Dietary nitrate intake in relation to the risk of dementia and imaging markers of vascular brain health: a population-based study

Could dietary nitrate affect dementia development?

“…A key finding of this study was that the beneficial association between dietary nitrate intake and dementia was limited to vegetable sources [4]. This is in line with the growing evidence showing that the isolated consumption of specific nutrients or food components may not have the same health effects as the equivalent nutrients from whole foods [5].…”

“…Contrary to the authors' expectations, dietary nitrate intake was unrelated to changes in cerebral perfusion or vascular pathology, which raises some questions about the specific mechanisms linking nitrate intake with dementia risk [4]. The authors propose two explanations for these null findings.…”

“…Lower dementia risk has consistently been observed in relation to dietary patterns which are high in minimally processed plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds), with moderate amounts of fish and olive oil, and minimal amounts of animal-based (especially red meat and high-fat dairy, which are high in saturated fat), processed, and fried foods [13,14]. The new findings by de Crom et al suggest that higher nitrate intake from a diet rich in vegetables and legumes may be one key contributing factor to previous reports of dietary-related dementia risk [4].…”

“…The large prospective cohort study accompanying this editorial was designed to clarify the relationship between dietary nitrate and dementia [4,5]. It followed a sample of 9,543 Dutch participants for 14.5 years and showed that higher intake of dietary nitrate from vegetable sources was associated with an approximately 8% lower risk of developing dementia.…”

“…In the accompanying original research, dietary nitrate intake was estimated through a selfreported food frequency questionnaire [4]. Despite potential variations in nitrate content between organically and conventionally grown vegetables, between those grown undercover and in open fields, as well as between seasons, the authors' methodology has previously been validated against urinary samples.…”