Arginine (L-Arginine) is one of the essential amino acids. It exists in various animal foods (meat, poultry, and fish). In addition to protein synthesis, arginine also participates in many physiological reactions and regulates physiological functions. The most diverse amino acid.
What are the benefits of l-arginine supplements? Are there any side effects
Table of Contents
- What is arginine?
- What are the benefits of arginine?
- 1. Arginine helps blood lipid regulation
- 2. Arginine is good for weight loss
- 3. Arginine is good for erectile dysfunction
- 4. Arginine improves immune function
- 5. Arginine regulates blood pressure
- 6. Arginine is beneficial for acute myocardial infarction
- 7. Arginine improves athletic performance
- 8. Arginine is good for dentin hypersensitivity
- 9. Arginine benefits head and neck cancer
- 10. Arginine reduces the risk of preeclampsia
- Are there any side effects of arginine?
- Safety precautions
- Where to buy the most recommended arginine?
What is arginine?
Strictly speaking, arginine is a semi-essential amino acid and plays an important role in many metabolic pathways because it can be used as a precursor for the synthesis of biologically active substances, such as nitric oxide, growth hormone, and creatine. Oxidative defense and enhancing cell protection mechanisms are essential.
One of the most famous is that arginine can be used as a precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide is an important biological signaling molecule in the human body. Unlike nitrous oxide, it does not excite people, but it can determine your health.
Nitric oxide can act on various tissues and act as a neurotransmitter in the brain; it is also an important regulator in the immune system; even the cardiovascular system is a vasodilator and anti-atherosclerotic factor.
In most cases, the endogenous synthesis of arginine is sufficient to meet the needs of the human body without additional supplements.
However, under certain physiological and pathological conditions, such as growth, pregnancy, and diseases, such as infection and cancer, arginine often needs to be endogenously synthesized in multiple tissues through the arginine-citrulline cycle.
What are the benefits of arginine?
1. Arginine helps blood lipid regulation
The prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia are considered an integral part of cardiovascular disease prevention interventions because dyslipidemia is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular events such as coronary heart disease, cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, and peripheral vascular disease.
To date, statins are still the treatment of choice because they have been shown to reduce the risk of major vascular events by lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol while treating dyslipidemia can reduce the risk of heart disease within 5 years. About 30%.
A meta-analysis of literature and meta-analysis (including 11 randomized controlled trials with a total of 561 participants) pointed out that supplementation with arginine only helps to reduce serum triglyceride levels. HDL cholesterol has no obvious help.
＊Conclusion: Arginine supplementation can help improve triglyceride levels, and it has no obvious effect on other blood lipid indicators. More research is still needed to confirm the effect of hyperlipidemia.
2. Arginine is good for weight loss
The World Health Organization defines obesity as a state in which the percentage of body fat increases to the extent that damages health and well-being, and declares it as a “global epidemic”, affecting more than 600 million adults worldwide, and this number continues to increase.
It is the result of a complex interaction of genetics, lifestyle, dietary habits, energy expenditure, nutrition, and metabolism.
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 8 randomized controlled trials with a total of 461 participants) pointed out.
Overall, compared to placebo, oral arginine (daily doses between 2 and 9 grams, 3 to 25 weeks of intervention) can significantly reduce waist circumference (WMD: -2.97 cm), but it has a lower body mass index (BMI) and weight (weight) failed to produce a significant impact.
However, subgroup analyses found that the effect of arginine on reducing body weight and body mass index can be seen in the long-term intervention (≥ 8 weeks) and subjects with daily doses <8 g.
The underlying mechanism may be related to arginine promoting lipid utilization, insulin signaling, and glucose transport.
*Conclusion: Oral arginine may have a positive effect on the improvement of weight-related indicators, but due to the heterogeneity of the included studies, more large-scale trials are still needed to corroborate
3. Arginine is good for erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability to achieve or maintain an erection state sufficient to satisfy sexual behavior. The incidence rate will increase with age. The prevalence rate is 2% among men under 40 and men between 40 and 70 years old About 52%, more than 85% of men aged 80 and above.
In addition, coronary artery disease, obesity, smoking, depression, high blood pressure, preoperative pelvic surgery, spinal cord injury, and other psychological variables are also one of the contributing factors.
The development of erectile dysfunction often has a huge impact on men’s interpersonal relationships, social interactions, emotions, and especially mental health.
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 10 randomized controlled trials, a total of 540 patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction) pointed out that oral arginine-related health care compared with placebo or no treatment Products (daily doses ranging from 1500 mg to 5000 mg) can significantly improve erectile dysfunction.
In addition, subgroup analysis shows that arginine-related health products can improve the sub-function variable name scores of the International Index of Erectile Function, including overall satisfaction, sexual intercourse satisfaction, orgasm function, and erectile function (but there is no significant difference in sexual desire scores).
*Conclusion: For patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction, the use of arginine or supplements containing arginine may be positive for symptom improvement, but due to the heterogeneity of the studies included, more is needed to be supported by high-quality evidence.
4. Arginine improves immune function
The immune system is a complex multi-faceted network composed of special organs, tissues, cells, proteins, and chemicals. Its evolution is to protect the host from various pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Insects and cancer cells.
Appropriate nutrition (glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids) is necessary for various cells of the immune system to make it function optimally and respond to damaged and invaded viruses and bacteria.
Extreme diets, especially protein-energy malnutrition, have a profound effect on reducing immune function and increasing the risk of opportunistic infections.
A meta-analyses literature (including 11 randomized controlled trials, a total of 321 participants) pointed out that arginine supplementation can increase the CD4⁺ T cell proliferation response and reduce the incidence of related infection complications.
*Conclusion: Oral arginine can help improve immune function but limited by the small sample size and possible bias, more large-scale trials are still needed to corroborate.
5. Arginine regulates blood pressure
Hypertension is a latent, common, and fatal disease, often found by accident during regular doctor examinations or health examinations in the workplace.
It is estimated that 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure, and about 80 million people over the age of 20 in the United States alone have high blood pressure.
According to statistics, 51% of stroke deaths and 45% of coronary heart disease deaths are caused by increased blood pressure. In addition, high blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and kidney disease.
A meta-analysis of literature (including 11 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, a total of 387 participants) pointed out that compared with placebo, oral arginine (the median dose is 9 grams per day for 4 weeks) can significantly reduce the systolic blood pressure of 5.39 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure of 2.66 mm Hg.
*Conclusion: Oral arginine has the effect of regulating blood pressure, but it is limited by the small sample size and possible publication bias. More large trials are still needed to confirm.
6. Arginine is beneficial for acute myocardial infarction
Acute myocardial infarction is the disease with the highest morbidity and mortality in the world. It is mainly caused by the rupture of atherosclerotic plaque, leading to coronary artery thrombosis and obstruction.
Although approximately 75% of patients with acute myocardial infarction have survived for more than 1 year, their mortality rate is significantly higher than that of the general population.
A meta-analysis of literature (including 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, a total of 927 patients with acute myocardial infarction) pointed out that compared with placebo, oral arginine did not have a significant difference in total clinical events, including all-cause mortality, myocardial reinfarction, successful resuscitation, pulmonary edema, recurrent myocardial ischemia, heart failure, adverse events, and loss of follow-up.
*Conclusion: For patients undergoing treatment for acute myocardial infarction, the additional use of arginine has no beneficial effect on clinical results.
7. Arginine improves athletic performance
Many factors contribute to the success of athletes, and diet is a key component. The dietary requirements of athletes depend on several aspects, including sports, athletes’ goals, environment, and practical issues, and taking supplements is very common among athletes.
Athletes take supplements for many reasons, including to improve performance, prevent or treat nutritional deficiencies, for convenience, or worry that they will “miss the game” if they do not take certain ingredients.
A systematic review (including 62 studies) pointed out that supplementation with arginine (whether used alone or in combination with caffeine, creatine, or both) failed to significantly improve athletic performance or improve recovery time after fatigue.
*Conclusion: As of now, there is no clear evidence that arginine can improve athletic performance or improve the time required for recovery.
8. Arginine is good for dentin hypersensitivity
Dentine hypersensitivity is characterized by exposed dentin that produces short-term and sharp pain when stimulated. It is usually related to hot, evaporative, tactile, penetrating, or chemical substances and cannot be attributed to Any other tooth defects or pathological factors.
Among adults, the prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity varies from 5% to 85%, especially in the 30-40 age group, which may be related to dental hygiene and diet.
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 14 randomized controlled trials of dentin sensitivity) pointed out that compared with the placebo or control group (potassium salt and strontium-containing toothpaste), the use of arginine-containing toothpaste energy band For better overall symptom improvement.
*Conclusion: For dentin hypersensitivity, the use of toothpaste containing arginine may have a positive effect on the improvement of symptoms.
9. Arginine benefits head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancers are cancers that occur in the aero-digestive tract, and as the sixth most common cancer in the world, head and neck cancers account for 6% of solid tumors, and about 650,000 people are diagnosed each year. New head and neck cancer was diagnosed and killed 350,000 people.
More than 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, most of which are located in the oral cavity and larynx (about 60%-70%), other parts are: nasal cavity, pharynx, middle ear, salivary glands, thyroid, soft tissues, bones and cartilage, And salivary gland adenocarcinoma, melanoma, soft tissue tumors, and lymphomas are relatively rare (about 10%).
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 6 randomized controlled trials) pointed out that the use of arginine enteral formulas can reduce the complications of fistulas associated with head and neck cancer surgery and reduce Hospital length of stay.
*Conclusion: For patients undergoing head and neck cancer surgery, the use of arginine enteral nutrition formula can reduce the probability of some complications and reduce the length of hospital stay.
10. Arginine reduces the risk of preeclampsia
Pre-eclampsia refers to the state of hypertension during pregnancy, with a prevalence rate of up to 2% to 8%, most common from 27 to 40 weeks of pregnancy, mainly defined as systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, and proteinuria ≥0.3 g within 24 hours.
Preeclampsia not only increases the chance of underweight newborns but also may increase the rate of early-onset cardiovascular diseases such as chronic hypertension, ischemic heart disease and stroke in the mother and offspring.
A systematic review (including 7 randomized controlled studies involving 884 pregnant women) pointed out that the use of arginine can reduce pre-epilepsy whether it is a subject diagnosed with high blood pressure or a high-risk group of pre-epilepsy The effect of incidence.
*Conclusion: For high-risk groups, the use of arginine can reduce the risk of preeclampsia, but the limited number of small samples is still to be confirmed by more studies.
Are there any side effects of arginine?
Arginine is a safe health ingredient for most people for a short period of time, but a few side effects have been reported, such as gastrointestinal upset (bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain), allergies, nausea, respiratory tract inflammation, and headache Wait.
A small study found that high doses of arginine (30 g daily) may relax the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus and increase the risk of gastroesophageal reflux.
Safety Precautions
1. May increase gastric acid secretion, please use with caution if you have peptic ulcer or take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
2. Do not use it together with blood sugar or blood pressure-lowering drugs, as it may interfere with the action of the drugs
3. Do not use it if the liver and kidney function is abnormal (arginine may increase blood potassium concentration, which may cause danger in some cases).
4. Do not use in patients with herpes (may cause disease to worsen).
5. Do not use it in patients with acute myocardial infarction, which may increase mortality, but other studies have not found this result.
6. The safety of pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children, or infants is unknown (please avoid using).
7. Do not use Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency (a rare genetic disease of transferase deficiency that cannot metabolize arginine).
8. Do not use in patients with low blood pressure, because arginine may have a blood pressure-lowering effect.
9. Do not use two weeks before surgery.
10. Do not use it with vasodilator drugs, because arginine has the effect of increasing blood flow. If used together, it may increase the chance of dizziness. The names of related drugs are: nitroglycerin, isosorbide.
11. Do not use it with Sildenafil, which treats men’s erectile dysfunction. Because arginine and Viagra have the effect of lowering blood pressure, if used together, it may cause low blood pressure.
12. A meta-analysis of literature (including 11 randomized controlled trials) mentioned that it is used for the following subjects (cancer patients older than 60 years of age, C-reactive protein levels greater than 3 mg/dl, using intestinal formula) Arginine may increase the inflammation index: C-reactive protein, so please pay attention to the relevant objects.
Where to buy the most recommended arginine?
In recent years, food safety problems in various countries have exploded, and it is not healthy but black-hearted products that everyone spends on. Therefore, European and American products with relatively strict quality control have become popular products.
And iHerb.com is a large-scale medical cosmetics e-commerce company in the United States. It has a high satisfaction rate of 97% in the evaluation of Google customers. It provides global home delivery so that you can buy it without risking buying fakes through purchasing high-quality health products.
