The Plant-Based Food Group That Helps Support Muscle Strength, Study Finds

Packing our diet with leafy greens isn't anything new to us. Kale alone provides benefits like promoting healthy digestion, providing nutrients like iron and vitamin K, and supporting liver health, while spinach is actually an even better source of iron, magnesium, and folate than its trendy sibling.

But in the case of this study, it's a different compound that may be linked to supporting lower-body muscle function: nitrates. "Our study has shown that diets high in nitrate-rich vegetables may bolster your muscle strength independently of any physical activity," explains lead researcher Marc Sim, Ph.D., from Edith Cowan University's Institute for Nutrition Research. Other than those classic greens, the researchers noted that beets can be a key source of healthy dietary nitrates.

Specifically, in their survey data from 3,759 Australians who participated in the 12-year study, those who had the highest intakes of dietary nitrates overall had 11% stronger lower limbs than those with the lowest nitrate intake—but it's important to note those findings are likely not based solely on diet.

While we're well versed in the fact that leafy greens are some of the most important foods we can eat, that doesn't mean people always eat them enough. According to this study, "Less than one in ten Australians eat the recommended five to six servings of vegetables per day," said Sim, and the numbers aren't much better in other countries.

As a remedy, he strongly advises adding a wide variety of vegetables to your diet, including at least one serving of a nitrate-rich leafy greens. "Green leafy vegetables provide a whole range of essential vitamins and minerals critical for health."