Day 238- I will Pump You Up...Or Inflame You

If you are an athlete or body builder you may have seen a new product on the market, claiming to increase endurance and vasodilation which may help to increase muscle mass. There are many of these products out there under names such as, Xero Limits EPO, N.O 370, Jack3D, BSN N.O-xplode, NOX Surge, etc. What all of these products have in common is that they are addressing the Nitric Oxide response in the body.

Nitric Oxide is a gas naturally found in the body that's main function is conveying information between cells. Nitric Oxide is involved in three pathways in the body, which we call the Nitric Oxide Synthases (NOS); which are a family of enzymes that catalyze the production of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine.

• nNOS- Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthases, produces NO in nervous tissue in both the central and peripheral nervous system. This pathway helps to increase cell communication.
• eNOS- Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthases, generates NO in blood vessels and is involved in regulating vascular function.
• iNOS- Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthases, produces NO as a defense mechanism, which may cause increase in body inflammation.

Nitric oxide gives more blood to organs when needed. When working out nitric oxide will release more blood to the areas that you are working, after a meal nitric oxide send more blood to the stomach to help digest food, during sexual stimulation nitric oxide is responsible for the relaxation of blood vessels in the penis allowing for an erection (anti-impotence drugs such as Viagra work in much the same way).

Nitric oxide signaling is mediated in mammals by the calcium/calmodulin controlled isoenzymes eNOS and nNOS; iNOS on the other hand is involved in immune response and is not dependent on calcium/calmodulin.

The problem with the supplements on the market today is that they do not address all three of the nitric oxide pathways. As I mentioned above there is the eNOS, nNOS, and iNOS pathways. The eNOS, and nNOS pathways are what are being addressed in the majority of the NO supplements on the market today, and people are seeing terrific results with them. The issue is that the iNOS pathway is also being turned on and this may be causing problems with increased inflammation. The supplements on the market today contain L-Arginine which can trigger any or all of the three pathways, but having iNOS stimulated is not ideal and can cause some serious damage to the body in the long run.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP