5 Foods High in Natural Nitrates for Circulation
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD
Foods high in nitrates an essential part of a healthy diet that increase nitric oxide within your body. Nitric oxide (NO) is the undisputed molecule of men’s health. It’s one of the most important factors in every guy’s health, right after testosterone.
The research group who found out the link between heart and nitric oxide, was even awarded a Nobel prize back in 1998.
So what does nitric oxide do?
Nitric oxide is the molecule that dilates blood vessels and expands your arteries while also improving blood flow through various other mechanisms.
Increasing nitric oxide levels is extremely beneficial for cardiovascular health, and the fact that your blood flow improves all over your body if your nitric oxide levels increase, means that pretty much everything in your body will operate more easily, including testosterone production, and erection quality.
And remember, what’s good for the cardiovascular system, is even better for erectile health.
Luckily one of the easiest ways to increase our nitric oxide levels is through eating certain foods high in nitrates. These foods that contain nitrates will convert into nitritines by the bacteria in your tongue and gut, and eventually converts into nitric oxide (explained in this study).
So here’s the list of 5 foods high in nitrates to skyrocket your NO levels:
1. Arugula Lettuce
Known to be one of the most nitrate rich foods in the whole planet, arugula (often also called rucola) lettuce fits perfectly into a man’s life, right next to the bacon and eggs.
This lettuce has an pungent and even bitter flavor, it can be mixed into salads, but if you’re like me and hate eating a salad, then you can easily throw some arugula lettuce along with water into a blender and make yourself a drink to gulp down.
NOTE: Arugula lettuce is so popular and on demand that it’s often filled with pesticides. That’s why I recommend that you get yourself some organic arugula. Because many of those pesticides used in the agricultural business are endocrine disruptors, meaning that they’ll wreck havoc inside your hormone system.
Spinach has been touted to be one of the worlds healthiest foods, and quite frankly it’s close to being one for sure.
Along with arugula, it’s also on top of the list of foods high in nitric oxide content. Not to mention that it’s also jam packed with sterols and ecdysteroids that have a testosterone boosting effect.
Guess we should of have listened pop-eye in the first place.
One of the most tastiest ways to consume spinach is by making a soup out of it. I don’t know how common spinach soup is in the U.S, but here in Finland it’s one of the dietary staples.
However using spinach in a soup may destroy some of the beneficial compounds, and this may include the nitrates. That’s why I recommend that you consume spinach also in its raw unaltered form. Just chew some or throw it in a blender with water.
NOTE: Conventional spinach is also filled with endocrine disrupting pesticides, so make sure to get organic. (actually there was 54 different pesticide traces found in conventional spinach according to www.WhatsInMyFood.org’s review).
Here’s a secret: I freaking love beets, and I’d say beets are one of the best foods to increase nitric oxide and testosterone levels.
They’re filled with natural nitrates, along with natural betaine which is a methylator that helps your liver to chelate estrogens out of the body.
Not to mention that beets are also high in testosterone boosting boron.
No wonder why the Romans ate beets before battles and before bedroom activities.
I have mentioned celery as one of the top testosterone boosting foods in many articles…
…That’s because I account much of my high testosterone levels to the fact that I eat at least a stalk of celery every day.
However the thing that I really haven’t mentioned that often is the fact that celery is one of the top foods high in nitrate content.
So it’s a double whammy, boosting your testosterone and skyrocketing your nitric oxide production. That’s a perfect dietary combination for a man.
NOTE: Celery also falls in to the category of foods sprayed with shit ton of pesticides. (64 trace chemicals found by USDA). So if you don’t get your celery organic, you probably shouldn’t eat it at all.
This is probably one of the easiest nitrate rich vegetables to consume if you’re a friend of salads.
It’s the staple lettuce in almost all salads and I dare to say that the nitrates in it are the biggest reason that makes salads healthy.
With that being said, I still don’t eat salad. I hate the taste, the texture, and the fact that its, well, salady.
That’s why I throw my iceberg lettuce straight into the blender and grind down into a drink which can easily be chugged down quickly for a nice NO boost.
I’ll say this once again – if you’re a guy who loves meat but hates salads – get yourself a solid blender.
Conclusion on Foods High in Nitrates
There you go. 5 foods high in nitric oxide content that will blast your NO levels through the roof with the help of natural nitrates that will increase your blood flow much better than any pre-workout supplement on the market.
Why do I know that?
Because I’ve tested nitrate rich foods versus pre-workout supplements (Jack3d, NOxplode) with these nitric oxide test strips, and I always record significantly higher NO with these basic foods than with those costly supplements.