One of the hottest products on the nutraceutical and the pharmaceutical shelves these days is an amazing product known as arginine. On the one hand arginine is nothing more than an amino acid found in milk, cheese, yogurt, meat and other proteins. But it really is not just another aminoacid. Arginine has some pretty astounding properties. Once it is separated from all of its sister amino acids and ingested into the body it takes on the ability to produce some remarkable results. In fact, in the scientific community, arginine is referred to as the miracle molecule.
Its properties have been validated by the scientific community starting with the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998. Columbia University refers to it as the magic bullet in human health. In an effort to document its many properties, Columbias researchers have compiled over 10,000 citations. A study of this phenomenon is even included in the course material at the Columbia University of Medical Physicians and Surgeons.
Aging and L-arginine
As part of the aging process the human body begins to slow down in its production of youth hormones. One of the clinical definitions of aging involves the reduction of youth hormones. Growth hormone, testosterone and IGF factors are the primary anti-aging hormones and they are directly involved in the aging process. We love these hormones because in our youth they account for the muscle building, bone and skin growth, elasticity, reduced stored body fat, and the energy and sexual stamina that we all take for granted when we are 16, 17, and up to the age of 23. They help to keep us beautiful, lean and strong. However, once we reach the age of 23 the levels of these hormones begin to go down. As the level of these anti-aging hormones is reduced we begin the natural process of aging we look and feel older. One of the amazing properties of L-arginine is its capacity to stimulate the bodies production of growth hormone, testosterone, and IGF back to the same level as it did in its youth. This product is a dream come true for the baby boomers just now stepping into old age.
The Specific Benefits of L-arginine
One of the most promising benefits of L-arginine is in its capacity to reduce the risk of and improve the effects of cardio-vascular heart disease. This, however is only one of many, many benefits. This product produces more benefits than any other pharmaceutical or nutraceutical agent ever discovered. Nitric oxide production is another benefit. Other benefits of L-arginine include:
-Arginine reduces the risk of vascular and heart disease
-Reduces body fat
-Promotes body fat burning
-Improves immune function
-Natural alternative for Viagra and also works for women
-Builds muscle mass
-Increases bone density
-Reduces healing time of injuries particularly bones when they break as in Osteoporosis
-Anti-oxidant properties
-Increases energy levels
-Reduces blood pressure
-Reduces risk of heart disease, stroke and cholesterol
-Reduces clogged arteries
-Increases sperm count and motility by 250% in 2 weeks
-Maintains healthy blood-sugar levels
-Reduces the risk of cardio-vascular heart disease
-Achieves and maintains erections
-Increases fertility and orgasm in women
-Improves cardio-vascular disease that is already prevalent
That is why L-arginine is called the magic bullet and the miracle molecule.
Has there been any research to confirm the effectiveness of L-arginine?
A breakthrough discovery was made in l983, in determining how to get arginine to cross the blood brain barrier in order to signal the hypothalamus to trigger the pituitary to produce youth hormones. In simple terms this signaled the aging human body to start producing growth hormones at the same level it was producing them when that body was 16 23 years of age. This means that you can administer L-arginine to an 80 or 90 year old person and they will begin to produce youth hormones that help keep the skin tight, the body healthy and lean, that increase muscle mass, and improve immune function all of which typically decline after the age of 23.
How is L-arginine effectively formulated?
L-arginine has to be carefully treated in order to trigger its powerful potential. If it is ingested in its pure form it will simply go into the stomach, move into the intestinal tract and then into the gut. The arginine molecule is referred to as a blind amino acid and must be attached to a rider or another type of molecule that will direct it to the place in the body where it will have an impact. By itself it is just an amino acid that has no idea where to go. It will not cross the blood brain barrier, it will not trigger the production of anti-aging hormones, it will not produce anti-aging benefits. After many studies and a lot of research it was determined that an arginine molecule attached to a kiwi glycoside, from the kiwi plant, will create the formulation that allows the arginine to cross the blood brain barrier and produce its remarkable anti-aging results.
Another point to keep in mind is that the daily protocol for taking L-arginine is different from the evening protocol. Daily doses of L-arginine will provide cardio-vascular benefit, Nitric oxide, sperm motility and count. You will not get the anti-aging benefits from taking L-arginine during the day. That requires a much different protocol. You take the same L-arginine formulation but in a much different way. Anti-aging occurs only when L-arginine is present 30-40 minutes into the sleep cycle, during delta sleep. Then the Kiwi rider will effectively take the arginine molecule across the blood brain barrier and do its amazing work of anti-aging in humans. One formulation, taken in two different ways provides two different groups of benefits.
You can see that this is a complicated molecule. It is important to realize that while other companies have produced arginine formulations they lack the scientific research that has resulted in this L-arginine formulation. Other arginine products do not have the anti-aging capacity of ProArgi-9. In fact they can actually be dangerous to use.
What is the relationship between obesity and L-arginine?
Today, 60% of Americans are overweight. That is a huge number that is on the rise. One of the problems with obesity is that when we get fatter the size of our fat cells increases. Increasing the size of our fat cells increases the risk of hormonal cancers such as breast and prostrate cancer. Americans are so overweight that we have the highest rate of these cancers. Americans are at a high risk for obesity, diabetes and cancer. This is largely due to an abundant supply of food and the wealth to acquire it.
Eating is so much a part of American life and culture that it is extremely difficult to change. We have a lot of unhealthy eating habits in America. Add this fact to the reality that over the age of 23 our bodies generally start to get fatter and fatter due to the natural loss of anti-aging hormones. Anti-aging hormones keep our bodies thin by keeping our metabolism higher. Therefore as humans age their body fat levels increase. L-arginine taken orally is the only proven method of reinstating the main anti-aging factors responsible for the increase of hormones that affect age related body fat. In other words, the L-arginine molecule can reverse the fat burning process and increase it, instead of slowing it down. And it is the only product around that is able to safely make that claim.
How do carbohydrates and the Glycemic Index work together and with L-arginine?
While one of the hottest diet related issues right now is certainly L-arginine, another is the glycemic index. Thanks to ongoing research our understanding of diets and dieting is constantly under revision. We have come to understand that contrary to what was believed before, the fat in our diets is not what is making us fat. Furthermore, protein will not make us fat either unless we resort to a very high protein regimen in which the protein tells the body to increase the size of the fat cell. Research is showing us that it is actually certain carbohydrates that are making us fat. For example, rice cakes, which contain no fat are actually more fattening than a bowl of ice cream. Rice cakes are 600 times more fattening than a bowl of sugar. Rice cakes stimulate the fat storing in human cells. Ice cream and sugar have a lower glycemic index than rice cakes. (Glycemic index is a measurement of how much a particular food increases our blood sugar level resulting in increased body weight.) It is clear that we have been wrong about our notion of what it is that is making us fat. No wonder a lot of diets do not work.
Can a low glycemic diet be enhanced by the presence of L-arginine supplementation?
Dietary induced thermogenesis is a dietary approach involving eating low glycemic foods that readily burn as energy and are not stored in fat cells. This is an effective way to lose body fat. This also promotes the loss of body fat around the heart and organs, which can prevent disease and slow down the aging process. Restricting your dietary intake to low glycemic foods and drinks is external. But fat in the body can also be attacked on internal level as well. Increasing your bodys internal thermogenesis, through the supplementation of L-arginine definitely enhances the fat burning process on an internal thermogenic level. This process of attacking fat burning on two different levels, internally and externally is a synergistic approach that is a powerful way to reduce body fat, reduce the incidence of disease and slow down the aging process.
Obesity is related to an increase in the insulin levels in the blood. How does this relate to diabetes?
Type-II diabetes, or adult onset diabetes, develops as adults get older and become fatter. The levels of insulin in your blood become elevated, resulting in hypo-glycemia and the diabetes. Type-I diabetes is the opposite situation. In this case you do not produce enough insulin. The disease of obesity is diabetes. In America we have the highest rate of diabetes because we are the fattest country in the world. As we increase fat cells and body weight we increase the risk of developing diabetes. Eating fat-storing carbohydrates such as rice cakes, potatoes, bananas and rice stimulate blood glucose levels to increase which results in higher levels of insulin. This is very unhealthy for the human body. It can lead to cardio-vascular disease, hormonal cancers, diabetes and all sorts of diseases of aging. To stop eating foods that stimulate insulin production will prevent those diseases (including cancer and diabetes), will allow the body to grow old gracefully and stay young longer.
A low glycemic diet or one that does not stimulate the production of high blood sugar levels followed by the production of too much insulin, can be achieved by eating low glycemic foods. It is not a matter of giving up food and obsessively counting calories. It is all about becoming familiar with the glycemic levels of particular foods and drinks and then making better choices. For example, potatoes have a high glycemic index while sweet potatoes do not. Bananas are high but cherries, berries and grapes are low.
How is cardio-vascular health related to arginine?
In hundreds of clinical tests L-arginine has been shown to have a dramatic effect on cardio-vascular health. Oral administration of l-arginine produces a 24% decrease in plasma cholesterol levels within hours and without negative side effects. There is no drug that can give these kinds of results. A 6 gram dose of elemental arginine is required in order to affect this decrease. L-arginine therapy results in a decrease in platelet activity and an increase in vassal dilation thus reducing cholesterol. Arginine prevents the increase in blood pressure in cases of high-risk hypertension. In healthy humans with essential hypertension, L-arginine quickly reduces systolic and diastolic pressure. This is more effective than any drug and also without negative side effects. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for l998 was awarded to Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad for their discoveries concerning the nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. Since then, arginine and cardio-vascular research in the scientific community and especially cardio-vascular surgeons have been very focused on finding out how to unleash L-argininess powerful capacity and utilize it in everyday medicine.
