Nitric Oxide: One Molecule To Protect Your Heart & Avoid Cardiovascular Disease
Diving into the nitric oxide rabbit hole
“There are very few things in the body that nitric oxide doesn't regulate.”
- Author: Ferid Murad
I’m well into the nitric oxide rabbit hole.
In 1992, the Journal Science named it molecule of the year.
They praised it as the one molecule in the human body which unites all the major disciplines of medicine - neuroscience, physiology, immunology, so forth.
NO is a fascinating molecule which plays a number of crucial roles in human health.
It’s produced naturally in the body and has the primary role of vasodilation. In other words, it expands our arteries and blood vessels which allows blood to flow more easily throughout the body.
The opposite to vasodilation is vasoconstriction which is the process where your arteries and blood vessels tighten up, leaving more constricted blood flow.
What I will cover is the influence nitric oxide has on the heart and how you can make the most of this molecule to protect yourself from cardiovascular disease.
Nitric Oxide & Heart Function
NO plays an important role in the protection against the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease.
My ears perked up the moment I read about its ability to protect the heart because my father died of heart disease. Cardiovascular disease also happens to be the biggest killer in the world.
The underlying pathology for most cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis, which is in turn associated with endothelial dysfunctional.
The cardioprotective roles of nitric oxide include:
regulation of blood pressure and vascular tone
inhibition of platelet aggregation and leukocyte adhesion
prevention of smooth muscle cell proliferation
Reduced bioavailability of nitric oxide as people age is thought to be one of the central factors common to cardiovascular disease, although it’s unclear whether this is a cause of, or result of, endothelial dysfunction.
One of the most powerful effects NO has on heart health is its ability to decrease clot risk by literally making blood platelets less sticky, meaning they are less likely to clump together and form a blood clot.
Knowing this, it’s a no brainer.
You’d be a fool to not take advantage of this powerful and protective molecule.
Now this begs the question.. how can we directly influence/raise nitric oxide?
6 Ways To Stimulate Nitric Oxide Production
There are 8 powerful ways to make the most of NO, both in your youth and old age.
Sunlight Exposure (Raw on your bare skin)
UV-A has been reported to lower blood pressure, possibly through nitric oxide (NO) production in skin. Hence, another reason to get more sunlight in the morning and during the day.
Furthermore, nitric oxide production occurs in the skin via cutaneous NO stores.
Regular use of Red Light Therapy
Decades of phototherapy research have found that certain wavelengths of light within the blue, red, and infrared bands can be beneficial to living tissue.
Red light therapy triggers the release of nitric oxide from blood vessels and red blood cells. Then, NO causes local vasodilation that lasts several hours after the therapy session has ended which significantly improves blood flow. The improved blood flow promotes positive change in patients, lessens pain and helps nerves to begin to carry sensations again.
I’ve been using them for the past couple months and it’s been game changer.
Higher energy levels, better quality sleep, waking up feeling refreshed, improved recovery from training sessions, so forth.
One thing I make sure to do is put the red light device close to my heart and chest to take advantage of the therapeutic light wavelengths and minimize my risk of heart disease in combination with everything else.
Drink beet juice (especially prior to an athletic endeavor)
Roughly 80% of dietary nitrates come from eating vegetables. If you look at any nitric oxide food chart, you’ll definitely find beets and beetroot at the top.
These foods contain nitrates, which are then converted to nitrites.
Nitrites then are converted into nitric oxide in the body.
I would test this out because vegetable tolerance depends on the individual. Beet juice or any other given choice might be great for you, yet awful for another person based on a myriad of factors.
My favorite way to use beet juice is to consume it a couple days prior to an important athletic endeavor since it does wonders for my conditioning. It feels like I have a second pair of lungs when I’m on this stuff.
Supplement with both L-Arginine & L-Citrulline
NO can be synthesized by oxidation of the amino acid, L-arginine, or by reduction of nitrate and nitrite. Dietary supplements containing the nitric oxide precursors, L-arginine and nitrate, have been promoted as possible ergogenic aids.
The efficacy of L-arginine supplementation is controversial.
When combined with other compounds, there’s some evidence it may enhance exercise tolerance in sedentary or moderately trained, but not highly trained, subjects.
L-arginine supplementation alone has a limited effect on NO production.
L-citrulline supplementation may enable a higher level of extracellular L-arginine and enhanced NO availability. In some studies, L-citrulline with malate has improved muscle efficiency and in some others, L-citrulline has improved high-intensity aerobic exercise performance.
I don’t use either one of these supplements.
In general, I recommend you rely on the other ways of stimulating NO given in this article because they’re cheaper options and more efficacious.
Training
Surprise, surprise.
Training is one of the best ways to stimulate NO production which is a large part of why it’s touted as one of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle.
More training with sufficient recovery, the better.
Correct Breathing Patterns (Through the Nose)
Nitric oxide is released in the nasal airways of humans.
During inspiration through the nose, this NO will follow the airstream to the lower airways and the lungs where it increases the amount of oxygen uptake in the blood.
Nose breathing remains goated as opposed to cringe mouth breathing.
That’s quite a bit of info you can work with immediately to start reaping the benefits of nitric oxide. I don’t promote using supplements for it outside of the precursors to it in moderation because you can get it from elsewhere as I’ve shown.
I hope you found this valuable.
Much love,
Zaid