- L-ARGININE :
Arginine is an amino acid
that is best known as a growth hormone releaser. The decrease of growth
hormone in the human body with aging is a major reason why muscle mass
tends to decrease with age and body fat tends to increase with age.
Decreases in growth hormone also are partially responsible for the slower
rate of skin growth with aging, which results in thinner and less flexible
skin. Injections of growth hormone can reverse these problems. Even
though the cost of growth hormone injections have come down in price
considerably in the past few years, they are still very costly. Growth
hormone injections introduce growth hormone in a manner that is very
different from the way it is produced by the pituitary gland. Growth
hormone cannot be taken orally, because it is broken down in the digestive
tract.
An alternative method of increasing one's
level of growth hormone is to take a growth hormone releaser such as
arginine. L-arginine, or L-arginine hydrochloride, taken on an empty
stomach, will cause a significant release of growth hormone. It is necessary,
however, to use a very large dose of arginine: 10 to 30 grams, depending
upon many factors such as one's body weight. Taking a few capsules of
arginine will have no effect on growth hormone in adults. Arginine's
growth hormone release is enhanced if supplemental choline and B5 (calcium
pantothenate) are taken at the same time. The choline can be in the
form of any available form of choline or DMAE supplement. (Centrophenoxine,
a very safe substance available from European or Mexican pharmacies,
can also be used as a choline source. Centrophenoxine in converted to
choline in the body.)
The effectiveness of arginine in releasing
growth hormone is greatly diminished if foods have been consumed that
cause other amino acids or significant amounts of insulin to be present
in the bloodstream along with the arginine. That is why the arginine
should be taken on an empty stomach (i.e., at least one hour before
or three hours after a meal).
Growth hormone releasers should not be
used by young people until five years after they have completed their
long bone growth (unless under careful medical supervision). The effectiveness
of arginine for growth hormone release is very age dependent. It usually
causes a massive growth hormone release in people in their 20's. By
the time a person reaches their late 40's or early 50's, however, arginine
still causes a growth hormone release, but the growth hormone levels
rarely approach youthful levels.
Arginine is also a powerful immune stimulant
and wound-healing agent. At one time, this was thought to be exclusively
due to its growth hormone releasing properties; but arginine is a powerful
immune stimulant and wound healing agent even in the absence of significant
growth hormone release. It is now known that arginine has other important
benefits as a precursor of nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide is usually thought of as a
toxic component of smog, but recent scientific discoveries have shown
it to be a biological compound of immense importance. Nitric oxide is
the epithelial-derived relaxing factor, the chemical secreted by the
lining of human blood vessels that causes the blood vessels to dilate,
and thus determines what parts of the body receive extra blood flow,
and what parts will receive less in response to other biological signals.
Adequate nitric oxide also helps to insure that this allocation of blood
flow is accomplished without undue increases in blood pressure. Scientists
have searched for years for the chemical that causes this blood vessel
dilation. They were not expecting that the chemical would be a gas,
although nitric oxide dissolves easily in water. The search for this
chemical was made even more difficult by the fact that the nitric oxide
is destroyed by hemoglobin within about three seconds of the time it
is released in the blood vessel lining.
Nitric oxide now also appears to be the
neurotransmitter responsible for converting short-term memories to long-term
memories in the brain. This is another ability that often declines with
aging. It is likely that L-arginine pyroglutamate would be more effective
than other forms of arginine for this purpose because of its increased
penetration into the brain.
The body also concentrates high levels
of nitric oxide in the fluid around a wound. The exact function of nitric
oxide in wound healing is unclear at this time.
In some hospitals, small amounts of nitric
oxide are being mixed with the oxygen received by patients with certain
lung disorders. The results of this new treatment appear very promising.
Overall, the role of nitric oxide in the
human body is a major area of current medical research. Important new
discoveries about the role of nitric oxide are being made every month.
The human body manufactures nitric oxide from only one nutrient: arginine.
The remarkable wound healing enhancement
of arginine appears to be due to its growth hormone releasing properties
as well as its role as the body's sole source of nitric oxide. There
are a number of reports in the scientific literature about the wound
healing properties of arginine and the usefulness of arginine before
and after surgery. Arginine can greatly accelerate the healing of broken
bones and other accidental wounds.
Arginine is available as an intravenous
fluid for surgical patients and those who have sustained severe injuries.
In spite of the considerable body of evidence showing arginine's usefulness
in wound healing, it is almost never routinely used for this purpose,
and few physicians are familiar with it.
Anyone who wants to insure that, in the
event of surgery or accidental injury, they receive adequate supplemental
arginine should keep copies of the relevant medical journal articles
on hand and assign a "Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care"
to a trusted person who knows about these medical journal articles.
Safety Notes: Arginine can enhance the
growth of herpes viruses and pseudomonas bacteria. Anyone with herpes
infections of the brain or eye or with any serious pseudomonas infection
should never use arginine. Anyone with other latent or active herpes
infections should use arginine only with extreme caution. Although arginine
can promote the growth of these two infections, arginine also enhances
the immune system, so the end result of arginine use can be positive
or negative.
Arginine should not be used by diabetics
(unless under very close medical supervision) because of its insulin-blocking
effects. It should be used only with extreme caution by borderline diabetics.
Arginine may be beneficial, though, to some people with Type II diabetes
or sub-diabetic insulin resistance.
As noted earlier, supplemental arginine
should not be used by young people until at least five years after they
have completed their long bone growth.
An excellent source of information on the
practical aspects of arginine supplementation is The Life Extension
Weight Loss Program by Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw. (Now out of print.)(See
the Recommended Reading section.) This book contains numerous references
to the primary scientific literature.
References on the effects of arginine on
wound healing and immune response:
Albina, Jorge and Reichner, Jonathan. "Nitric
Oxide in Inflammation and Immunity." New Horizons. Vol.3, No.1.
pp. 46-64. (1995)
Brittenden, J., and others. "Nutritional
Pharmacology: Effect of L-Arginine on Host Defences, Response to Trauma
and Tumour Growth." Clinical Science. Vol. 86. p.123-132. (1994)
Barbul, Adrian, and others. "Arginine
Enhances Wound Healing and Lymphocyte Immune Responses in Humans."
Surgery. vol. 108, pp. 331-337, (August, 1990.)
Daly, John, and others. "Immune and
Metabolic Effects of Arginine in the Surgical Patient." Annals
of Surgery. vol. 208 No.4. pp. 512-523. (October, 1988)
Daly, John, and others. "Enteral Nutrition
with Supplemental Arginine, RNA, and omega-3 Fatty Acids in Patients
After Operation: Immunologic, metabolic, and clinical outcome."
Surgery. Vol. 112. pp. 56-67. (July, 1992)
Kirk, Stephen J., and others. "Arginine
Stimulates Wound Healing and immune Function in Elderly Human Beings."
Surgery. Vol. 114, No.2. pp. 155-160. (1993).
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