Canadian Study Finds That the Fitness Supplement Sodium Nitrate May Harm Women’s Hearts
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team May 16, 2026 47 minutes ago
Medical News: A new study from researchers at Dalhousie University in Canada is raising concerns about a popular fitness supplement often found in beetroot-based endurance products. Scientists discovered that sodium nitrate supplements, commonly marketed to improve athletic performance and heart health, may actually block some of the positive heart changes normally produced by exercise in females.
Popular workout nitrate supplements may weaken some heart benefits of exercise in women, according to new
Canadian research
The research team from Dalhousie University in Canada found that while exercise alone improved heart structure and function in female mice, combining exercise with sodium nitrate supplementation appeared to cancel out many of those benefits. The findings are drawing attention because nitrate supplements are widely used by runners, cyclists, and fitness enthusiasts around the world.
Exercise Benefits Were Reduced
Researchers studied male and female mice aged seven to nine months over a 12-week period. The mice were divided into groups that either exercised using running wheels, received sodium nitrate in drinking water, did both, or did neither.
Female mice that exercised without supplements developed healthier heart adaptations. Their hearts became stronger, with thicker heart walls and improved contraction and relaxation abilities. Scientists also observed better calcium handling inside heart cells, a process that is essential for keeping the heartbeat steady and efficient.
However, when sodium nitrate was added alongside exercise, many of these positive changes disappeared. Female mice showed reduced global longitudinal strain, a measurement linked to poorer heart pumping function. The supplement also prevented improvements in how heart muscle cells contracted and relaxed.
Interestingly, researchers found that the harmful effects were reversible. Once the nitrate supplement was removed, several of the beneficial exercise-related changes returned.
Males Were Less Affected
The effects in male mice were much smaller. Researchers noted that the males generally ran less than the females during the study, which may partly explain the difference. Still, males receiving nitrates and exercise together showed some signs of slower heart relaxation, although the overall damage was less severe than in females.
Dr. Susan Howlett, the corresponding author of the study, explained that the team originally expected nitrates and exercise to work together to improve cardiovascular health. Instead, the opposite occurred in females.
This
Medical News report highlights an important issue often ignored in scientific research: many supplement studies mainly focus on males, even though females may respond very differently.
Why The Findings Matter
Sodium nitrate supplements are commonly promoted as natural performance enhancers because they can improve blood flow and oxygen delive
ry during exercise. Many athletes consume beetroot drinks or nitrate products believing they support endurance and heart health.
Although the study was performed in mice and not humans, researchers say the findings raise serious questions about long-term nitrate supplementation, especially for women who regularly engage in aerobic exercise.
The conclusions are important because they challenge the widespread belief that every supplement linked to sports performance is automatically safe or beneficial. The study suggests that some supplements may interfere with the body’s natural ability to adapt positively to exercise. Researchers now stress that more human studies are urgently needed, particularly involving women, before clear health recommendations can be made.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Scientific Reports.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-50082-4
For the latest on Sports and Fitness Supplements, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
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