Foods High in Nitrates: Vegetables vs Cured Meat

Vegetables supply about 80% of the nitrate in a normal diet, and rocket carries the most of the common leaves: a median of about 310 mg per 100 g in a Canary Islands survey and up to 610 mg in an Italian one, with chard and spinach next, and beetroot and celery also in the top nitrate band.^{1, 2, 3} The dose the exercise and blood pressure trials used, 6 to 8 mmol of nitrate (372 to 496 mg), is close to the 350 to 400 mg that 250 to 300 g a day of mixed nitrate-rich vegetables supplied in a Dutch trial, or the 250 ml of nitrate-rich beetroot juice in a four-week trial; a 70 ml shot of concentrate carries 4.2 mmol and did not change the exercise response on its own.^{4, 5, 6, 10} Cured meat is a different question: it is preserved with nitrite, which can form nitrosamines, and the European Food Safety Authority sets separate acceptable daily intakes for nitrate and nitrite.^{7, 8} Capsules, and who should not take beetroot in any form, are on the beetroot capsules page.

Sources checked on 30 October 2026.

What foods are high in nitrates?

Nitrate is a plant's stored nitrogen, so leaves hold the most, roots and stems next, and fruits, grains, eggs, dairy and meat very little. The UK food composition tables (CoFID) do not list nitrate, so the figures below come from two European laboratory surveys and a US classification of food sources; the spread inside each row is wide, and organic produce tested higher than conventional in both surveys.^{1, 2, 3}

The Hord "very high" band, which also takes in lettuce, spinach and rocket, starts at 250 mg per 100 g; the Canary Islands medians put lettuce and spinach well under that line and rocket above it.^{1, 3}

How much rocket or beetroot equals a trial dose?

One millimole of nitrate is 62 mg, so the 6 to 8 mmol the trials used is 372 to 496 mg. At the median figures above that is about 120 to 160 g of rocket, 360 to 480 g of spinach, or 250 ml of nitrate-rich beetroot juice, which carried about 6.4 mmol in the four-week blood pressure trial.^{1, 5} The 12-week Dutch trial did it with food: 250 to 300 g a day of nitrate-rich vegetables, supplying 350 to 400 mg, lowered daytime systolic pressure from 134 to 129 mmHg in people with raised blood pressure; juice at 400 mg a day showed no significant change.⁶

Timing matters more than the clock. Nitrite in the blood peaks two to three hours after a nitrate-rich drink, which is why the exercise studies dosed 2.5 hours before the start, and taking nitrate for more than three days did more than a single dose.^{4, 10} A rocket and beetroot salad two to three hours before a session is the food version of the protocol.

How much nitrate is in a beetroot shot, and how many a day?

A single 70 ml shot of concentrate carries about 4.2 mmol (260 mg) of nitrate. In the dose-response study that amount, taken 2.5 hours before exercise, did not change the oxygen cost of exercise or time to exhaustion; two shots (8.4 mmol) extended time to exhaustion by 14%, and four added no further endurance.⁴ So the trial arithmetic is two shots, or 250 ml of nitrate-rich juice, two to three hours before the event, with more than three days of daily use for a larger effect.^{4, 10} Daily use at that level was well tolerated for four weeks in the blood pressure trial, with no fading of the effect; pink urine (beeturia, harmless) was the common finding.⁵

To make a nitrate-rich drink at home, blend 250 to 300 g of raw beetroot, rocket or spinach in any mix with water and a squeeze of lemon, the Dutch trial's daily amount of vegetables.⁶ Anyone who has formed a calcium oxalate kidney stone, or takes blood pressure medicines, should ask a pharmacist or GP first. Juice against capsules is a dose question, not a quality one: a 250 ml serving of nitrate-rich juice carries about 400 mg, while capsule products declare tens of milligrams, so the label decides.

Are nitrates in vegetables the same as in bacon?

Cured meats are preserved with nitrite (E249 and E250) and sometimes nitrate (E251 and E252); nitrite is linked to the formation of nitrosamines, some of which cause cancer. EFSA's 2017 re-evaluation found the nitrosamine contribution of nitrite added at approved levels to be of low concern, but concluded that nitrosamines from nitrite present in meat from other sources "might give rise to potential health concerns" and need more research.^{7, 8} Vegetables deliver nitrate with vitamin C and polyphenols, which inhibit nitrosamine formation.³ Nitrate used as a food additive is under 5% of total nitrate exposure by EFSA's estimate, so the processed-meat question is about nitrite-cured meat, not about rocket.⁷

EFSA's acceptable daily intake for nitrate is 3.7 mg per kilogram of body weight a day, about 220 mg for a 60 kg adult and 260 mg for 70 kg; for nitrite it is 0.07 mg per kilogram.⁷ A high-vegetable eating pattern exceeds the nitrate figure several times over: Hord and colleagues calculated that a high-nitrate version of the DASH diet supplies 1,222 mg a day, 550% of the World Health Organization's equivalent intake for a 60 kg adult.³ A trial dose of 6 to 8 mmol also exceeds it.

What cancels out nitrates?

Antibacterial mouthwash. The body relies on bacteria in the mouth to turn nitrate into nitrite, which is then converted to nitric oxide. In a crossover study in seven healthy volunteers, a chlorhexidine mouthwash used before a nitrate load abolished the conversion to nitrite in saliva and markedly blunted the rise in blood nitrite.⁹ If the question behind "the fastest way to increase nitric oxide" is practical, the trial answer is nitrate-rich vegetables or juice two to three hours beforehand, with no antibacterial mouthwash.^{4, 9}

What we don't know

Whether eating more nitrate-rich vegetables lowers blood pressure in the long run: the 12-week Dutch trial's primary outcome narrowly missed significance (P = 0.051) and its juice arm showed no change.⁶ Whether women gain the same exercise effect, because most participants in the reviews were men.¹⁰ How much nitrosamine forms from nitrite present in meat other than as an additive, which EFSA says needs more research.⁷

Frequently asked questions

What food has the highest nitrates?

Rocket, of the leaves in the Canary Islands survey: a median of about 310 mg per 100 g. In the Italian survey its highest sample, 612 mg per 100 g, was second only to chicory's 625 mg.^{1, 2} Chard and spinach follow; lettuce is lower on average but variable.

Do eggs or coffee have nitrates?

They are not among the main sources. About 80% of dietary nitrate comes from vegetables, and Hord's analysis names vegetables, fruit and processed meats as the food sources of nitrite.³

What supplement is high in nitrates?

Beetroot juice is the form the trials used: about 400 mg per 250 ml of nitrate-rich juice, or 260 mg per 70 ml shot of concentrate.^{4, 5} Capsules and powders declare far smaller amounts (tens of milligrams per two-capsule serving is typical), and a label that states milligrams of nitrate per serving is the only way to compare them; the arithmetic is on the beetroot capsules page.

Which medicines are "nitrates"?

A different thing. Glyceryl trinitrate and related heart medicines are called nitrates because they release nitric oxide directly. Anyone taking one should ask a pharmacist before adding concentrated beetroot juice, because both lower blood pressure.

Should I drink beetroot juice in the morning or at night?

Two to three hours before whatever you want it for. The exercise trials timed it to the exercise, not the clock, and the four-week blood pressure trial gave it once a day.^{4, 5}

Sources

1. Martín León V, Luzardo OP. Evaluation of nitrate contents in regulated and non-regulated leafy vegetables of high consumption in the Canary Islands, Spain: risk assessment. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2020. Laboratory survey of leafy vegetables by a public health laboratory; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 33058989.
2. De Martin S, Restani P. Determination of nitrates by a novel ion chromatographic method: occurrence in leafy vegetables (organic and conventional) and exposure assessment for Italian consumers. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2003. Laboratory survey of leafy vegetables from Italian markets, 1996 to 2002; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 13129772.
3. Hord NG, Tang Y, Bryan NS. Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009. Review with laboratory analysis of a convenience sample of foods; funding not named on PubMed. PubMed 19439460.
4. Wylie LJ, et al. Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2013. Randomised placebo-controlled crossover trial, 10 men; funding not named on PubMed. PubMed 23640589.
5. Kapil V, et al. Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients: a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Hypertension, 2015. Randomised trial, 68 adults, 4 weeks; British Heart Foundation-funded, one author declares a company directorship. PubMed 25421976.
6. van der Avoort CMT, et al. Increasing nitrate-rich vegetable intake lowers ambulatory blood pressure in (pre)hypertensive middle-aged and older adults: a 12-wk randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nutrition, 2021. Randomised controlled trial, 77 adults, 12 weeks; funding not named on PubMed. PubMed 34236392.
7. European Food Safety Authority. EFSA confirms safe levels for nitrites and nitrates added to food. Agency statement, 15 June 2017. efsa.europa.eu.
8. EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food. Re-evaluation of potassium nitrite (E 249) and sodium nitrite (E 250) as food additives. EFSA Journal, 2017. Agency scientific opinion. PubMed 32625504.
9. Govoni M, et al. The increase in plasma nitrite after a dietary nitrate load is markedly attenuated by an antibacterial mouthwash. Nitric Oxide, 2008. Crossover study, 7 healthy volunteers; funding not named on PubMed. PubMed 18793740.
10. Poon ETC, et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation and exercise performance: an umbrella review of 20 published systematic reviews with meta-analyses. Sports Medicine, 2025. Umbrella review, 20 meta-analyses, 180 studies, 2,672 participants; no specific funding, no conflicts declared. PubMed 40085422.

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