Monday, August 17, 2015

Poor Circulation: A Serious Problem

Are you cold all the time? Do your legs cramp? Do your fingers and toes tingle sometimes? You might have poor circulation.

A lot of symptoms that have to do with extremities can be chalked up to poor circulation. Poor circulation may be fairly common, but it shouldn't be thought of as something you have to live with. It is more serious than that.

Poor circulation is where the body can't move blood through various vessels efficiently enough to meet the body's needs. The bottom line is that it is poor blood flow to and from the heart.


Poor Circulation Can Indicate More Serious Health Problems

Poor circulation is often a side effect when there is a problem with blood pressure, which can also indicate cardiovascular disease. It is also a common side effect of diabetes. Other possible health problems are peripheral artery disease or Raynaud's syndrome.

If you notice symptoms of poor circulation regularly, it is a good idea to visit your doctor. Poor circulation prevents parts of the body from getting enough oxygen. 

What You Can Do About Poor Circulation

Since poor circulation is often the result of something else like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, or peripheral artery disease, the best thing you can do is to change your lifestyle to be more heart healthy. This mostly consists of changes to your diet and activity level.

Efforts to improve circulation include:
  • eat a low fat diet
  • get plenty of fiber
  • cut back on alcohol
  • no smoking
  • cut back on sodium
  • exercise
  • take a nitric oxide supplement

L-arginine and Blood Circulation

Of course we also recommend supplementing with l-arginine. L-arginine Plus is an ideal supplement because it contains l-arginine and l-citrulline, both of which help your body produce more nitric oxide. L-arginine Plus has shown that it provides support for overall cardiovascular health. Find out more about L-arginine at www.l-arginine.com 


Monday, August 3, 2015

How Nitric Oxide Works

Nitric oxide works with many functions within the body, from memory and behavior to heart health and your immune system.
But how does nitric oxide work? How does a single molecule affect so many processes in the body?

A Vital Messenger

Nitric oxide is produced naturally by our bodies, and acts as a transmitter, sending signals throughout the entire body. It is one of the few known gaseous molecules in the body that acts this way. Known as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF), nitric oxide is derived from the semi-essential amino acid l-arginine.

It might sound crazy, but nitric oxide works with both your blood vessels and muscles. The reason your blood vessels can contract and relax is because they are surrounded by smooth muscle tissue. The inner lining of the blood vessels, known as the endothelium, uses nitric oxide as its messenger to signal the smooth muscle tissue around the blood vessels to relax.

Your Need for Nitric Oxide

A single nitric oxide molecule has a lifetime of only a few seconds, so imagine how much nitric oxide your body needs to create the amount necessary to work with numerous functions within the body.
More nitric oxide production requires more l-arginine and l-citrulline. These are the amino acids your body converts into nitric oxide, since there is no way to directly supplement nitric oxide. Individuals with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low energy levels, sexual health problems can get l-arginine from their diet, but supplementing with l-arginine and l-citrulline is the best way to raise nitric oxide levels within the body.

As we age, our bodies slowly produce less and less nitric oxide on their own. This can be the root cause of many aging and health issues, and affects many bodily processes. Just one of the many reasons it might be necessary to supplement l-arginine in our diets!

More Nitric Oxide Benefits

Nitric Oxide is a molecule of many benefits, even aside from lowering blood pressure. Because nitric oxide helps to boost blood flow, it also helps blood carry more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles more quickly. Essentially this allows the body to replenish lost energy during exercise much quicker to improve muscle endurance and in turn, improve overall development. This is also essential to healthy muscle recovery after strenuous activity, which makes nitric oxide a great companion for body builders, athletes, or people who lead very active lives.
During activity, your body taps into its glucose stores for energy, before resorting to fat stores. Based on research, it seems those who supplement with l-arginine and increase the nitric oxide in their body, have a better chance of burning those fat stores more quickly, if fat loss is a goal. This is because nitric oxide could help the muscles take in, burn, and exhaust glucose stores more quickly, and therefore resorting to fat burning sooner.

When there is improved blood flow to carry oxygen and nutrients all over the body, the body is able to recover faster following exercise and from wounds — especially in the extremities. Feel the effects of cardio health support from L-arginine Plus!