If you’ve been following my articles you know that [...]]]> Who would have thought there could be a connection between walnuts and heart health.  Yet recent research shows that not only is there a strong connection between walnuts and heart health but that this connection also benefits the endothelium, which lines and regulates your cardiovascular system.

If you’ve been following my articles you know that I’m a firm believer in endothelial health and function for improved cardiovascular health.  Now organizations like WebMD and Life Extension are highlighting the benefits of walnuts and heart health.  Here are excerpts from recent publications from these two outstanding organizations.

What WebMD Says About Walnuts and Heart Health!

“Walnuts are the No. 1 nut for heart health, says a researcher who presented his findings Sunday at the American Chemical Society annual meeting.  That’s because walnuts were found to have more antioxidants – and better-quality antioxidants – than other popular nuts tested, says Joe Vinson, PhD, a researcher at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.”

According to Dr. Vinson, “Twenty-eight grams of walnuts (an ounce) have more antioxidants than the sum of what the average person gets from fruits and vegetables.”

According to Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, “Studies show that walnuts improve cardiac risk factors and enhance blood flow.”

Click here to read the complete WebMD March 28, 2011 article entitled “Walnut May be Top Nut for Heart Health”

What Life Extension Says About Walnuts and Heart Health!

In the August 2011 issue of Life Extension, William Faloon discusses the health impact of walnuts in his editorial entitled “FDA
Says Walnuts Are Illegal Drugs!” Specific to walnuts and heart health, William Faloon had this to say:

“The March 4, 1993, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published the first clinical study showing significant reductions in dangerous LDL and improvement in the lipoprotein profile in response to moderate consumption of walnuts.  Later studies revealed that walnuts improve endothelial function in ways that are independent of cholesterol reduction.

One study published by the American Heart Association journal Circulation on April 6, 2004, showed a 64% improvement in a measurement of endothelial function when walnuts were substituted for other fats in a Mediterranean diet.

As most Life Extension members are aware, the underlying cause of atherosclerosis is progressive endothelial dysfunction.  Walnuts contain a variety of nutrients including arginine, polyphenols, and omega-3s that support the inner arterial lining and guard against abnormal platelet aggregation.  These favorable biological effects explain why walnut consumption confers protection against coronary artery disease.

The US National Library of Medicine database contains no fewer than 35 peer-reviewed published papers supporting a claim that ingesting walnuts improves vascular health and may reduce heart attack risk.”

For the complete editorial by William Faloon from the August 2011 issue of Life Extension please click here.

Walnuts and Heart Health – An Ideal Snack!

Given the above information it makes sense to use walnuts as a heart healthy snack.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture an ounce of walnuts contains 185 calories, 4 grams of protein, nearly 2 grams of fiber, and 18 grams of “heart-healthy” fat.

The most popular snack in America is potato chips.  According to the Fat Secret website one ounce of potato chips contains 155 calories, 1.86 grams of protein, 1.2 grams of fiber, and 10.6 grams of fat.

Comparing the two snacks, walnuts are going to give you twice as much protein, almost twice as much fiber, and healthy fats that benefit cardiovascular health.  Plus the extra protein and fiber will help to hold your appetite over a longer period of time.  This will result in better energy and less hunger going into your next meal.

I also want to thank Life Extension for confirming what I’ve been talking about for a very long period of time. According to William Faloon of Life Extension, “the underlying cause of atherosclerosis is progressive endothelial dysfunction.” Atherosclerosis is the development of plaque formations in the interior of the vascular system leading to a narrowing of the vascular pathway.  This can reduce blood flow and increase the potential for blood clots to form.  It’s one of the major contributing factors for cardiovascular disease.

Implementing a nutrition program that nourishes and supports a healthy endothelium is critically important to your overall health and wellness.  Your nutritional program needs to increase your endothelium’s ability to properly produce nitric oxide – the master signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system.

As the saying goes “an apple a day will keep the doctor away”.  Well, maybe “an ounce of walnuts a day will keep the cardiovascular surgeon away!” Don’t minimize the value of walnuts and heart health.  They could help reduce your risk for the number one killer of men and women worldwide, which is cardiovascular disease.

Together we can work to save a million lives by teaching people about walnuts and heart health benefits!

Dan Hammer

Dan Hammer has a background in biology, chemistry, and exercise physiology.  He used to run one of the largest health club operations in the Chicagoland area and has been helping people with their wellness issues for more than 25 years.

The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only and never as a substitute for professional medical advice or medical exam.  The information about walnuts and heart health contained in this article has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease without the supervision of a qualified medical doctor.

The core of a good cardiovascular program is learning how to choose nitric oxide foods and supplements that will enhance your endothelium’s ability to create nitric oxide – the master signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system. Just in this first line I introduced you to several key physiological terms that will [...]]]>

Nitric Oxide Molecule

The core of a good cardiovascular program is learning how to choose nitric oxide foods and supplements that will enhance your endothelium’s ability to create nitric oxide – the master signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system. Just in this first line I introduced you to several key physiological terms that will absolutely reduce your risk for heart disease if you know how to maximize the benefits of nitric oxide foods.

Let’s start with your endothelium. This organ is now considered to be the largest secreting organ in your body.  Unfortunately, most people have never heard of it, yet your endothelium lines all of your cardiovascular system.  The inside of your heart, arteries, and veins are all lined by this one-celled thick organ.  Your capillaries are just extensions of your endothelium.  Most vascular researchers today believe that your endothelium ultimately controls most of your cardiovascular system. And one of its functions is to take nitric oxide foods and convert them into nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is your body’s most powerful vasodilator. This means that it relaxes the smooth muscle of your vascular wall to properly control your blood pressure.  Nitric oxide is a short-lived gas that contains a single nitrogen and oxygen atom that, when combined together, act as a signaling molecule.  A signaling molecule is used by your body to cause something else to occur.  In addition to helping you maintain a normal blood pressure, your cardiovascular system uses nitric oxide to keep your blood platelet cells from sticking together to prevent strokes and heart attacks.  Nitric oxide is also used to heal and repair damage to the endothelium.

But it doesn’t end there. Your nervous system uses nitric oxide as a neurotransmitter to transmit impulses between nerve cells. Your immune system uses nitric oxide to destroy infectious agents like bacteria, viruses, and tumors.  In fact there is not a cell, tissue, or organ in your body that is not directly or indirectly impacted by nitric oxide.  You could not live without it and the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three American researchers who discovered how the endothelium produces this life-saving and live-enhancing gas called nitric oxide.

Given this information wouldn’t it make sense to learn which nitric oxide foods will nourish your endothelium for improved nitric oxide production?

Nitric Oxide Foods – What Are They?

When we look at nitric oxide foods we’re looking for foods that contain the amino acids L-arginine and L-citrulline.  Technically speaking your endothelium uses L-arginine to create nitric oxide.  The reason why I include L-citrulline is because this amino acid will recycle L-arginine to turbo charge your production of nitric oxide.  We’ll talk about this in just a little bit.

To help you better understand which foods are good nitric oxide foods I’ve created a popular YouTube video. Just click here to watch! For those who would prefer to read let me share the following information:

Most research indicates that for you to receive a therapeutic benefit from L-arginine you need to consume at least 5 grams of this amino acid at one time. So I selected 4 nitric oxide foods that I thought would be common food choices.  I did the math conversions to look at how much of these nitric oxide foods you would need to eat to take in 5 grams of L-arginine.  I also looked at the number of calories and grams of fat it would bring into your body.  Peanuts provide the smallest quantity of food but they pack on 70 grams of fat and 918 calories.  Beans, tuna, or chicken breasts are your better choices but you would need to consume at least:

• one can of beans or
• two cans of tuna or
• almost 1 pound of chicken to get a therapeutic benefit.
  

The other amino acid is L-citrulline. There is not much of a choice in nitric oxide foods for this amino acid.  Watermelon is your one and only good food choice.  Unfortunately, 60% of the L-citrulline is contained in the rind portion of the watermelon which most people never eat.  You would have to eat over a pound of watermelon to get even close to the amount of L-citrulline your body would need for a therapeutic benefit.

When people realize all the food they need to eat, and the limited menu they have to choose from, they begin to ask the question:

Is it better to get these critical amino acids through nitric oxide foods or supplementation?

Comparing costs between nitric oxide foods and supplementation, your total daily food cost could range from $2.50 to $7.00 depending on whether it’s organic or processed food.  Your supplement cost is usually around $2.00 or less.

So supplementation costs you less and doesn’t have the added concern of fat grams and calories to your diet.  You just need to make sure you choose a good supplement company because the quality of the L-arginine and L-citrulline makes a huge difference.  To help you better understand this please click on my YouTube video.

How Long Will Nitric Oxide Foods Provide a Benefit?

Now, I need to make one more important point about nitric oxide foods and supplements as it applies to these two amino acids.

When you bring in a therapeutic level of L-arginine, it typically results in a 30 minute to 2 hour window of improved nitric oxide production.  When you combine your L-arginine with L-citrulline, you increase this therapeutic production of nitric oxide to 24 to 36 hours.  This has huge health benefits in helping you to control your blood pressure and repairing the damage done to the endothelium.

This is so important that the 1998 Nobel Laureate Dr. Louis J. Ignarro had this to say in his 2005 bestseller NO More Heart Disease:

“Any supplement program that does not contain L-citrulline and antioxidants to augment the L-arginine – and most on the market do not – is missing out on a major piece of the potential of nitric oxide to improve your cardiovascular health.”

Learning how to properly nourish, heal, and support your endothelium through proper nitric oxide foods and supplements is a much more cost effective way in reducing the risk factors for cardiovascular disease.  This is especially important for those who have high blood pressure.  Since 33 percent of the American adult population has high blood pressure, and 25 percent are in the pre-hypertensive condition, choosing nitric oxide foods and supplements could be a tremendous health strategy for the prevention of heart disease.

Together we can work to save a million lives by teaching them the benefits of nitric oxide foods!

Dan Hammer

Dan Hammer has a background in biology, chemistry, and exercise physiology.  He used to run one of the largest health club operations in the Chicago area and has been helping people with their wellness issues for more than 25 years.

The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only and never as a substitute for professional medical advice or medical exam.  The information about nitric oxide foods has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a qualified medical doctor.

NEVER!

It’s estimated that there are approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the adult body.  These blood vessels include arteries, veins, and capillaries.  They are all protected by a microscopic inner lining of endothelial cells, which are commonly called the endothelium.  It’s important [...]]]> When was the last time anyone ever asked you about your endothelial health?

NEVER!

It’s estimated that there are approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the adult body.  These blood vessels include arteries, veins, and capillaries.  They are all protected by a microscopic inner lining of endothelial cells, which are commonly called the endothelium.  It’s important to note that these cells line the entire circulatory system from the inside of your heart all the way down to your smallest capillary.  When added up, the volume of these endothelial cells would cover the surface area of 4 to 8 tennis courts depending upon the size of the individual. That’s amazing since the endothelium is only one cell thick and can’t be seen by the human eye.

Once discovered the endothelium was classified as an inert membrane whose primary function was to keep the blood in the circulatory system and out of the body’s tissues and organs. Research over the last 25 years has shown that your endothelium is an active, multi-functional organ that plays a vital role in metabolic, immunologic, and cardiovascular health. Your endothelium is now considered to be the single largest secreting organ in the body.

Endothelial health is so important that the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three American researchers who discovered how the endothelium converts the amino acid L-arginine into nitric oxide – the master signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system.

Endothelial Health and Its Life Enhancing Functions!

Because endothelial cells line every blood vessel they play an important role in the proper function of every organ in your body.  The following is a list of the known functions of the endothelium.  Each function plays an important role in endothelial health, cardiovascular health, and your overall wellness:

• Angiogenesis – The formation of new capillaries is called angiogenesis and is regulated in part by the endothelium. Endothelial health is extremely important in wound healing.  It also plays a significant role in muscle creation and in the heart’s ability to develop collateral vessels.  These collateral vessels can help lessen the impact of a blood vessel blockage in the heart by providing alternative routes for blood flow.

• Blood Flow – Your endothelium helps to facilitate blood flow. It does this by providing a smooth surface that inhibits platelet adhesion and clotting.  It also tries to inhibit foreign substances from adhering to its cellular wall, which can lead to plaque formations.  Large molecules like LDL (bad) cholesterol and/or toxic substances like nicotine damage the intercellular junctions between the endothelial cells allowing deposits to build up.  This causes the smooth and flexible lining of your blood vessels to become rough and hard to directly impact endothelial health.

It’s these plaque formations that are at the heart of atherosclerosis. As this process continues over time, the deposits or plaques become larger which narrows the interior of the blood vessel making it harder for blood to pass through.  This increases resistance to blood flow, which can cause your blood pressure to increase. The following factors can damage the endothelium and increase these formations:  smoking, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension or high blood pressure, and inflammation. Elevated homocysteine levels have also been associated with premature atherosclerosis and can effect endothelial health and function.

Atherosclerosis was once thought to be irreversible but new studies clearly show that when the proper biochemical environment is provided the injured endothelium can return to its undamaged state. Proper supplementation with L-arginine, the precursor for nitric oxide, has been shown to diminish lesion formation, reverse endothelial dysfunction, and lead to improved endothelial health.

• Blood Clotting – The narrowing of your blood vessels also causes blood turbulence that can lead to the formation of blood clots.  These blood clots, if large enough or if they pass through too narrow of an opening, can eventually lodge themselves in a blood vessel causing a blockage. When this happens in the heart we call it a heart attack.  When it
  happens in the brain it is called a stroke.

The endothelial cells produce a molecule called nitric oxide, which inhibits platelet adhesion, activation, secretion and aggregation, and promotes platelet disaggregation. This is extremely important in preventing blood clots in the vascular system to lessen the risk for heart attacks and strokes. It’s also a critical factor in sickle cell anemia to help prevent sickle cells from adhering to each other and clinging to the vascular walls.  This helps to prevent blockages, which cause most of the pain and tissue damage associated with sickle cell anemia.

While using nitric oxide to prevent blood clotting, it’s interesting to note that the endothelial cells are also necessary for blood to clot. They synthesize the vitally important molecule called Factor VIII or von Willibrand’s Factor, which is essential for blood clotting.  Without this molecule a person could bleed to death from a simple scratch.

• Blood pressure – Not only do the endothelial cells provide a dynamically-controlled structural barrier between the circulating blood and surrounding tissues and organs but they also produce signaling molecules that influence vasodilation and vasoconstriction. Vasodilation causes blood vessels to relax allowing for greater blood flow.  This reduces blood pressure. Vasoconstriction causes blood vessels to tighten reducing blood flow and causing blood pressure to increase.

It’s currently believed that the endothelial cells are the controlling factor in the regulation of blood pressure. They produce both nitric oxide, which is the most potent vasodilator, and Endothelin-1 the most potent vasoconstrictor. The proper production of nitric oxide is fundamental to maintaining normal blood pressures, which means that endothelial health is critical to helping you maintain normal blood pressures.

• Specialized barrier function – Endothelial cells act as selective filters to regulate the passage of gases, fluids, and various molecules across their membranes.  For example, in the brain and retina the endothelial cells are tightly linked together to create a barrier that only allows selective molecules to pass through it.  In the liver, spleen, and bone marrow, the endothelial cells are loosely linked allowing for cellular trafficking between their intercellular gaps.  However, in the kidneys, endocrine glands, and intestinal villi, the endothelial cells have a different type of selective permeability to allow for efficient filtering, secretion, and absorption based on that organ’s function.

Endothelial health is also critical to the proper function of your immune system. Your white blood cells or leucocytes are produced in the bone marrow.  They travel through the blood stream where the endothelial cells facilitate their passage into your body’s tissue to allow them to destroy foreign agents or antigens.  This gate-keeping role varies for each organ system but is dependent upon endothelial health and function.

Endothelial Health Is Critically Important!

It’s amazing that a simple lining of cells on the interior walls of your blood vessels could have such a profound affect on your
cardiovascular health and overall wellness.  Yet that’s exactly the case with your endothelial cells.  Endothelial health is critical to your health and your body’s ability to produce nitric oxide – the master signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system.  When impaired, endothelial dysfunction has been linked to the following diseases:

• Diabetes
• Atherosclerosis
• Arteriosclerosis
• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Hypertension
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Lupus
• Scleroderma
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• ALS
• Parkinson’s
• Hypercoagulation of Blood, Thrombosis, Clotting Disorders
• Renal Failure
• Metabolic Syndrome including Abdominal Obesity and Insulin Resistance
• Sleep Apnea
• Glaucoma
  

That’s quite a list of diseases. Properly bringing in a good source of L-arginine, combined with good eating and lifestyle habits like those found in the Mediterranean diet, can help reverse damage to the endothelium and improve endothelial health. This means that your choices have a direct impact on endothelial health, which impacts cardiovascular health and all the diseases listed above.

It also means that you have the ability to prevent most of these diseases by focusing your attention on ways to improve your endothelial health and function. We’ll look at this in our next article especially as it applies to proper nitric oxide production.

Together we can work to save a million lives by concentrating on endothelial health!

Dan Hammer

Dan Hammer has a background in biology, chemistry, and exercise physiology.  He used to run one of the largest health club operations in the Chicago area and has been helping people with their wellness issues for more than 25 years.

The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only and never as a substitute for professional medical advice or medical exam. The information about endothelial health has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent and disease without the supervision of a qualified medical doctor.

Nitric Oxide Molecule

The latest health trend has been the emerging science of nitric oxide production.

While foods and supplements for nitric oxide production has been part of the body building world, it’s now becoming popular for cardiovascular health. 

It’s about time!

The 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three American researchers who discovery [...]]]>

Nitric Oxide Molecule

The latest health trend has been the emerging science of nitric oxide production.

While foods and supplements for nitric oxide production has been part of the body building world, it’s now becoming popular for cardiovascular health. 

It’s about time!

The 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three American researchers who discovery on how your endothelium, which lines all of your cardiovascular system, converts the amino acid L-Arginine into nitric oxide – the master signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system. Recently, Dr. Oz has been promoting L-Arginine supplementation has a key factor for improving cardiovascular health.

While L-arginine is critical to nitric oxide production, the amino acid L-citrulline is also extremely important. In fact, most nitric oxide researchers will tell you that L-Citrulline is equally, maybe in more important, than L-Arginine. The reason why is L-Citrulline recycles L-Arginine to have a synergistic effect on extending the endothelium’s ability to properly produce nitric oxide. Here’s the difference between L-Arginine alone versus the two in combination with each other:

• If you consume a therapeutic level of L-Arginine you will typically get a 30 minute to 2 hour window of improved nitric oxide production resulting in a small window of improved circulation.

   

• If you combine your L-Arginine with a therapeutic level of L-Citrulline then you will increase this window of improved nitric oxide production to a 24 to 36 hour window. That’s huge especially in helping to repair your endothelium for long term improvements in your circulation.

Dr. Louis J. Ignarro, one of the 1998 Nobel Laureates in Medicine, established the following quantities needed for these two amino acids. According to Dr. Ignarro you need 4-6 grams of L-Arginine and 200 to 1000 mg of L-Citrulline to have a therapeutic effect. Anything less and you’re not going to get improved nitric oxide production. The following video will help you understand how much food this represents. It was originally done for our series on sickle cell anemia but it directly applies to this discussion.

Foods That Contain L-Arginine, L-Citrulline, and Folic Acid for the Creation of Nitric Oxide! 

As you can see by the above video food brings with it a cost in both quantity and calories. The following video helps to take this information and compare it to the dollar cost of using supplementation to help create a therapeutic level of nitric oxide production.

Food vs. Supplementation for the Creation of Nitric Oxide! 

Clearly supplementation is a more cost effective approach to addressing improved nitric oxide production. I’m in the process of preparing a new video to help you properly analyze this growing world of nitric oxide supplements. It will help you ask the right questions and look for the right information so that you can choose supplements that will give you great value and lead to real improvements to the cardiovascular system.  

If you’re interested the product I highlighted at the end of the above video, then please check out ProArgi-9 Plus. It’s a clinically proven product that can repair and nourish the endothelium for improved nitric oxide production leading to significant cardiovascular improvements. 

Together we can work to save a million lives through the most cost effective method for the creation of nitric oxide! 

Dan Hammer 

Dan Hammer has a background in biology, chemistry, and exercise physiology. He used to run one of the largest health club operations in the Chicagoland area and has been helping people with their wellness issues for more than 25 years.  

The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only and never as a substitute for professional medical advice or medical exam. The information about foods and supplements for nitric oxide has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a qualified medical doctor.

Recently Dr. Oz has emphasize the need for L-Arginine supplementation for improved cardiovascular health and overall wellness. Here is a recent video of both Dr. Oz and Dr. Mercola talking about how important L-Arginine is in maintaining the flexibility and integrity of the vascular system. Most of Dr. Oz and [...]]]>  

Dr. Oz on L-Arginine

Recently Dr. Oz has emphasize the need for L-Arginine supplementation for improved cardiovascular health and overall wellness. Here is a recent video of both Dr. Oz and Dr. Mercola talking about how important L-Arginine is in maintaining the flexibility and integrity of the vascular system. Most of Dr. Oz and his discussion on L-Arginine is in the second half of this video:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/alternative-health-controversy-pt-3 

If you watched and listened to Dr. Oz and Dr. Mercola, they only talk about the essential amino acid L-Arginine. Technically they are correct from the standpoint of your endothelial cells using L-Arginine to create nitric oxide. Because nitric oxide relaxes the smooth muscle of the vascular wall to help maintain proper blood pressure, keeps blood platelet cells from sticking together to prevent heart attacks and stroke, and repairs the damage done to the endothelium to prevent atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis, what Dr. Oz tells us about L-Arginine is critically important. But there are some other ingredients that need to be part of the equation, especially if you want to create nitric oxide in sufficient amounts to be therapeutic to your cardiovascular system. 

Dr. Oz, L-Arginine, and an Additional Key Ingredient! 

One of those ingredients needs to be the amino acid L-Citrulline. L-Citrulline recycles L-Arginine to have a synergistic effect on extending the endothelium’s ability to properly produce nitric oxide. Here’s what I mean. 

If you consume a therapeutic level of L-Arginine you will typically get a 30 minute to 2 hour window of improved nitric oxide production resulting in a small window of improved circulation. 

What Dr. Oz doesn’t tell you is critically important. If you combine your L-Arginine with a therapeutic level of L-Citrulline then you will increase this window of improved nitric oxide production to a 24 to 36 hour window. That’s huge especially in helping to repair your endothelium so that you can heal your vascular wall for long term improvements in your circulation. 

This means that you need both of these amino acids in sufficient quantities to truly obtain a benefit. To help you better understand this I’d like to provide two quotes from Dr. Louis J. Ignarro. Dr. Ignarro won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine, along with two other American researchers, for discovering how your endothelium converts the essential amino acid L-Arginine into nitric oxide – the most powerful signaling molecule of your entire cardiovascular system. These quotes are taking from his 2005 bestseller NO More Heart Disease. 

“My research shows that L-arginine in doses smaller than 4 to 6 grams produces almost zero increase in NO, so it is in essence an ‘all or nothing’ proposition – you must receive the full dose of L-arginine.” 

“It is the synergy between the L-arginine (in a large enough dose), the L-citrulline, and the key antioxidants that creates dramatic increases in your body’s nitric oxide production. Without the proper combination of these nutrients, which so many other programs lack, you will receive little to no benefit from NO therapy.” 

Dr. Oz Doesn’t Tell You How Much L-Arginine to Use! 

While there is more I could say about additional ingredients, here are the two most important factors you need to consider in evaluating an L-Arginine product: 

1. Does it include L-Citrulline? If it doesn’t, then you are wasting your time and money.
2. Does it include sufficient amounts of both L-Arginine and L-Citrulline to create a synergistic and therapeutic benefit? According to Dr. Ignarro you need 4-6 grams of L-Arginine and 200 to 1000 mg of L-Citrulline to have a therapeutic effect. Anything less and you’re not going to get improved nitric oxide production. 

According to Dr. Ignarro, “Nitric oxide is the body’s natural cardiovascular wonder drug.” But for you to get a therapeutic effect to aid you in improving the health of your cardiovascular system, then you need to be taking both L-Arginine and L-Citrulline in sufficient quantities.  

There’s much more that could be said about the creation of nitric oxide; such as the need for Folic Acid and other antioxidants to enhance nitric oxide production over a long period leading to therapeutic benefits. I’ve prepared two videos to help you better understand this. My next post will highlight these two videos. The first video covers which foods will help you obtain L-Arginine, L-Citrulline, and Folic Acid since these three are critically important in helping your endothelium properly produce nitric oxide. The second video will cover whether it is better to get your L-Arginine, L-Citrulline, and Folic Acid through food or supplementation.

If you would like to order Dr. Ignarro’s book NO More Heart Disease then please click here!  

Together we can work to save a million lives by help to education others about what was said by Dr. Oz on L-Arginine but also including the other key nutrients for improved nitric oxide production! 

Dan Hammer 

Dan Hammer has a background in biology, chemistry, and exercise physiology. He used to run one of the largest health club operations in the Chicagoland area and has been helping people with their wellness issues for more than 25 years.  

The information contained in this article is for general information purposes only and never as a substitute for professional medical advice or medical exam. The information about Dr. Oz on L-Arginine has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a qualified medical doctor.

Learning how to properly repair and nourish your endothelium is foundational to helping you gain better control over your high blood pressure issues. The following statistics will help you understand why this is so critically important: