L-Arginine

NCUK Tip #20: The power of L-Arginine…

So those of you that know me, or have been following my page for a while will know, and fully understand my feelings around the importance of amino acids. For those of you who dont know me, or are new to this page: I believe amino acids (proteins) are THE most physiologically influential nutrients in existence.

That basically means amino acids are the most important nutrients in terms of health and performance. To prove this point I point you in the direction of the ancient Greeks â?? who weâ??re pretty clever people I believe. Protein in Greek means of first importance… Simple!

In previous articles Ive talked of the power of individual amino acids, from glutamine and its role in immune function, to leucine and its role in making muscle (for those of you who havent got a clue what Im on about, nows the time to jet over to my page and catch up…).
This time Im going to inform you of the remarkable effects of L-Arginine. Now some of you may have already heard of L-Arginine, its a popular ingredient in the pre-workout supplements that are so popular now-a-days.

(WARNING: this one is explosive hold on to your hats…)

Some of the science surrounding L-Arginine:

L-Arginine is responsible for the creation of Nitric-Oxide (NO), which is acts as the signalling molecule to facilitate the dilation of blood vessels, and decreases vascular resistance, which ultimately regulates blood pressure.

  • What that means to me and you: L-Arginine increases the flow of blood around the body, increasing the delivery of energy (glucose) to the working muscles, decreases blood pressure, and can result in that pumped up (vasodilated) effect.
  • Just an interesting side note, I was writing Nutrition articles last year for a company that were developing a cure to heart disease â?? major statement I know â?? but guess what, there product was based around this L-Arginine/Nitric-Oxide relationship and how it effects blood pressure… Genius?

L-Arginine also stimulates the production of growth hormone, thought to be attributed to the suppression of endogenous somatostatin secretion.

  • What that means to me and you: L-Arginine consumption can increase the production of growth hormone.

Finally L-Arginine is associated with the synthesis of creatine â?? we all know about the beneficial effects of creatine donâ??t we (for those that donâ??t scroll down to the creatine article now…). Arginine, glycine and methionine (all amino acids… see what I was saying about the importance of amino acids, donâ??t see any carbohydrates mentioned in these important processes do you?) are involved in the creation of creatine within the human body.

  • What that means to me and you: L-Arginine consumption can increase the natural production of creatine â?? the most powerful ergogenic aid (in my opinion).

Jeez, donâ??t know about you but the first time I encountered the vast benefits of this otherwise unknown amino acid around two years ago in some sweaty library in Leeds I was blown away!

Quick recap for those of you still slightly blurry eyed, L-Arginine can:

  • Increase the natural production of growth hormone
  • Increase the natural production of creatine
  • Stimulate the production of Nitric-Oxide

Look out for it in pre-workout supplements, the best contain it, the worst donâ??t… generally because itâ??s a relatively expensive.

BOOM.
NCUK over and out.
Changing the face of fitness
Helping you become the better you…

“So those of you that know me, or have been following my page for a while will know,”

1st post- what

Yeah but don’t you need like a ridiculous amount of arginine to stimulate growth hormone?

If I remember, studies were showing something like 20-40 grams for a modest increase and it was administered intraveineously.

I personally can’t “feel” arginine working any more than protein powder but in a more realistic dose, I do notice better erections after ingesting some and would anecdotally believe blood flow and NO are increased.

It’s enough for me to use it with pre-workout nutrition.

Are the results of the studies any better if its AKG? What are your thoughts on agmatine?

[quote]matjon wrote:
NCUK Tip #20: The power of L-Arginine…
WARNING: this one is explosive hold on to your toilet seat, because you’re going to shit orange

BOOM.
NCUK over and out.
Changing the face of fitness
Helping you become the better you…
[/quote]

For those of you who know me and have been following my threads and success in the bodybuilding world for a while now, I offer the following tidbits, all summarized in the NSCA’s “Strength and Conditioning Journal”, specifically volume 32, number 2, in case you want the actual study references:

“The idea that nitric oxide will ultimately lead to enhanced blood flow, which will improve both exercise performance and exercise recovery, is speculative at best.”

“studies involving direct comparisons between intravenous and oral l-arginine indicate no effect of oral l-arginine on vasodilation”

"studies involving oral intake of l-arginine at dosages ranging from 10-20g indicate no benefit of this amino acid with regard to increasing circulating nitric oxide or enhancing blood flow:

[in reference to increased NO leading to greater circulation and uptake of other nutrients and hormones] “there exist far too many assumptions with this line of thought that one cannot possibly make these statements with confidence.” (or presumably scientific support)

“with the exception of one study, there exist no published scientific reports to indicate that the dietary supplements currently being marketed as ‘nitric oxide stimulators’ have proven efficacy.”

-And then it goes on to not only break down the # of pages of advertisements in each of the mainstream muscle magazines, but specifically the # of ads for nitric oxide products. It was a pretty ridiculous figure -lol.

S

The agreed upon amount that is needed to have a significant effect on gh levels is approx 30g/day. If anyone has tried to get this amount of arginine down (powder form) per day, perhaps they will agree with me that it is quite difficult due to the bitter taste of arginine. Massive GI upset. Not worth it.

Slightly off topic, but anyone using concentrated beetroot juice for a similar purpose? Got a rave review in this month’s M&F, not that that means too much! Just curious.

the newest products with agmantine and norvaline give a better pump

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
For those of you who know me and have been following my threads and success in the bodybuilding world for a while now, I offer the following tidbits, all summarized in the NSCA’s “Strength and Conditioning Journal”, specifically volume 32, number 2, in case you want the actual study references:

“The idea that nitric oxide will ultimately lead to enhanced blood flow, which will improve both exercise performance and exercise recovery, is speculative at best.”

“studies involving direct comparisons between intravenous and oral l-arginine indicate no effect of oral l-arginine on vasodilation”

"studies involving oral intake of l-arginine at dosages ranging from 10-20g indicate no benefit of this amino acid with regard to increasing circulating nitric oxide or enhancing blood flow:

[in reference to increased NO leading to greater circulation and uptake of other nutrients and hormones] “there exist far too many assumptions with this line of thought that one cannot possibly make these statements with confidence.” (or presumably scientific support)

“with the exception of one study, there exist no published scientific reports to indicate that the dietary supplements currently being marketed as ‘nitric oxide stimulators’ have proven efficacy.”

-And then it goes on to not only break down the # of pages of advertisements in each of the mainstream muscle magazines, but specifically the # of ads for nitric oxide products. It was a pretty ridiculous figure -lol.

S[/quote]

There’s the reason there’s “Mighty” in front of your name.