AMINO ACIDS - L-Arginine - "Precursor to NItric Oxide (NO)"
L-Arginine: Precursor to
blood vessel dilator nitric oxide (NO)
What is L-arginine?
A semi-essential amino acid - your body struggles to supply enough, so you
need to help out by obtaining it from diet
The many health benefits of L-arginine
Most of the health benefits of L-arginine are related to its being a
precursor to NITRIC OXIDE (NO) in your body
NITRIC OXIDE - Blood vessel dilator
Cardiovascular benefits of L-arginine
Numerous studies show that L-arginine helps
endothelial cells lining blood vessels to produce enough NO to promote blood
vessel dilation and blood flow - and reduces plaque formation and
risk of CVD. Here are links to just a few of these studies.
Involved in endothelial cell function to
produce NO
Blood vessels synthesize NO via the
enzyme endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which converts L-arginine in
the presence of oxygen to l-citrulline and NO.
L-arginine is the only known nutritional
substrate in your blood vessel lining available to endothelial cells (cells
lining the inside of blood vessels) for NO production.
NO signaling declines as a normal part of aging.
Maintains optimal blood pressure
Reduces coronary artery disease risk
Treats heart failure
Aids better recovery from MI
Aids better recovery after coronary bypass
surgery
Reduces hypercholesterolemia
Prevents atherosclerosis
Beneficial in myocardial ischemia
L-Arginine promotes angiogenesis in the
chronically hypoxic lung
Improves exercise capacity after heart
transplant
Appears to counteract hypertensive risk of
oral contraceptives
Atherosclerosis treatment
Gerasimos Siasos, Dimitris Tousoulis, Charalambos
Antoniades, Elli Stefanadi, Christodoulos Stefanadis. L-Arginine, the substrate
for NO synthesis: an alternative treatment for premature atherosclerosis? Int J
Cardiol. 2007 Apr 4;116(3):300-8. Epub 2006 Jul 24. PMID:
16860889
Sexual dysfunction / satisfaction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) / Good sexual function
in men and women - increased microcirculation in genital tissues
results in stronger erections and better sexual responsiveness;
For men, an erection requires an unimpaired blood
supply to the penis - leading medications for
ED (E.g. Sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis))
reverse ED by increasing NO. However, supplemental arginine can increase NO,
without the potentially dangerous side-effects (E.g. heart disease, stroke,
sterility) of these medications.
L-arginine and pycnogenol significantly
improved sexual function in men with ED ;
6 g of L-arginine + 6 mg of yohimbine
successfully treated men with ED .
Oral L-arginine in high doses seems to
cause significant subjective improvement in sexual function in men with organic
erectile dysfunction .
.For women, estrogen
is critical for maintaining vaginal and clitoral blood flow and vaginal
transudate production (created by vasocongestion as vaginal area swells
due to increased blood flow)
attributed mostly to its regulation of NO signaling -
both
by increased mRNA transcription and protein synthesis, and also
non-genomic mechanisms.
Affects
genital blood flow to vagina and clitoris during sexual intercourse
L. Arginine supplementation
can improve sexual arousal in older women
with declining estrogen by increasing NO production
L-Arginine and yohimbine increase sexual
arousal of postmenospausal women with sexual arousal disorder
Exercise tolerance
Helps body dispose of exercise-induced waste
products: ammonia and lactate - seemingly by enhancing the L-arginine-nitric oxide (NO) pathway; also the ongoing repair/and replacement of damaged cells constantly releases
nitrogen, which combines with hydrogen to form ammonia.
A Schaefer, F Piquard, B Geny, S Doutreleau, E Lampert, B
Mettauer, J Lonsdorfer. L-arginine reduces exercise-induced increase in plasma
lactate and ammonia. Int J Sports Med. 2002 Aug;23(6):403-7. PMID:
12215958
Building block of protein/ helps body's production of amino
acids:
Creatine -
important for muscle energy and nervous system function;L-proline -
important for collagen synthesis and wound healing;L-glutamate - an
excitatory neurotransmitter, essential for brain function, especially in left
hemisphere (logic/reasoning, language, computational skills, learning and
memory).
Peripheral vascular disease
(PVD)/Intermittent claudication
Hormonal health
Has endocrine effects - promotes release of human growth hormone (hGH) and prolactin.
Brain / neural health
L-Arginine increases brain function - subsequent to its effect in inreasing
L-glutamate, creatine and L-Proline-increased L-glutamate improves memory and
learning capacity and increases in creatine and L-proline are important for CNS
function;
Brain health video
L-Arginine has potent neuroprotective properties
- and may be a therapeutic tool in ALS and neuropathy
Lee J ,
Ryu H ,
Kowall NW .Motor neuronal protection by
L-arginine prolongs survival of mutant SOD1 (G93A) ALS mice.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Jul
10;384(4):524-9. PubMed
L-Arginine has a positive role in Alzheimer's
disease
Yi J ,
Horky LL ,
Friedlich AL ,
Shi Y ,
Rogers JT ,
Huang X . L-arginine and Alzheimer's
disease.
Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2009;2(3):211-38.
Epub 2008 Oct 2. PubMed
Digestive health
L-Arginine accelerates healing of gastric ulcers
- 32.5 - 300 mg/kg/day in a dose dependent manner
BrzozowskiT. • KonturekS.J.
• DrozdowiczD. •
DembiÅ„skiA. • StachuraJ. Healing of Chronic Gastric
Ulcerations by L -Arginine (Role
of Nitric Oxide, Prostaglandins, Gastrin and Polyamines)Digestion
1995;56:463-471 Link
NO improves trafficking of nutrients and may
increase your ability to produce stomach acid
Other health issues aided by arginine
Retard aging -combined with reduced calories
Immune system support
Reduce risk of INSULIN resistance (IR), Type 2
Diabetes, Obesity
Asthma /Respiratory Health
Liver / Kidney support
Nerve regeneration
Cystic Fibrosis
Interstitial Cystitis
(IC)
Prevent Bone Loss
Gastric Ulcers
Cancer /
Cachexia
Decrease congestive heart failure symptoms
Protect brain in heat stroke
L-arginine production in body
A healthy adult produces 2-4 g L-arginine/day -
depending on:
Age - production declines with age, beginning even in
30's. Women tend to keep up production better than men;Not eating enough protein or adequately digesting
it (requires protease enzymes)Low antioxidant presence / high
free radicals Your particular genetics require more L-arginine
Foods highest in L-arginine
Seeds (sesame,
pumpkin, sunflower)
Seaweed (especially
spirulina )
Nuts
(walnuts, almonds, peanuts)
Coconut
Eggs
Whey
Taking an L-Arginine supplement
L-Arginine needs to be constantly replenished and should therefore be
supplemented in a sustained-release form - since L-Arginine is the precursor to the desired, but short-lived gas
nitric oxide (NO) and the body metabolizes arginine very quickly
Typically recommended dose is 1000 mg of a
sustained-release formula from natural sources Avoid artificial fillers or additives (E.g. magnesium stearate, stearic acid)
Vitamin C shown to enhance eNOS activity -
NO is produced by endothelial
cells (ECs) from the amino acid 4 )
Huang A,Vita
JA,Venema
RC,Keaney
JF Jr.Ascorbic acid
enhances endothelial nitric-oxide synthase activity by increasing intracellular
tetrahydrobiopterin . J Biol Chem.2000
Jun 9;275(23):17399-406.
Counterindications
Do not take L-Arginine if you have any kind of
active herpes infection. E.g Herpes simplex, as
in oral or genital herpes, or herpes zoster, as in shingles. If you have this
type of infection, you should supplement with the amino acid lysine until the
lesions are resolved and avoid L-arginine supplements during the infectious
phase.
