IMT staff
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As scientists’ knowledge of sports physiology expands and athletic training techniques improve, the differences between world-record performances and mediocre efforts have narrowed. In their endeavor to excel, athletes experiment with any available means to close the gap.
Amino acids, the building blocks for proteins and other functional molecules, have garnered a great deal of interest among competitors and researchers alike. L-arginine has gained a reputation for improving endurance.
CONDITIONALLY ESSENTIAL
Your body can manufacture about half of the amino acids it needs to perform its metabolic tasks. The remainder, called essential amino acids, must be obtained from your diet.
Under certain conditions, some amino acids that are normally “non-essential” – L-arginine is among this group – may be required in larger amounts than your cells can provide. For example, growing children and pregnant women need to get extra arginine from foods to meet increased metabolic demands. Athletes also benefit from arginine supplementation.
AMMONIA REMOVAL
Your cells create waste products that must either be removed from your body or neutralized. Protein metabolism generates ammonia, a toxic compound that is converted to a non-toxic, water-soluble molecule called urea, which is transported through your bloodstream and eliminated in your urine.
L-arginine is an essential participant in the urea cycle, a metabolic pathway that converts ammonia to urea. According to scientists at Japan’s University of Tsukuba, L-arginine helps to lower ammonia levels in exercising muscle.
NITRIC OXIDE
A more compelling argument for L-arginine’s benefits in exercising athletes revolves around its ability to increase nitric oxide synthesis.
Nitric oxide is a reactive gas that exerts a number of effects in your body, including blood vessel dilation. Nitric oxide enhances blood flow to working muscles, thereby improving oxygen and nutrient delivery and removal of waste products.
L-Arginine supplementation improves nitric oxide production and exercise capacity in both healthy subjects and those with chronic disease, such as diabetes and heart failure.
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
When taken in combination with glutamate and yohimbine, l-arginine improves erectile dysfunction by increasing nitrates in the blood, which could help reverse erectile dysfunction in men with low nitrate levels.
Amino acids, the building blocks for proteins and other functional molecules, have garnered a great deal of interest among competitors and researchers alike. L-arginine has gained a reputation for improving endurance.
CONDITIONALLY ESSENTIAL
Your body can manufacture about half of the amino acids it needs to perform its metabolic tasks. The remainder, called essential amino acids, must be obtained from your diet.
Under certain conditions, some amino acids that are normally “non-essential” – L-arginine is among this group – may be required in larger amounts than your cells can provide. For example, growing children and pregnant women need to get extra arginine from foods to meet increased metabolic demands. Athletes also benefit from arginine supplementation.
AMMONIA REMOVAL
Your cells create waste products that must either be removed from your body or neutralized. Protein metabolism generates ammonia, a toxic compound that is converted to a non-toxic, water-soluble molecule called urea, which is transported through your bloodstream and eliminated in your urine.
L-arginine is an essential participant in the urea cycle, a metabolic pathway that converts ammonia to urea. According to scientists at Japan’s University of Tsukuba, L-arginine helps to lower ammonia levels in exercising muscle.
NITRIC OXIDE
A more compelling argument for L-arginine’s benefits in exercising athletes revolves around its ability to increase nitric oxide synthesis.
Nitric oxide is a reactive gas that exerts a number of effects in your body, including blood vessel dilation. Nitric oxide enhances blood flow to working muscles, thereby improving oxygen and nutrient delivery and removal of waste products.
L-Arginine supplementation improves nitric oxide production and exercise capacity in both healthy subjects and those with chronic disease, such as diabetes and heart failure.
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
When taken in combination with glutamate and yohimbine, l-arginine improves erectile dysfunction by increasing nitrates in the blood, which could help reverse erectile dysfunction in men with low nitrate levels.
