Lowly Amino Acid L-Arginine:

Can it Reverse Cardiovascular Disease?

That is an awfully strong question to say the least. Let’s allow the facts to speak for themselves. When top athletes, youths, and over a million people die each year from it, cardiovascular disease rightly deserves our attention?

The amino acid L-arginine is found in fish, legumes, eggs, meat and soy, and has been extensively researched. In fact, to date there have been over 70,000 documented studies on it. What I will discuss now is why this lowly nutrient is so very timely.

Let’s Start With the End…

The Endothelium that is. The endothelium is comprised of a thin layer of endothelial cells that line the inner part of a blood vessel. Because you have about 100,000 miles of blood vessels, the endothelium has the surface area of about eight tennis courts. One job of the endothelium is to protect the blood vessel itself. Since it is in direct contact with the blood, it acts as a selective filter for the blood vessel wall.

However, the endothelium is much, much more than that. It actually makes its own heart medicine. In 1998, a team of scientists (Richard F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro, and Ferid Murad) were given a Noble Prize in Medicine for discovering an all-important gas produced by the endothelium called Nitric Oxide (NO).

Say Yes to "NO"

It was found that nitric oxide is a powerful vasodilator and relaxes the arteries. Also, the head of Stanford Medical School’s vascular unit, Dr. John Cooke, noted that a decrease in NO caused blood vessels to become like “Velcro”. This is a great word picture. Imagine Velcro-like arteries causing platelets and cholesterol to become latched on to the arterial wall. Not to mention the potential obstruction of plaque build up. This can cause hypertension, artery wall thickening, atherosclerosis, etc.

Conversely, as Dr. Cooke so well puts it, when the endothelium produces a healthy amount of nitric oxide, it makes artery walls smooth, elastic, and “Teflon”-like. This is a good thing. Now in your minds eye, imagine blood flowing freely, smoothly and without hindrance. I think Dr. Rudolf Altshul, MD, said it best, “One is only as old as one’s endothelium”.

So…What Does This Have To Do With L-Arginine

Take a wild guess as to what L-arginine is converted into? If you said nitric oxide you are right on the money. It works like this: L-arginine binds to the endothelium and in turn the endothelium produces nitric oxide. What a great exchange!

It has been shown that therapeutic doses of five grams per day or higher of L-arginine can: Decrease or reverse atherosclerosis, reverse consequences of Coronary Artery Disease, decrease cholesterol and triglycerides, decrease high blood pressure, improve sexual function, improve glucose uptake, improve diabetes and reverse damage, too name but a few of the benefits.

In short, the cause of cardiovascular disease is a damaged endothelium. To reverse cardiovascular disease you must repair it.

Dr. Joe Prendergast, endocrinologist and diabetes specialist says this, “I am a firm believer in the power of L-arginine. Not only have I seen its tremendous effects on hundreds of my patients, but I have also benefited greatly from taking arginine myself. I firmly believe I owe a great deal of my health to arginine supplementation”. Amazingly, Dr. Prendergast has not one patient to have a heart or stroke in over 12 years. That is unheard of in the field of diabetes.

Do you have a high genetic risk of heart disease? What about your cholesterol? Do you or have you smoked? Are you a diabetic? How is your blood pressure? Do you suffer with sexual dysfunction? Have you had a heart attack or stroke? You owe it to yourself to examine the facts. Maybe you will see as I did: This lowly amino acid isn’t so lowly after all!

Written by Jay Wilkins, ND, Cardiovascular Nutrition Specialist and CEO of Pulse Wave Nutraceuticas.

For more information about L-arginine read ‘The Cardiovascular Cure’, by Dr. John Cooke.