What is L-arginine, and what is it`s role in regulating blood pressure?

It has been labelled a non-essential amino acid basically because our own body manufactures it in measure. We also need to boost it from the foods we eat and through physical activity, but the worse our diets and the more sedentary our lifestyles become, this amino acid in reality takes on the “essential” so to speak.

Arginine is needed to bio-synthesize super nitric oxide which is transported by hemoglobin around the body for vital organs that need it and our cardiovascular system is included. It reacts on the lining of blood vessels (endothelium) to stimulate the smooth muscle to relax reducing high blood pressure, so if we are lacking in some way we are more likely to develop hypertension.

So you might conclude that the solution is easy then. Just supplement with l-arginine! This has been successful for many people. Dr. Ignarro, Nobel prize winner who discovered the importance of nitric oxide in its role to open blood vessels helps us understand that not only will supplementing this amino acid reduce blood pressure in some but …