## 3 Convenience  
A key strength of the commercially available beetroot'shots' is their convenience. They are compact and easy to transport, which may be beneficial for individuals looking to 'top up' their nitrate intake away from home (e.g., when travelling) [46]. They also contain a specified nitrate dose, which reduces the burden on individuals. In contrast, the variable nitrate content of vegetables could make achieving a specific dose challenging (and, potentially, costly) on a case-by-case/day-by-day basis [4], as individuals will not know exactly how much nitrate is being consumed for each food/meal they eat. However, this may be less of an issue when looking at average nitrate intake over a period of weeks or months, if the nitrate content of vegetables is normally distributed, such that the variability may 'average out' over time. From a research perspective, the standardised nature of the beetroot juice'shots' allows researchers to ensure all participants receive the same nitrate dose [47]. This may be challenging with a whole-vegetable approach, given the variability in vegetable nitrate content could result in slightly different doses administered to each participant [4]. Similarly, the availability of a nitrate-depleted beetroot juice, which tastes, looks, and smells the same as the nitrate-rich equivalent, but is devoid of nitrate--something achieved by passing the juice through an ion-exchange resin that selectively extracts the nitrate--is particularly valuable as a placebo to researchers [48]. Not only does this allow researchers to isolate the impact of the nitrate on the research outcome of interest, but it also allows proper blinding of participants who may be able to discern their experimental condition with less refined placebos, such as fruit squash drinks. Improved knowledge of the dietary sources of inorganic nitrate could make it easier for individuals to optimise their intake of dietary nitrate. For example, awareness of the types of vegetable that are typically high in nitrate may allow individuals looking to boost \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Food**} & **Average Nitrate Content** & **Quantity Required to** \\  & **per 100 g** & **Consume 400 mg Nitrate** \\ \hline Mustard greens a & 260 mg & 153 g \\ Swiss chard a & 208 mg & 192 g \\ Water spinach a & 145 mg & 276 g \\ Fenupreek leaves a & 137 mg & 292 g \\ Amarant a & 112 mg & 357 g \\ Malabar spinach a & 102 mg & 392 g \\ Jute mallow b & 311 mg & 128 g \\ Fluted pumpkin b & 280 mg & 143 g \\ Bitter leaf b & 135 mg & 296 g \\ Roselle b & 128 mg & 313 g \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* From [41], and b from [45].  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Examples of nitrate-containing vegetables grown or collected and available in markets in tropical and subtropical regions, alongside the quantity required to consume a standardised nitrate dose (400 mg, equivalent to one beetroot juice ‘shot’). their nitrate intake to prioritiise the consumptions of such foods by swapping lower-nitrate vegetables with ones they know to be rich in this compound. The effectiveness of this strategy may be augmented by a recent development in the field by [PERSON] and colleagues [49], who demonstrated that by tightly controlling and manipulating the growing conditions of different vegetables, it is possible to produce particularly high- or low-nitrate vegetables. Specifically, differential fertilisation allowed the researchers to grow lettuce with higher (1060 mg nitrate/100 g) and lower (6 mg nitrate/100 g) nitrate concentrations. The growth of high-nitrate vegetables with a standardised minimum nitrate dose (if approved for commercial sale, e.g., as a high-nitrate salad bag) could be useful for individuals looking to boost their habitual nitrate intake. Similarly, this could be valuable for researchers as an alternative to the beetroot juice (active and placebo)'shots'. One final consideration from a convenience standpoint relates to the consumption of dietary nitrate prior to or during exercise to elicit ergogenic effects.