L-arginine

Natural forms of amino acid L-arginine is found in animal based products like red meat, poultry, fish, and dairy as well as plant-based products such as nuts, seeds, oats, beans and wheat germ are good plant-based sources of arginine. Andthere are plenty of manufacturers who make it in their labs.

Mayo Clinic  lists therapeutic dosages of L-arginine for anything from altitude sickness and asthma to  coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes, exercise performance and transplants.

L-arginine converts in the body to nitric oxide that is a vasodilator.

It is used to improve the health of the heart and blood vessels. Dilatation of blood vessels can relieve the symptoms of pain related to blood restrictions. Keeping blood vessels pliable could also contribute to improved health of those who suffer from congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.

Your blood vessels are like a garden hose. When you squeeze them, the stream narrows, and the pressure goes up.  When you relax them, the stream widens, and the pressure drops. Relaxed blood vessels lower blood pressure and L-arginine can help.

Restriction in the blood flow to your legs cause pain, to the penis causes erectile dysfunction and to the brain causes decreased mental capacity.  When you think about it, as we age, we experience all of these symptoms.  Healthy blood circulation contributes to improving all three.

L-arginine will interact with other medications which are designed to lower blood pressure including Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), losartan (Cozaar), valsartan (Diovan), diltiazem (Cardizem), Amlodipine (Norvasc), hydrochlorothiazide (HydroDiuril), furosemide (Lasix), and many others.

Together they may lower your blood pressure too much and cause some mild and serious conditions. On the milder side, you have dizziness and lightheadedness that may contribute to falls.

Other medications that increase the blood flow to the heart like nitroglycerin or isosorbide will also interact with L-arginine.

And of course other medications that increase the blood flow to the penis like Sildenafil(Viagra) will also interact with L-arginine.

The question you have to ask yourself is this. Why not plan a nutritious diet that includes thousands of known healthy compounds like L-arginine that help your entire body including your blood circulation instead of relying on medications that always have harmful side effects and only deal with one symptom at a time?

When I visit my health care professionals, I always try to find out if they know of natural alternatives. You may be pleasantly surprised how often they know of natural alternatives that at least could lower the needs for medications.