Systematic review reveals small-to-moderate power improvements in healthy females with nitrate supplementation, indicating specific benefits.
Key Points
Nitrate supplementation resulted in a small-to-moderate improvement in power during exercise, but did not significantly enhance muscle strength or sprint performance.
Randomized controlled trials indicated a statistically significant effect on power (SMD = 0.38, p < 0.05) while finding non-significant outcomes for muscle strength and sprint performance.
Systematic review and meta-analysis methods were employed to synthesize data from various studies assessing muscle performance in healthy females receiving nitrate versus placebo.
The findings underscore the need for more sex-specific research in sports nutrition, which may help tailor supplementation strategies for female athletes.