Nitric oxide, or NO, supplements are becoming more popular among those with high blood pressure and body builders.
NO works to dilate blood vessels and promote a healthier blood flow.
In recent years, researchers are finding a correlation between nitric oxide and inflammation.
Nitric oxide, in many studies, acts as an anti-inflammatory.
It can help inflamed joints and muscles to help subside symptoms from certain ailments.
Nitric Oxide and Inflammation
Previously nitric oxide was primarily used for lowering blood pressure.
People didn’t think of the idea that NO could do more for the body than help increase blood flow.
NO can also help in certain cases of acute coronary disease where swelling occurs because of blocked blood vessels.
Tissue or muscles may swell as a result and nitric oxide can help prevent further swelling.
One researcher found that certain diseases, like psoriasis and asthma, “shut off” NO in a way.
This “shut off” causes the diseases to flourish and become more severe.
However, when they boost NO through l-arginine, the symptoms decrease.
Another study found that patients with asthma who did not take inhaled glucocorticosteroids exhaled high levels of NO than people without asthma.
They theorize that the amount of nitric oxide exhaled is a good indicator of eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma patients.
These findings are opening up doors to ideas and solutions to relieve symptoms of diseases and illnesses naturally using nitric oxide.
There are releases and modifications of certain NO drugs from already existing medications to help reduce inflammation quickly and with hardly any side effects.
With asthma, they can now start to alter the medications to have ingredients that create NO and inflammation can decrease in the esophagus.
How to Increase Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is made naturally in the body, but can increase through supplements and foods containing l-arginine or l-citrulline.
Both l-arginine and l-citrulline are precursors to nitric oxide and foods like turkey, walnuts, and watermelon provide it naturally.
There are also plenty of supplements available, like L-Arginine Plus, which people use to lower blood pressure or possibly reduce inflammation in the body.
Before taking any supplements, be sure to talk with your doctor to see if it’s safe and what your body needs.
Resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18236016
http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/600_699/0691.html
http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/suppl_3/iii17.full