What is L-Arginine
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What is L-Arginine?
L-arginine is a non-essential amino acid that plays a wide range of roles in the body, including boosting the immune system, among others.* It is freely found in natural foods such as meat, eggs, milk peanuts, and soy proteins.
History of L-Arginine
Arginine was discovered on 1895, but several scientists realized its uses and benefits in later years. In 1998, Dr. Louis Ignarro received the Noble Prize for discovering the role of L-arginine in the production of nitric oxide, and consequently making positive progress in treating high blood pressure – nitric oxide helps arteries to relax, lowering the blood pressure. Many researches have since been conducted regarding L-arginine. It has been shown in clinical studies to help aid recovery in athletes after strenuous workouts.*
Uses of L-arginine
L-arginine has been shown to be effective in treating high blood pressure owing to its effect on arteries and other blood vessels.* When taken, L-arginine dilates arteries, allowing them to relax and making it easy for blood to flow through at a lower speed. One of the benefits of L-arginine is its ability to increase the production of protein in the body and prevent clamping of platelets. This goes a long way in helping patients with severe wounds heal faster and in stopping bleeding in people with low platelet production levels.* To this end, L-arginine is popular with athletes and body builders as it helps to heal torn muscles and injuries attained when working out or in the field.* Doctors also use it to speed up healing after surgery.*
Side Effects of L-Arginine
While L-arginine comes with numerous benefits, it also comes with several, very mild and common, side effects. However, these side effects differ from person to person. Some of the common side effects of using L-arginine include: L-arginine may cause a spike or drop in the body’s blood sugar level.*
Dosage
Users are recommended to take L-arginine in dosages from 500mg to 5g per day. People experiencing allergic reactions at 5g should take a standard 3g or cease taking it altogether if the allergic reactions persist.
My personal review
It would be unprofessional to make such a comprehensive review of L-arginine without having put it to the test. However, I want to clarify that I have used L-arginine for athletic purposes only. There is a vast resource of information regarding the effectiveness of L-arginine for other uses available from the numerous researches conducted in the past. Before, I used to attend gym sessions three times a week on Monday and Wednesday and take short runs on the other days. Saturday was dedicated to heavy training, although this left me with a lot of fatigue and muscle ache to deal with on Sundays. However, after taking L-arginine at the dosage of 5g a day, I noticed a slight increase in my muscle mass. However, I was most impressed by how quick the pain and fatigue I often felt after my sessions in weight training ended – I barely felt it on the second Sunday during my second week of use. I also noticed a slight boost in my morale in the bedroom but only a short period after use. For recovery, L-Arginine has my vote as a great weight training supplement.*
Long-term effects
Research into the effects of L-arginine has been conducted from before 1991 and while most of it is conclusive, there is not much evidence about significant long-term effects at standard dosages. However, taking high doses of L-arginine can lead to the buildup and concentration of nitric oxide in the body over time.*
Short-term benefits
There are numerous short-term benefits of L-arginine and while some take some days to observe, others are almost instant. These include, increased energy and overall vitality, improved muscle recovery, and an increased resilience to intense physical and mental activities.*
Final thoughts
Make sure you consult a doctor before taking L-arginine for medical purposes. Comment down below for how L-Arginine has affected you, we always love hearing from our Absorb Health customers as to how our products benefited them!