Nitric Oxide

We have no choice over whether or not we’re going to get older over the coming years, but we can decide how we’re going to age.  The good news is that almost all degenerative changes can be dramatically delayed, minimized, or completely prevented.  High Performance Living is about helping our readers institute strategies in their lives that will optimize their health and longevity.  Maintaining healthy levels of nitric oxide should be part of your own anti-aging strategy.

By age 65:

• Over two-thirds of all Americans have high blood pressure (greater than 140/90)
  
  
• About one-fourth of all men in the U.S. are impotent
  
  
• Most people’s kidneys filter waste out of blood half as fast as a 30 year old’s

Because these changes are so common, one could think that they are a “normal” part of aging, when in fact they are primarily the result of lifestyle choices.

Nitric Oxide

One thing the above items have in common is the relationship of all these bodily functions (regulation of blood pressure, male sexual functioning, and kidney functioning) to a chemical produced in the body called nitric oxide.  Nitric oxide (NO) is a hormone that acts in the immediate area where it is released, and is found throughout the body.  It was discovered that the body produces nitric oxide in 1988, and the Nobel Prize was awarded for this work 10 years later.  Thousands of research papers have been published covering NO’s various functions – here we’ll talk about just a few of them.

Blood Vessel Health

Every time the heart beats, the cells that line your blood vessels release a puff of NO, which diffuses into the smooth muscle cells causing them to relax.  This enlarges the vessel, allowing the blood flow to surge, preventing damage to the blood vessel, and regulating blood pressure.  (Nitroglycerin, a common medication for people with angina, also works by releasing NO to cause relaxation of blood vessels in the heart.)

In addition to regulating blood pressure, NO inhibits inflammation in the blood vessels, and reduces the ability of blood platelets to form clots or stick to the vessel lining.  It has also recently been learned that NO is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the body, helping to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.  These are all protective mechanisms that the body uses to prevent strokes and heart attacks.

Sexual Functioning

Nitric oxide is also the neurotransmitter that, by causing production of another molecule called cGMP, allows smooth muscle to relax and enables male sexual arousal.  (Viagra works its magic by preventing the breakdown of cGMP.)

Kidney Function

Nitric oxide is found in virtually every organ in the body.  In the kidney, the release of nitric oxide once again increases blood flow, thus increasing the rate of filtration and urine formation.

Decline in Nitric Oxide Production

Like many other hormones, the body’s production of nitric oxide tends to decline as we age.  A sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet will result in even lower production of nitric oxide, and an acceleration of the aging process.  Eating a high-fat meal, such as a Big Mac and fries, will reduce nitric oxide production by about 50% for the next six hours.  Smoking 4 cigarettes will have approximately the same effect. Adding simple sugars, such as those found in a soft drink, to a high-fat meal will further reduce the production of nitric oxide and reduce vasodilation.  These actions result in damage to the very endothelial cells that produce NO.  Damaged endothelial cells produce less NO, resulting in a vicious cycle leading to the long-term decline in NO production that is associated with aging.

Strategies for Maintaining NO

Regular exercise, staying lean, and not smoking are factors that increase nitric oxide production.  And not coincidentally, these actions are also known to help prevent many degenerative diseases, including cardiovascular disease and impotence.  In fact, vigorous exercise equivalent to running at least 3 hours/week or playing singles tennis for 5 hours/week is associated with a 30% lower risk for erectile dysfunction.  (Over 80% of men who have heart attacks suffer erectile dysfunction before having their heart attack).  Much of this benefit can be attributed directly to healthier small blood vessels resulting from greater levels of nitric oxide.

Nitric Oxide is made in the body from the amino acid arginine.  Supplementing with a combination of arginine and antioxidants has been shown to increase NO production and reduce blood clotting and inflammation.  It has also been shown in mice (but not humans yet) to reduce blood vessel damage in those with high cholesterol levels.  Long-term arginine supplementation has been shown to reduce the thickness of plaque in patients with high cholesterol, to significantly reduce blood pressure in patients with mild to moderate hypertension, and to improve sexual performance in many users.

Louis J Ignarro, who won the Nobel Prize for his work on arginine and NO, takes a supplement which contains arginine, vitamin E, vitamin C, and alpha lipoic acid.  His formulation can even be purchased for an excessive $90/month through a network marketing company.  We recently added 5 grams of arginine, at night, to our own anti-aging protocol.  This is in addition to the ample levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid, and other antioxidants we take with our HPL Mix.  The lowest price I’ve found on l-arginine is through www.beyond-a-century.com, at a cost of $6/month.  Because arginine competes with other amino acids for absorption, you will get the best results by taking it on an empty stomach.

As a bonus, arginine has been found to increase secretion of growth hormone, another hormone that decreases with age, and a topic we’ll address at a later time.

Go Long,

Wiley