High levels of dietary nitrate might in part explain the vascular benefits of diets rich in leafy greens

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 22:30 in Health & Medicine

Nitric oxide (NO) helps maintain the health of vasculature. NO is synthesized by an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase (NOS). In a new study, researchers determined that after vessel injury, the NOS pathway is disrupted, but a secondary pathway that generates NO from nitrate is activated. This suggests that high levels of dietary nitrate might in part explain the vascular benefits of diets rich in leafy greens.

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