Can veggies help your heart and kidneys?
Addressing the “Nitric Oxide Crisis” in Cardiovascular–Kidney–Metabolic Syndrome: Therapeutic Potential of the Inorganic Nitrate–Nitrite–NO Pathway
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Your body makes a helpful gas called nitric oxide that keeps blood vessels healthy. When you don't have enough, your heart, kidneys, and metabolism suffer. Some foods have natural chemicals that help your body make more of this gas without the side effects of medicines.
Practical Takeaways
Add nitrate-rich foods like beets, spinach, arugula, or celery to your daily meals to support nitric oxide production.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Your body makes a helpful gas called nitric oxide that keeps blood vessels healthy. When you don't have enough, your heart, kidneys, and metabolism suffer. Some foods have natural chemicals that help your body make more of this gas without the side effects of medicines.
Practical Takeaways
Add nitrate-rich foods like beets, spinach, arugula, or celery to your daily meals to support nitric oxide production.
Publication
Journal
Obesity Reviews
Year
2025
Authors
Guang-zhi Liao, Chunliang He, Yu-Hui Zhang, Jian Zhang
Related Content
Claims (4)
Eating certain foods or supplements like L-citrulline or nitrate-rich vegetables can help your body make more nitric oxide, a molecule that helps your blood vessels relax and work better.
If your body gets better at using natural compounds from vegetables like beets to make a helpful gas called NO, it might help your metabolism, heart, and kidneys work better.
Medicines called organic nitrates help relax blood vessels by releasing nitric oxide, but over time, they stop working as well, can make you feel dizzy or headachy, and might even harm the inside of your blood vessels.
When your body doesn't have enough nitric oxide—a molecule that helps blood vessels relax—it seems to make a group of related health problems like diabetes, kidney issues, and heart trouble get worse.