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About 3 months ago I posted about a short workout routine that I had started, the Nitric Oxide Dump. I am still doing this at least once per day, and I am very convinced of it’s positive effects! Today I learned a lot more about the signalling molecule Nitric Oxide from this episode of the Broken Brain Podcast in which Dr. Louis Ignarro is interviewed, a medical research scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998 for his breakthrough discovery of Nitric Oxide (NO), and how it positively impacts health and longevity. (Interview starts at 5:30)
Nitric Oxide is a instable gas, it only exists for a few seconds after being produced. It dilates our blood vessels and impacts not only our cardiovascular health, but also our brain health, immune system, and nervous system. They discuss the problem with not having adequate levels of nitric oxide in the body, and how to naturally boost your production of it. Nitric Oxide is produced in the body by the enzyme NO synthase out of the amino acid argenine. This means that in your food you need sufficient protein (containing the amino acid argenine), and it also has been shown that sugar and excess salt inhibit the production of Nitric Oxide. One important way to benefit more from Nitric Oxide, is to breathe in through your nose. The nasal mucosal cells make lots of NO. As you breathe this in, it relaxes the smooth muscles of your airways causing them to widen and more air can get in the lungs. The NO also reaches the small blood vessels in your lungs, dilates them and increases blood flow, which also increases oxygen exchange. The third effect that was shown, is that NO is antimicrobial and antiviral. That is also why nitric oxide is currently being used as an intervention in clinical trials to treat COVID-19.