Here is a quick two-part article on a special amino acid you might want to know about. Its name is “arginine” and it has a flurry of potential health benefits for you. Important ones. So let’s take a look at this important natural remedy.
Arginine is an amino acid considered “semi-essential,” as it can be made from other amino acids in the body. Therefore, under normal circumstances, your body can make enough arginine to meet its needs. But there are certain stressful conditions that demand extra levels of arginine, such as surgery, trauma, burns, and severe infections.
This critical substance, now a popular health-store supplement, works in a three-pronged way. First and foremost, it is needed for your body to produce “nitric oxide.” This chemical is produced by the cells that line your blood vessels, your smooth muscles, your heart, and others. Nitric oxide has several crucial functions. It relaxes the smooth muscles in your blood vessels. It helps keep your arteries free and clear by inhibiting platelet aggregation. It helps the brain send messages throughout the body. And it kills tumor and bacteria inside the immune system.
With all that in mind, there is solid evidence that the following diseases are due to reduced nitric oxide production and/or availability: arteriosclerosis; heart failure; diabetes (types 1 and 2); high cholesterol; obesity; and hypertension.
Secondly, arginine stimulates the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland to release their growth hormone. And thirdly, it strengthens the immune system and will influence how well it works to defend the body.
Before I get to the heavyweights, here is what arginine may do for blood pressure and cholesterol.
Arginine dilates blood vessels and therefore is a definite treatment for anyone with high blood pressure. In a small study (six diabetics with hypertension), three grams three times a day reduced blood pressure. This ability to lower blood pressure has been proven in people with clinical hypertension and also in patients undergoing a kidney transplant or dialysis.
Arginine’s a good idea for people with high cholesterol. A study showed that 8.4 g/day for two weeks reduced the stickiness of platelets in patients with high serum cholesterol. And it’s helpful for type 2 diabetics as well. Arginine could reduce insulin resistance in them, as well as in obese people.
To find out more about the benefits of arginine, read the article Natural Options for an Inflamed Bladder.