L-arginine: Potential Health Benefits
L-Arginine is one of the 20 amino acids in protein and has a variety of claimed benefits, including helping boost the immune system, healing the wounds, secretion of certain hormones including the growth hormone, getting rid of ammonia. As for the dosage t is hard to suggest because it is not an essential nutrient and there is not enough data around.
Arginine makes NO- nitric oxide in your body that helps with dilating the blood vessels and creatine synthesis which helps with the proper muscle functioning. Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that is mostly synthesized by your body in adequate amounts for your daily needs. But in certain circumstances this will not be enough and you may need to take arginine supplements, after a big surgery, an infection or a trauma.
It is available in a variety of foods including turkey, chicken, eggs, dairy products, red meat, nuts, oats, buckwheat, brown rice and legumes. The deficiency of L-arginine is not very common and can show itself with the symptoms like hair loss, constipation, skin rashes, slow wound healing, fatty liver degeneration etc. The deficiency can occur with chronic undernourishment, too much lysine intake, injuries, burns, serious infections, congenial diseases and more.
Arginine, by producing nitric oxide- NO, dilates the blood vessels and moves the blood to the penis and causing erection. This is just like how viagra or sildenafil nitrate works in treating erection by stopping the NO breakdown. In one of the studies men with low nitric oxide levels benefited from 5g of arginine per day in enhancing the erection quality. But those with normal NO levels weren’t affected by a 5g of arginine boost. Lower doses of around 1.5g arginine supplement was no different to taking placebo.
The impact of L-arginine on enhancing the physical performance is not very clear, because of the mixed results of different studies. It can be beneficial because it helps with the growth hormone secretion and participate in the creatine production. Creatine is known to increase strength during weight lifting, enhance physical performance and help with the muscle contraction. Arginine is shown to have a different effect on sedentary people, or those that work out at beginner or advanced levels.
The nitric oxide produced by L-arginine can improve the physical activity performance by helping with the glucose absorption and burning fat for energy and insulin that is responsible for helping you use the energy you get from food (help glucose- energy get into your cells). By increasing the blood flow in your body oxygen is better transported to your muscles and organs. This way your body will respond better to your energy needs during your workout session. With the more efficient supply of oxygen you may feel stronger by your muscles taking longer to tire and your recovery may be quicker after your workout.
It can boost the immune system in some cases and decrease the likelihood and severity of infections. For that reason it is used as an immunonutrition in some hospitals to speed up healing and restricting certain infection risks. If you have suffered from a heart attack before you’re strongly advised not to use arginine supplements (NO production) as it can increase the death risks. Pregnant women also shouldn’t use arginine because of the lack of sufficient toxicological data. Arginine side effects are not very common and will mostly occur at high doses, and these include diarrhea, headache or gastrointestinal discomfort.
L-arginine is claimed to reduce the abdominal fat that is connected to many health problems. This is good for those struggling to lose tummy fat. NO produced by arginine helps with the glucose and glycogen absorption and burn the fat. If you are working towards a well-toned, lean muscle mass, a daily arginine supplement may be good for you, by increasing your muscle mass, releasing the growth hormone and promoting fat metabolism, reducing the fat stores just below your skin, increasing endurance and conditioning muscles also reducing muscle damage, promoting healing and offering the best performance.
Although it is hard to recommend dosage as mentioned earlier, L-arginine supplementation between 2g to 30g per day is considered to be safe. If you find that you’re suffering from side effects like nausea or diarrhea you can start with the lower doses of 3 to 4 grams before your workout. It is also recommended to be taken in cycles of 2 months on and 2 months off. With its claimed benefits in hormonal stuff, wound healing and body composition it is also considered to be a decent anti-aging supplement. It can also indirectly help prevent and cure certain diseases linked to aging, like high blood pressure or congestive heart failure. You may want to try and see if you will benefit from arginine for your exercise performance or other stuff as each person reacts differently to different supplements.
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