The Medical Benefits of L-arginine
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The possible medical benefits of l-arginine are numerous. Researchers are learning more about what a safe dose of l-arginine can do for the human body every day. The research mentioned here focuses on the possible benefits of l-arginine to the heart and blood vessels.
Weightlifters, body builders and other athletes have long been familiar with l-arginine, an amino acid responsible for numerous functions in the human body. The body can synthesize or create it's own l-arginine from other enzymes, but the process is relatively inefficient. Food sources of l-arginine include nuts and other foods high in protein, such as meats, dairy products and seafood. It is also found in chocolate.
There has been some debate about whether there are medical benefits of l-arginine supplementation. Since, the body can produce l-arginine, it is not considered an "essential nutrient". This phrase is used to describe vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that must be obtained from food, because the body cannot produce or "synthesize" them from other nutrients.
Since the process, by which the body produces l-arginine is fairly inefficient and likely varies from person to person, it may be that persons with a family history of heart disease or cardiovascular dysfunction may benefit from l-arginine supplementation.
Dietary supplements that contain l-arginine are recommended to promote heart health, cardiac muscle and vascular function and to prevent "platelet aggregation" (reduce the risk of blood clots) and to lower blood pressure. A safe dose of l-arginine may be beneficial to men suffering from erectile dysfunction or sterility.
The Department of Cardiac Surgery in Lodz, Poland released the results of their research into l-arginine function in 2006. According to their data, it is believed that l-arginine improves blood flow to and from the heart by stimulating nitric oxide release. Nitric oxide dialates or enlarges the blood vessels. This is one reason that body-builders have used the supplement.
The Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston has this to say about l-arginine: "NO (nitric oxide) precursor l-arginine supplementation enhances NO production at sites of venous thrombosis (a clot in a blood vessel). Moreover, l-arginine preserves endothelial vasoreactivity (healthy function of the lining of the blood vessels) and reduces platelet deposition (platelets are cell fragments floating in the bloodstream that are responsible for clots) after thrombolysis in iliac DVT(blood clot removal in the area of the hip). These data suggest that l-arginine may preserve endothelial function after thrombolysis and may reduce the likelihood of postthrombotic syndrome".
Basically, what the researchers are saying is that l-arginine may be beneficial for people who have suffered from a blood clot. As a preventitive, it could reduce the likelihood that a blood clot will form.
A safe dose of l-arginine is included in some new supplements designed to promote healthy heart function.
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