How Spinach and Arugula Can Improve Endurance Economy, Sprint Repeatability, and Blood Pressure

September 11, 2026

If you’ve ever watched your heart rate drift upward at the same pace late in a run, or felt the legs go flat on the third hard sprint, dietary nitrates are worth your attention. In controlled studies, a modest nitrate dose can lower the oxygen cost of submaximal work, improve repeated-sprint performance, and reduce resting blood pressure within hours to days (Larsen et al., 2007; Wylie et al., 2013; Siervo et al., 2013).

The practical source is simple: spinach, arugula, beetroot, and concentrated nitrate products. For serious athletes, spinach and arugula are attractive because they’re cheap, easy to combine with meals, and let you hit a meaningful nitrate target without relying on supplements.

Why nitrates work

Dietary nitrate (NO3-) is not the active compound by itself. After you eat it, bacteria on the tongue reduce nitrate to nitrite, and then nitrite can be converted to nitric oxide, especially in lower-oxygen and more acidic conditions such as working muscle (Lundberg et al., 2008). Nitric oxide matters because it influences blood flow, muscle contractility, mitochondrial efficiency, and vascular tone.

That mechanism explains the three most useful outcomes for athletes:

- Lower oxygen cost at a given pace or power, meaning better economy
- Better tolerance of repeated high-intensity efforts
- Lower resting blood pressure in many adults

The key point: nitrates are not a stimulant. You do not feel a hard “hit” like caffeine. You get a small but real physiological shift that matters most when the event is long, inefficient, or repeated under fatigue.

Endurance economy: the main performance win

The cleanest finding is improved exercise economy. After nitrate supplementation, many athletes need less oxygen to produce the same submaximal output. That means a runner can hold 7:00/mile at a slightly lower metabolic cost, or a cyclist can sit at threshold with less physiological strain.

A classic study showed that nitrate-rich beetroot juice reduced the oxygen cost of exercise and improved time-trial performance (Bailey et al., 2009). Follow-up work showed similar effects in running and cycling economy, especially in less-trained athletes or during moderate-intensity work where muscle efficiency changes are most visible (Larsen et al., 2007; Wylie et al., 2013).

For practical coaching, this is the takeaway:

- Best use case: tempo runs, long intervals, steady climbs, time trials, and long rides
- Less impressive use case: pure max strength, very short explosive efforts, or highly trained athletes with already excellent efficiency

The effect is usually modest, but in endurance sport modest is enough. A 1-2% improvement can decide a race, help you finish a tempo session with better form, or let you stack more quality across a training block.

Repeated-sprint performance: useful when fatigue is the enemy

Repeated-sprint ability depends on phosphocreatine recovery, muscle oxygenation, and the ability to maintain force output across multiple efforts. Nitrate supplementation can help here by improving blood flow and making high-intensity work less costly at the tissue level.

In team-sport and intermittent-exercise studies, nitrate has often improved sprint repeatability, sprint time, or total work done across multiple bouts, though the effect is less consistent than in endurance economy studies (Wylie et al., 2013; Coggan & Peterson, 2018). The likely reason is that the benefit appears when the session has a metabolic bottleneck: short recovery, accumulating acidosis, or repeated efforts with incomplete restoration.

This makes nitrates especially relevant for:

- Soccer, hockey, basketball, rugby, lacrosse
- Track sessions with repeated 200-400 m efforts
- CrossFit-style intervals and hybrid training blocks
- Hill repeats or fartlek sessions where output decays across the set

If your athlete does one all-out sprint with full recovery, nitrates are not the first lever. If they must produce hard work again and again, they become much more interesting.

Blood pressure control: the health benefit with real training value

Nitrate-rich vegetables can also lower resting blood pressure. That matters not only for long-term cardiovascular risk but also for athletes with high sympathetic load, older lifters, masters runners, and anyone whose blood pressure is elevated from body mass, stress, or poor sleep.

Meta-analyses show that nitrate supplementation can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with effects often appearing within hours and persisting with regular intake (Siervo et al., 2013; Jackson et al., 2018). That does not mean nitrates replace medical treatment. It means they can be a useful nutrition strategy alongside training, body composition work, sodium management, and proper sleep.

For a lifter or hybrid athlete, the blood-pressure angle matters in a very practical way:

- Better vascular function can support training tolerance
- Lower resting pressure can reduce cardiovascular strain during high-volume blocks
- Improved endothelial function may matter more as training age and age itself increase

Spinach and arugula: what to eat and how much

The nitrate content of vegetables varies by growing conditions, season, and storage, so exact numbers are messy. But as a coaching tool, you do not need lab-grade precision. You need a repeatable target.

A strong evidence-based target is about 5-9 mmol nitrate, which equals roughly 310-560 mg nitrate. That range is the common performance dose used in many studies (Wylie et al., 2013).

In food terms, that usually means:

- Arugula: one large serving can be extremely nitrate-dense
- Spinach: two to three generous servings can easily contribute meaningful nitrate
- Mixed approach: spinach salad plus arugula in a sandwich, omelet, or grain bowl

Because nitrate content varies, the most reliable strategy is not counting milligrams from raw produce unless you buy tested products. Instead, build a consistent pre-session meal around a big nitrate-rich serving and repeat it the same way when you want the effect.

Timing and dosing: the protocol that actually works

The best-supported acute protocol is:

- Dose: 5-9 mmol nitrate
- Timing: 2-3 hours before training or competition
- Format: spinach/arugula meal, or nitrate-rich beverage/shot if needed
- Frequency: use for key sessions, races, and hard game days rather than every day unless you have a specific reason

That timing matters because nitrate-to-nitrite conversion and subsequent nitric oxide availability peak after a few hours. If you eat your nitrate source right before warm-up, you may miss the window.

A few practical rules improve the odds of success:

- Do not use antibacterial mouthwash around dosing. It can blunt oral nitrate reduction and reduce the effect (Govoni et al., 2008).
- Chewing matters less than oral bacteria, but thorough eating of leafy greens still helps.
- Keep the meal low in fiber and fat if you need fast gastric emptying before competition.
- If you are sensitive to GI load, use a smaller spinach/arugula portion and pair it with a simple carb source.

When it works best, and when it doesn’t

Nitrate response is not uniform. You will usually see the most benefit when:

- The athlete is recreational-to-trained, but not already maximally efficient
- The event lasts long enough for oxygen cost to matter
- The session includes repeated hard efforts with incomplete recovery
- Baseline blood pressure is elevated

The effect is often smaller in elite endurance athletes, likely because their systems are already highly optimized and because individual responsiveness varies (Jones, 2014). That does not make nitrates useless. It means you should test them in training, not assume magic on race day.

You should also expect less from nitrates if:

- You used antibacterial mouthwash
- The dose was too small
- The timing was wrong
- The athlete ate a huge meal and started exercising before the nitrate peak
- The session was too short or too explosive to benefit much

How to apply this

Use nitrates as a targeted performance tool, not a daily superstition.

Weekly plan for an endurance athlete

- Monday easy run / recovery ride: normal vegetables, no special nitrate focus
- Tuesday quality session: 2-3 hours pre-session, eat a large spinach-and-arugula meal providing roughly 5-9 mmol nitrate. Example: big arugula salad, spinach in a wrap, plus rice and lean protein.
- Thursday tempo or threshold work: repeat the same meal 2-3 hours before training
- Saturday long run / long ride / race simulation: use your tested nitrate meal again
- Sunday off or easy: normal diet

Weekly plan for a team-sport or hybrid athlete

- 2 key interval or game days per week: use the nitrate meal 2-3 hours pre-session
- 1 repeated-sprint workout per week: use it again if the session is long and dense
- Non-key days: just keep vegetables in the diet without chasing the performance dose

Simple pre-session template

- 2-3 cups arugula and/or 2 cups cooked spinach
- 1-2 carb servings for fuel: rice, potatoes, fruit, bread, or oats
- 25-40 g protein if the meal is replacing lunch or dinner
- Water as needed, but do not overdrink and create slosh

Blood-pressure-focused version

- Eat nitrate-rich vegetables daily for 2-4 weeks
- Prioritize a big serving of spinach or arugula once or twice per day
- Keep sodium, body mass, sleep, and alcohol in check
- Monitor blood pressure at home if it is a real concern

The winning strategy is consistency. Pick one meal, make it repeatable, and use it before the sessions that matter.

Common mistakes

1. Using mouthwash before training: This can reduce nitrate conversion and blunt the effect (Govoni et al., 2008).
2. Taking too little: A token side salad is not a performance dose.
3. Wrong timing: Aim for the 2-3 hour window.
4. Testing it for the first time on race day: Use it in training first.
5. Expecting it to replace fundamentals: Carbs, hydration, sleep, and pacing still matter more.

Bottom line for serious athletes

Spinach and arugula are not magic, but they are a legitimate performance and health tool. If you want a nutrition strategy that can shave a little oxygen cost off endurance work, support repeated-sprint output, and help lower blood pressure, dietary nitrates belong in the toolbox (Larsen et al., 2007; Siervo et al., 2013; Wylie et al., 2013).

Use them on key days. Dose them correctly. Avoid mouthwash around the meal. Then judge the result by performance, not hype.