Impact of Nitrate Ingestion on Protein Synthesis

A diet rich in leafy green vegetables has been shown to reduce the risk of developing chronic metabolic disease. The health benefits from these particular vegetables may be attributed to their high nitrate content. Recent work suggests that dietary nitrate triggers endogenous nitric oxide release, thereby stimulating vasodilation and improving muscle perfusion in an insulin-independent manner. We hypothesize that in an insulin-resistant state, nitrate co-ingestion will increase muscle perfusion, thereby improving post-prandial delivery of nutrients to skeletal muscle tissue. Specifically, a more efficient delivery of food derived amino acids will stimulate post-prandial muscle protein synthesis and, as such, compensate for a blunted muscle protein synthetic response to food intake in the elderly. This proposal will investigate the efficacy of nitrate co-ingestion as a means to augment muscle protein synthesis in elderly, type 2 diabetes patients and may lead to a novel therapy in the clinical care of type 2 diabetes patients.