When you think of nitric oxide (NO), what do you think of?
There's a good chance you might think of the dentist’s office. The thing is, they actually use nitrous oxide instead of nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide is something completely different, and although you may be familiar with getting "laughing gas" when you’re at the dentist ... there's a good chance you’ll like improving your nitric oxide levels, once you learn a bit more about it.
In this article, we’ll talk about what nitric oxide is, its benefits, and how to increase your NO levels.
In This Article:
• What is Nitric Oxide?
• How Does Nitric Oxide Work in the Body?
• The Benefits of Nitric Oxide
• How to Increase Nitric Oxide Levels
• Try Supplementing Your Current Nitric Oxide Production
What is Nitric Oxide?
Nitric oxide is a chemical compound that may sound complicated. But actually, the compound is not that complicated at all. It’s just one molecule of nitrogen and one molecule of oxygen.
That’s why it’s also known as nitrogen monoxide or NO. What makes nitric oxide complicated is the good and bad effects it has on the world.
For example, nitric oxide is a free radical, meaning it’s missing an electron in its outermost ring.
Free radicals are often highly reactive (they work quickly) and short-lived (they don’t last long). Nitric oxide is also a common pollutant found in our upper atmosphere, which causes certain CAIR-related problems.
That said, nitric oxide is far from all bad ... in fact, in many cases, it can actually be very beneficial.
How Does Nitric Oxide Work in the Body?
In human bodies, nitric oxide is incredibly important. It’s known as a vasodilator, which means nitric oxide loosens the inner muscles to improve blood flow. This gives blood better access to your entire body.
The more blood your muscles have access to, the more oxygen and nutrients they have. The more oxygen they have, the more work they can do before feeling tired. The more work they can do before feeling tired, the more you can get out of your workouts.
That said, simply pumping out a few extra reps per workout is not where the benefits of nitric oxide end.
The Benefits of Nitric Oxide
So, what are the main benefits of nitric oxide? In this article, we’ll talk about five major benefits of having this nitric oxide molecule in your system.
The benefits of nitric oxide have been shown to help:
• Decrease muscle soreness
• Lower blood pressure
• Boost exercise performance
• Support healthy male performance
Now, let’s talk about these benefits in detail.
Nitric Oxide May Help Decrease Muscle Soreness
As your muscles run out of oxygen, they begin sending signals to the brain that they’re tired. This results in feelings of discomfort, fatigue, and soreness.
These feelings will linger until your muscles have sufficiently recovered and have replenished their nutritional stores.
There’s evidence that nitric oxide can help reduce this soreness and discomfort. How? Simply by giving your muscles more access to blood and the cellular nutrition it contains.
Nitric Oxide May Help Lower Blood Pressure
First off, if you have blood pressure issues, always consult with your doctor before using nitric oxide supplements. Do not try to treat blood pressure issues with a nitric oxide supplement.
That said, when using a nitric oxide supplement ... since your inner muscles are loosened due to the nitric oxide in your system, you may notice a slight dip in your average blood pressure.
In people with regular to high blood pressure, this is either a net-neutral to net-positive effect. This can be especially true if you’re working out and really getting your blood pumping.
This, in turn, has been shown to lower blood pressure for healthy individuals.
Nitric Oxide May Help Increase Exercise Performance
Since your muscles are getting more oxygen than they would normally get, you may notice that you can exert more energy for longer periods with increased nitric oxide levels.
With that, if you are looking to pack on lean muscle and grow larger muscles through hypertrophy training ... Increasing your nitric oxide levels can help shuttle more blood to the muscle group(s) being trained.
This helps get a much better pump and can increase your results.
Imagine the compounding effects of getting even a small percentage more out of each workout.
Compound those effects over a whole year, and the difference can be pretty drastic!
Nitric Oxide May Help Support Male Performance
When it comes to the bedroom, there can be a few different factors contributing to a lack of performance ... one of those being blood flow.
So, focusing on things that can increase nitric oxide levels in the blood can help out with circulation ... which can, in some cases, help increase blood flow as needed!
How to Increase Nitric Oxide Levels
Your body naturally produces nitric oxide, but there are additional steps you can take to increase your nitric oxide levels.
You can increase your nitric oxide levels by:
• Boosting your antioxidant intake
• Moving
• Eating nitrate-rich foods
• Taking a nitric oxide supplement
Now, let’s talk about these in detail.
1. Boosting Your Antioxidant Intake
We mentioned that nitric oxide is a type of free radical. Now, when it comes to other free radicals, they can lower nitric oxide levels in the body.
By increasing your antioxidant intake, you can help regulate those harmful free radicals. This will allow you to maintain higher nitric oxide levels in the body.
2. Moving
Exercise can help get your body to start producing its stores of nitric oxide. So, if you want to get more nitric oxide into your system, simply start moving.
This will make your body start sending signals to your brain that it needs more oxygen and blood. Your brain will respond accordingly!
3. Eating Nitrate-Rich Foods
There are plenty of foods out there that are rich in nitrates. The more nitrates you consume, the more oxygen will bond with nitric oxide. The more those molecules bond, the more nitric oxide you’ll have in your diet.
Nitrate-rich foods include:
• Celery
• Chervil
• Beetroot
• Arugula
• Cress
• Lettuce
• Spinach
Basically, I'm giving you a good reason to have a salad for lunch!
4. Taking A Nitric Oxide Supplement
This may seem obvious, but there are plenty of nitric supplements on the market.
These nitric oxide supplements can help support your nitric oxide levels.
When looking for a NO-boosting supplement, look for something that has Agmatine, L-Citrulline, and L-Arginine. These, along with other beneficial ingredients, can help boost nitric oxide levels.
These ingredients can be used by the body and converted into nitric oxide. They also help with vasodilation (the relaxation of blood vessels), which can increase blood flow and circulation.
Try Supplementing Your Current Nitric Oxide Production
At 1st Phorm, our mission is to help real people earn real and long-term results. We know you don't take shortcuts when it comes to your health and fitness goals. That's why we don't take any shortcuts with the products to help you reach them.
We actually have a handful of different nitric oxide supplements.
One of them is AlphaSurge, which is a stimulant-free vasodilator, and can be taken any time of the day. Plus, with 3 delicious flavors ... you can find the best option for you!
Another one is Project-1, which is a full-spectrum pre-workout. Keep in mind, this product does contain caffeine to give you a boost for a workout.
The third and final product is AlphaSurge DRV, which can help with volumizing your cells and improving nutrient delivery to the muscle cells. As a result, it can lead to incredible pumps during your training!
Each of these can help improve blood and oxygen flow, as well as nutrient delivery to your muscles, allowing you to do more work for longer. These can be a great addition to a plan, right along with Opti-Reds 50.
Opti-Reds 50 is a red superfood product that contains antioxidants, nitrate-rich foods, and other powerful ingredients that can help support blood flow and nitric oxide production.
If you have any questions or need any help, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We have a full team of NASM Certified Personal Trainers and Nutrition Coaches right here in St. Louis, Missouri. Just give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 or send us an email at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com any day from 6 AM to 10 PM Central. We'll be more than happy to help in any way we can!
