Four Days Marches 2019

19 July 2019

Green leafy vegetables (e.g., spinach, rocket salad/arugula, lettuce) and beetroot share the common characteristic of high nitrate content. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the role of dietary nitrate as a biologically active nitric oxide (NO) donor, due to its proposed beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. Therefore, food based ways of increasing nitrate intake through the diet appear to form a worthwhile strategy to induce cardio protective effects. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the effects of a prolonged elevation of nitrate intake via the habitual diet.

This year the research during the Four Days Marches of Maria Hopman and Cindy van der Avoort focussed on these protective effects of green leafy vegetables and beetroot. 80 (pre)hypertensive men and women were included in this 12-week intervention study to gain more insight into the influence of dietary nitrate on blood pressure. All participants were divded into one of the three research groups. One group received 12 weeks of educational intervention with intense (weekly) personalized monitoring, cooking classes and feedback focusing on nitrate rich vegetables. The other group was instructed to use beet rootjuice every day, as a supplement. Participants in the third group, participated as control.

Prior and during the Four Days Marches extensive measurements were performed to assess cardiovascular function and performance. Currently the analyses are being performed that hopefully will lead to a better understanding of dietary nitrate.