7 mistakes that undermine your NO production (without you realising)

Water droplets on the dark-red cut surface of a beetroot, macro photograph

 

 

You tried beetroot. Maybe a supplement. And felt nothing.

This is the most common feedback about dietary nitrate — and it usually leads to the wrong conclusion. In most cases, the product isn’t the problem; somewhere between taking it and producing NO, a step is being quietly blocked.

The pathway from dietary nitrate to NO has several steps, and something can go wrong at any one of them. Often it’s due to everyday habits that no one connects with their supplement.

Here are the most common ones.

Mistake 1: Antibacterial mouthwash

This is the most impactful single mistake — and also the most unexpected. Bacteria on your tongue carry out a key step: they convert dietary nitrate into nitrite. NO is produced later from nitrite. Without this step, no NO is produced.

Antibacterial mouthwash — chlorhexidine and many common mouthwashes — kills these bacteria. One study found that a single use reduced blood nitrite levels after beetroot consumption by 85–90% and completely eliminated the blood-pressure-lowering effect [1]. Daily mouthwash use leaves the tongue’s bacterial population weakened over time — a lasting issue, not a short-term effect.

Fluoride toothpaste has also been suggested to inhibit these bacteria. The evidence is less clear than for mouthwash, but it may still matter: using toothpaste immediately before taking the supplement is not ideal.

What you can change Reduce antibacterial mouthwash use in general, not just on the day you take the supplement. Ideally, brush your teeth after taking Circ. Essential or Circ. Performance, or leave some time between brushing and taking it.

Mistake 2: Too little nitrate per dose

Most beetroot products on the market provide 30–100 mg nitrate per serving — if they state the nitrate content at all. Studies showing measurable effects on endurance and vascular function typically used 200–400 mg a day. Large reviews often find that effects are no longer statistically significant below about 370 mg a day [2].

If you started with a product that might provide 50 mg nitrate per serving — and don’t even know for sure because the label doesn’t state the amount in mg — you haven’t “tried beetroot”. You’ve tried an unknown amount of an unstandardised ingredient.

What you can change Only use products that state the nitrate content in mg per serving. Without this information, the manufacturer can’t guarantee the concentration — and you don’t know how much you’re taking. The article on beetroot powder and standardisation.

Mistake 3: Poor timing

The nitrate pathway takes time. After you consume dietary nitrate, it is converted to nitrite in the mouth — only then, after passing through the stomach and entering the bloodstream, is NO produced. Levels peak around 2–3 hours after taking it [3].

If you take your supplement 10 minutes before training, you’re essentially still in the absorption phase while you exercise. The strongest effect comes after the workout — too late for the session you took it for.

This is one of the most common reasons people say they “feel nothing” — they didn’t choose the wrong dose, just the wrong time.

What you can change Take Circ. Performance 2–3 hours before training, not just beforehand. Make Circ. Essential part of your daily routine — take it in the morning with your first glass of water to keep nitrate levels stable throughout the day.

Mistake 4: Taking it just once or too irregularly

A single dose of dietary nitrate has a limited half-life. Levels rise, peak and then fall again. You may or may not feel anything after one dose. Many people try a supplement once and draw a conclusion from that.

Studies on vascular function and blood pressure show that the effects are more consistent and clearer with daily, regular use over several weeks than with single doses [2]. The body needs time to respond to consistently elevated nitrate levels.

What you can change Don’t judge Circ. Essential after one dose. Take it consistently every day for 10–14 days before evaluating it. Take it at the same time each day to make it part of your routine.

Mistake 5: Stomach acid reducers

This is particularly relevant for people over 40, as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — common medicines for heartburn and stomach complaints, such as omeprazole — are widely used. They reduce stomach acid, which helps convert nitrite into NO in the next step after the mouth.

One study found that nitrite had a considerably weaker blood-pressure-lowering effect in people whose stomach acid was suppressed than in those whose stomach acid was not [4]. Regular PPI use creates a persistent weak point in the nitrate pathway — one that better timing or a higher dose cannot make up for.

What you can change Don’t try to fix this on your own. If you regularly take stomach acid reducers and want to use an NO supplement, speak to your doctor — not about stopping your medication, but to get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Mistake 6: Taking Circ. Performance every day instead of as needed

Circ. Performance, with 400 mg nitrate and 3 g L-citrulline, is designed for training days — not for continuous daily use. Take it no more than 3–4 times a week. For smaller people, or with daily use, 400 mg exceeds the recommended daily intake of nitrate.

Occasionally exceeding this amount is not a safety problem, but it is not a reason to take more. More nitrate each day does not mean a stronger effect. It is mainly less useful, because the body has a limited capacity to process the additional nitrate.

For a consistent daily nitrate foundation, take Circ. Essential. Circ. Performance is for targeted use before a specific exertion.

What you can change Take Circ. Essential daily and Circ. Performance on training days. Don’t take both every day unless you are very large and active and have discussed it with a doctor.

Mistake 7: Smoking

Briefly, without moralising: smoking directly impairs the citrulline–arginine pathway to NO production. Smoking damages the blood vessel walls that produce NO through this pathway — over time and measurably. That doesn’t mean dietary nitrate has no effect for smokers, since the nitrate pathway works more independently. But the combined effect is weaker [5].

What you can change If you smoke and use NO supplements, you benefit mainly through the nitrate pathway. That still helps — but the benefit is not as great as it could be without smoking.

FAQ

How long does it take to feel an effect?
It depends on how you take it. Some people notice something straight away after a single dose; others notice little. If you take Circ. Essential daily, use it consistently for at least 10–14 days before deciding whether you feel an effect. Daily use helps the body build more stable levels — one trial tells you little.
Can I combine Circ. Essential and Circ. Performance?
Yes, this is a sensible combination. Take Circ. Essential daily as a 200 mg nitrate foundation. Add Circ. Performance on training days, 2–3 hours before your session. Don’t take both every day — that would exceed the recommended daily amount for smaller people.
What is the best time of day to take it?
For Circ. Essential: in the morning, as part of a regular routine — choosing a set time makes it easier to stick with. For Circ. Performance: 2–3 hours before training, so the nitrate pathway peaks when you need it. The L-citrulline in Circ. Performance acts faster, after around 60–90 minutes.

Why Circ. Essential and Circ. Performance are designed differently

Timing and dose make the difference — that’s the key message of this article. That’s why the two products are deliberately designed for different uses.

Circ. Essential with 200 mg standardised dietary nitrate is the daily product — within the recommended intake, and designed for consistent use over time. It also contains vitamin C, which contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of blood vessels.

Circ. Performance with 400 mg standardised dietary nitrate and 3 g L-citrulline is for targeted use before exertion: 2–3 hours before training, no more than 3–4 times a week. It’s not a daily supplement — it’s a tool for the right moment.

→ Nitric oxide: how the two NO pathways work
→ Beetroot powder: what really matters on the label

Scientific references

  1. Petersson, J. et al. (2009). Gastroprotective and blood pressure lowering effects of dietary nitrate are abolished by an antiseptic mouthwash. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 46(8), 1068–1075. Antibacterial mouthwash reduced salivary nitrite after beetroot consumption by 85–90% and largely eliminated the blood-pressure-lowering effect.
  2. Poon, E.T.-C. et al. (2025). Effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on exercise performance: an umbrella review of 20 meta-analyses. Sports Medicine. Review of 20 meta-analyses involving 2,672 participants; chronic nitrate intake of at least 370 mg a day shows consistent effects; single doses are less reliable.
  3. Bailey, S.J. et al. (2009). Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 107(4), 1144–1155. Nitrite levels peak 2–3 hours after beetroot consumption; effects on endurance performance depend on timing.
  4. Montenegro, M.F. et al. (2016). Blood pressure-lowering effect of orally ingested nitrite is abolished by a proton pump inhibitor. Hypertension, 69(1), 23–31. Proton pump inhibitors substantially reduced nitrite’s blood-pressure-lowering effect by reducing stomach-acid-dependent NO production.
  5. Bhatta, M. et al. (2020). Cigarette smoke induces pathological changes by inhibiting cigarette smoke-induced eNOS uncoupling and dysfunction. Cardiovascular Research. Smoking directly and measurably impairs NO production in blood vessel walls; the citrulline–arginine pathway is more affected than the nitrate pathway.

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