Arginine is an amino acid found in many foods such as dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, seeds and chocolate. Most nuts are also rich in arginine.
L-arginine was first found to boost nitric oxide and arterial physiology in a series of Stanford studies published in 1992.
Rabbits with high cholesterol levels supplemented with L-arginine developed significant improvement in arterial and endothelial function compared to non-supplemented animals.
Because of the importance of nitric oxide in cardiovascular disease, there has been growing interest over the past years in using arginine to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases.
Several relative small scale studies of L-arginine have been carried out in humans. Some have shown modest improvements in blood pressure with L-arginine.
Rat studies even suggest that L-arginine may mitigate the high blood pressure seen in salt-sensitive individuals when exposed to a high-salt diet.
Arginine also helps to prevents abnormal blood clotting by stimulating the production of plasmin and by increasing vasodilation reducing heart attacks and stroke risk.
Can arginine improve heart health?
