Just in case you have no idea what nitric oxide is, let’s have a brief biology lesson. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous molecule that aids the body in various functions. We call it the “miracle molecule” because of how many functions NO is a part of. Most of the benefits we reap from NO are because it serves as a vasodilator. This means NO widens the blood vessels. When this happens, blood can flow more effectively and efficiently. This production of NO is naturally occurring, but we can boost this production via habits and supplements. Furthermore, since NO production decreases as we age, it is smart to find ways to optimize nitric oxide production.
Some of the benefits of optimizing NO include lower blood pressure, improved circulation, increased energy and stamina, improved cardiovascular health, and much more. These benefits are not the only reasons you should be getting more NO in your life. In this article, we will look at just ten of the reasons you need to optimize nitric oxide levels in your body.
#1: Optimizing Nitric Oxide May Help Prevent Diseases
One of the reasons to optimize NO is doing can help manage or even prevent some diseases. There has been research that shows nitric oxide can help prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes. This is due to most NO supplements containing the amino acid L-arginine. L-arginine promotes insulin sensitivity and help control blood sugar in some studies. These controls can help control the development of type 2 diabetes, but may not prevent it from occurring. A high-quality NO supplement or foods containing L-arginine such as beef, salmon, and milk can help optimize nitric oxide to control diabetes.
Another disease that optimizing nitric oxide can help control is Alzheimer’s. NO works as a neurotransmitter, acting as a signaling molecule for intracellular communication. This communication helps regulate the brain’s metabolic status and improves blood flow to the brain via vasodilation. NO can cross the blood-brain barrier, providing nutrients to the brain cells needed to improve cognitive functions such as memory, learning, and computational ability of the brain. All of these boosts that come from optimizing nitric oxide help offset the start and progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
#2: May Improve Skin Health
When we optimize nitric oxide, we could be doing our skin a favor. Boosting NO levels can kill acne-causing bacteria such as the Proprionobacterium acnes as well as inhibit inflammation caused by these bacteria. This means NO can help promote clear skin for those with a history of acne or skin inflammation problems.
#3: Helps Lower Blood Pressure
This benefit of optimizing nitric oxide is one of the most popular reasons to supplement NO in the first place. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension, and hypertension is difficult to detect. High blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries to an excessive degree. When this occurs, hypertension can lead to diseases such as heart disease and kidney disease over time. What makes high blood pressure so difficult to deal with is most people would not know their blood pressure is high unless they visited a doctor. Furthermore, many symptoms of high blood pressure can be easily misdiagnosed as something else. Common symptom include:
- Headaches
- Shortness of Breath
- Pains in the Chest
- Exhaustion
- Nausea
- Vision Problems
- Tinnitus (ear ringing)
- Confusion
- Lightheadedness
- Kidney Problems
These are just a few symptoms that are linked to hypertension, and you can see it is a wide range of symptoms. Supplementing NO or eating plenty of foods high in amino acids and nitrates such as leafy greens will help you optimize nitric oxide and get your blood pressure under control.
#4: Optimizing Nitric Oxide And Erectile Dysfunction
Once again, a quick biology lesson for those who need it. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection for intercourse. As men age, this problem becomes more common. An erection occurs when muscles in the penis relax, allowing blood to fill the chambers within the penis, and then an erection is the result. NO allows blood to flow more effectively thanks to vasodilation, so optimizing nitric oxide can help alleviate erectile dysfunction in some men experiencing symptoms.
#5: NO Can Reduce Muscle Soreness
Yes, NO can help make muscles less sore post-workout. If you have ever gone to the gym, something you may be familiar with is the concept of DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness). This means the worst part of the soreness can be experienced between 24-72 hours after your workout. That’s the bad news. The good news is that optimizing nitric oxide can reduce DOMS by up to 40% in some cases. The effectiveness of NO will depend on the intensity and duration of the workout, but NO has been shown to be able to decrease muscle soreness. This is because NO’s vasodilation creates greater blood floe to the muscles. This allows oxygen and nutrients to be delivered more effectively, speeding up muscle recovery.
#6: Optimizing Nitric Oxide Can Improve Exercise Performance
This one ties right into decreasing muscle soreness. Since NO is involves vasodilation, that same increase in the delivery of nutrients and oxygen post-workout improves muscles working during the workout. NO provides extra support to muscles during thr workout. This helps you push through harder workouts for longer. This benefit has been known for awhile. This is why athletes love supplementing NO products. While most of these are marketed as a muscle booster, NO supplements usually contain the amino acids L-arginine and/or L-citrulline. These amino acids are precursors to NO production in the body, and many athletes swear by NO’s ability to increase endurance. Optimizing NO is particularly helpful for endurance sports such as swimming and cycling. If you wanna see gains in the gym and push yourself, eat your veggies!
#7: NO Helps Boost Your Immune System
This benefit stems from vasodilation. Since NO widens vessels and promotes better blood flow, white blood cells circulate more efficiently throughout the body. This means your immune response becomes more rapid with adequate NO levels. With COVID still being a concern for many as well as other infectious diseases, we want to be able to fight these off quickly. Optimizing nitric oxide helps the immune system do its job better.
#8: NO Improves Lung Function
Vasodilation improves overall blood circulation in the body. This means vasodilation improves oxygen and nutrient circulation and delivery as well. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that optimizing nitric oxide improves lung function. NO increases the amount of oxygen being transported and delivered to the lungs, heart, and other organs throughout the body.
#9: Optimizing NO Can Enhance Weight Loss
This is another benefit the gym rats reading this will want to hear. When we increase our NO production, nutrients are delivered more effectively. As nutrients are more readily available, we can use them as fuel more readily. This means we can burn fat and other fuel sources faster because our blood is flowing better. If you are trying to lose weight, optimizing nitric oxide can help. While this benefit is far from an obvious one, it is still a useful benefit for some.
#10: Optimizing NO Can Lead To Increased Energy
Optimizing nitric oxide can help boost your energy levels. Once again, we have vasodilation to thank for this. Because nutrients and oxygen are delivered more efficiently through the body when blood vessels expand, NO promotes better overall energy thanks to improved circulation. Many avid NO supplement users mention noticing more energy when they start boosting their NO levels, and maybe you will too!
How Do We Boost Our NO Levels To Experience These Benefits?
While a supplement is great, I believe in optimizing nitric oxide through a healthy lifestyle first and foremost. Below you will find a few tips for boosting your NO levels with some lifestyle tweaks.
- Eat plenty of vegetables! A diet high in various veggies is vital to promoting higher NO levels. Dark leafy veggies such as arugula, spinach, kale, and mustard greens are a great start. Most vegetables are high in the dietary nitrates which promote NO production in the body. These veggies are also full of other amino acids and antioxidants that assist in maximizing your body’s use of nitric oxide.
- Limit fluoride and mouthwash. These are great for killing off the bad bacteria that cause cavities and gingivitis. Unfortunately, these kill off the good bacteria that help the body produce nitric oxide.
- Move around. Exercise keeps the endothelium which produces NO healthy and flexible. Exercise also increases vasodilation. You create a circular effect when you exercise. Exercise promotes nitric oxide production, which gives you more energy to exercise more, and so on.
- Get outside. The sun not only helps the body produce vitamin D, but also nitric oxide. Spending 20 minutes in the sun each day helps the body produce more NO as well as lowers blood pressure according to some research.
There are more things you can do, but these tips are a great place to start. Once you have nailed down some lifestyle changes, then you can look into NO supplements for optimizing nitric oxide.
Optimize Nitric Oxide And Improve Your Health
Nitric oxide is an essential molecule that keeps your body healthy and functional. NO’s vasodilation properties assists with so many vital functions. We went over only ten reasons for you to optimize nitric oxide. Believe me, there are definitely more than ten. Check out our other articles to learn more about nitric oxide, and make sure you save this article for future reference. Lastly, spread the knowledge you have learned here today. Share this information with family and friends so everyone can learn more about the miracle molecule that is nitric oxide.