Do you say NO?
Let me tell you something about NO. It all started with a free-form amino acid l-arginine. Now, you know it by the name of Viagra or a popular bodybuilding supplement. I traversed to the local library and picked out the August ’07 edition of a popular bodybuilding magazine and came up with a count of how many ads promoted NO (or nitric oxide). (And no, that’s not what a dentist gives when you need to be put out for a procedure)
I counted fifteen different ads for a NO supplement, three that had four pages. And I didn’t get into the special ad section in the back. Obviously a big push for body builders. But why Viagra?
NO is used to dilate blood vessels. This sends in more blood and nutrients through the system. This gives the reality, appearance and feeling of bigger appendages. Muscles will become larger as the fill with blood, nutrients and other fluids flowing through the vessels. This is so thick that you can see it.
While looks and feelings are great, l-arginine does other great things that are not so “sexy”. That is cardiovascular support.
When transformed to NO, arginine relaxes blood vessels, regulates blood vessel tone and their flexibility. This will protect against aging of the cardiovascular system by allowing the proper nutrients (such as HDL cholesterol) to flow through the system.
The plant-based food sources for l-arginine are: chocolate, wheat germ and flour, buckwheat, granola, oatmeal, nuts (coconut, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, peanuts), seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower), chick peas, cooked soybeans. [For this list and a full list chlick here]
