Relationship of dietary nitrate intake from vegetables with cardiovascular disease mortality: a prospective study in a cohort of older Australians

Sticking to a diet rich in nitrate-containing vegetables may help to reduce death toll from cardiovascular disease, especially among older men and women.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between dietary exposure to nitrates from vegetables and the probability of dying from cardiovascular disease. Researchers surveyed the dietary and mortality records of 2,229 middle-aged and older Australian men and women over a 14-year period. 

Data analysis revealed lesser number of deaths from cardiovascular disease among habitual consumers of nitrates from vegetables in comparison with infrequent and non-consumers of these plant foods. This study demonstrated that high dietary ingestion of nitrate-containing vegetables may slash cardiovascular mortality risk significantly, particularly in older men and women.