates for enhanced blood flow. This can provide synergistic effects, especially in endurance sports and high-intensity interval training.

Try combining nitrates with adaptogens! This combination may enhance workout stress resilience, optimize oxygen delivery, and reduce fatigue, leading to better overall performance. Premium adaptogen supplements, such as Absolute and Fusion, can work synergistically with nitrates for an even more effective strategy to boost endurance.

Nitrates are a great ergogenic aid that works even better in combination with other supplements, such as caffeine or beta-alanine, or with specific formulas, such as Absolute or Fusion.

Are Nitrates Bad for Health?

Nitrates naturally occur in vegetables like beetroot, arugula, spinach, and lettuce. These compounds are part of the plant’s metabolism and are commonly consumed through a healthy diet or as supplements, especially for endurance and performance benefits.

In contrast, nitrites found in processed meats — typically sodium nitrite or potassium nitrite — are sometimes even synthetic additives used as preservatives and color fixatives in products like bacon, ham, and sausages. When exposed to high temperatures (e.g., frying or grilling), these nitrites can react to form nitrosamines, compounds linked to potential health risks, including cancer.

While it’s true that the nitrates from vegetables are also converted into nitrites by bacteria in the mouth, they do not lead to harmful nitrosamines. Why? Because vegetables are rich in antioxidants, which inhibit nitrosamine formation. Also, cooking does not create harmful levels of nitrites in beetroot under normal conditions unless reheated multiple times.

How Much Nitrate Should You Consume, and When?

When it comes to timing, most advice revolves around taking a large dose 2–3 hours before training. While this may work, a more effective and sustainable approach is to spread nitrate intake throughout the day, with only a smaller “top-up” dose pre-workout.

This approach reduces GI stress (common with larger beetroot shots or spinach meals) and avoids sharp blood pressure drops, which can occur with higher doses — potentially not only unpleasant but also dangerous. Of course, it’s also easier to take a small shot or capsule before a workout than to drink 500 ml of beet juice.

So in practical terms, a daily nitrate intake plan of an endurance athlete or active individual would be:

• Breakfast: Nitrate-rich smoothie or concentrated beet juice with your daily breakfast.
• Pre-Workout (30 –60 min before): Smaller shot or 3 –4 capsules of Nitrates+.
• Evening meal: Nitrate-rich veggies like spinach, arugula, or celery with your regular meal. 

The benefits of nitrates last for 24–36 hours after ingestion. They do not accumulate in the body in the long term — the nitrate–nitrite–NO cycle clears relatively quickly — but the physiological effects of consistent intake do build over several days.

This is why we recommend a simple approach for race day: take a small amount of concentrated beetroot juice or, better yet, Nitrates+ capsules, which deliver nitrates efficiently without fiber overload.

Daily intake over 3–7 days “primes” your nitric oxide system. Plasma nitrite levels rise, enzymes adapt, and performance benefits become stronger than with a single acute dose. In this sense, the effect is cumulative even though the nitrates themselves are not stored.

By supporting nitric oxide production throughout the day, you enhance not only performance but also recovery and cognitive clarity — benefits that extend beyond the workout itself.

Should You Consider Nitrates?

Nitrates offer a promising, natural means of enhancing athletic performance, particularly endurance. Their ability to improve blood flow, reduce oxygen cost, and potentially boost recovery makes them an attractive addition to an athlete’s nutrition plan. 

However, as with all supplements, it’s important to approach nitrates thoughtfully. When incorporated correctly, nitrates can be a valuable tool in your performance arsenal, helping you push farther, faster, and more efficiently.

If you want to elevate your athletic journey, you should consider nitrates because they are a helpful ergogenic aid for all types of endurance athletes. While they are not a magic solution, they are an excellent choice and should be integrated into your nutrition and training plan if aiming for specific performance gains.