The Effects of Nitrate Supplementation on Performance as a Function of Habitual Dietary Intake of Nitrates: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Elite Football Players
Open accessAbstract
Nitrates are an effective ergogenic supplement; however, the effects of nitrate supplements based on habitual dietary nitrate intake through diet alone are not well understood. We aimed to assess this in a group of 15 highly trained football players from Slovenian football’s First Division. Participants underwent two separate Cooper performance tests either with nitrate supplementation (400 mg nitrates) or placebo while having their nutrition assessed for nitrate intake, as well as energy and macronutrient intake. Nitrate supplementation had a statistically significant positive effect on performance if baseline dietary nitrate intake was below 300 mg (p = 0.0104) in both the placebo and intervention groups. No effects of nitrate supplementation when baseline dietary nitrate intake was higher than 300 mg in the placebo group could be concluded due to the small sample size. Nitrate supplementation did not have a significant effect on perceived exertion. The daily nitrate intake of the participants was measured at 165 mg, with the majority of nitrates coming from nitrate-rich vegetables.
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The magnitude of the effects of nitrate supplementation varies depending on training status, baseline nitrate intake, and oral microbiota composition.
“the magnitude of the effects varies depending on training status, baseline nitrate intake, and oral microbiota composition [194].”
From Dietary Nitrate-Rich Vegetables as Natural Modulators of Health: Mechanisms and Benefits in Ageing Populations (2026) · cites this paper as [194]
The Conclusions (no page number available) report a performance benefit when baseline dietary nitrate intake was below 300 mg. The Discussion raises training status only as speculation, and the Methods note that mouth rinse could blunt oral nitrate reduction; neither establishes that the magnitude of the effect varies with training status or oral microbiota composition. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Macuh, M., Kojić, N., & Knap, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Ljubljana (SI)
- Corresponding author
- Macuh, Matjaž
- Knap, Bojan
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2023-08-25
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 17
- Pages
- 3721
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10489871
- OpenAlex
- W4386168280
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 2.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- dietary nitrate, nitrate supplementation, ergogenic aids, football players, athletic performance, Cooper test, perceived exertion, macronutrient intake, energy intake, habitual dietary intake
- MeSH terms
- Eating, Humans, Nitrates, Soccer, Dietary Supplements
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