Arginine Side Effects

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Arginine is an amino acid that is produced by the body itself. It is therefore considered a non-essential amino acid. Yet even though the body produces its own arginine, recent evidence seems to suggest that the body relies at least partly on dietary sources to supplement its production of arginine.

Arginine is found in most food that we eat and is particularly rich in most meat products, sea food and whole grain foods. Also because our body itself produces most of the arginine that it needs, there is really no need for supplementation if you are a healthy person with a healthy diet.

It is only people who do not eat healthy for any reason who will have a problem with arginine deficiency. There are a number of indications on what all arginine are useful for and we will first see what purposes arginine serves in the body before we look at any side effects.

What Are The Benefits Of Arginine?

Arginine is a precursor to Nitric Oxide which is used by the body to relax. NO relaxes not only the muscles, but also the arteries. This improves blood circulation and also helps clear blockages etc if not too serious. There is evidence to show that arginine dilates the blood vessels of the heart bringing potential benefits in reducing heart attacks.

Because of it’s potential to relax the body and improve blood flow, arginine is used to treat erectile dysfunction too.

Also people who have problems with low blood circulation to the extremities, especially the legs seem to show a marked improvement in the distances that they can walk after regular consumption of arginine. It seems to prevent intermittent clogging of the arteries helping to increase walking distances.

Arginine seems to help the body recover faster from injuries and is therefore used after surgery to help in the faster healing of the patient. It also helps to reduce the wound healing time and the number of infections after surgery.

It also seems to reverse the effects of weight loss in patients with AIDS. When combined with medication it seems to improve lean body mass and also improve the functioning of the immune system.

It also seems to help with inflammation and is used in some cases as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Do You Really Need To Take Arginine supplements?

As we said in the beginning, if you are a healthy eater, you need not worry. If however you are cutting down for any reason, it is a good idea to take a supplement. Of course if you are an asthmatic or have had a heart attack recently you should not, but for most others it is completely safe to use.

Take the recommended dose and do not take more. Even if it isn’t going to hurt you, it will cause you a lot of bloating, and we all know how uncomfortable that can be.

Where Do I Get Arginine?

There are a number of sources for Arginine that you can go for. In fact nowadays you even have the option of going with a herbal extract. Below we discuss the top selling brands for Arginine.

Product:	Now Foods, L-Arginine, 500 mg, 250 Capsules
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Now Foods is a very popular brand when it comes to herbal supplements. And herbal supplements are good because they give you the same effect as inorganic ones, but with none of the dangers and/or side effects. Now Foods is popular because they are very good value for money. They are as good as the best in the market, but they cost much less than others.

And do they work! Just check out what one person has to say about it.

“Again with this product I have been taking since I received it. I’m no stranger to L-Arginine this stuff is better than Viagra I have been taking 3.5grams a day everyday since I was 45 years old I am 55 years old now and still hang with girlfriends that range from 28 to 40 years old.

Not only does it help my “Man Muscle” but it works in maintaining your entire body’s muscle mass. I love this stuff, like I said it’s all good…Thanks”

Product:	Jarrow Formulas, Arginine 1000, 1000 mg, 100 Easy-Solv Tablets
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Jarrow Formulas is to Now Foods, as Nike is to Adidas. Very often if you look for herbal supplements you’ll find one or the other coming up as the top seller with the other a close second. There’s nothing much to choose between them as a product as such. They are both good brands, and work very well. Even price wise, they aren’t that different from each other.

In fact when it comes to Arginine, the competition is basically between Now Foods and Jarrow Formulas. All other brands are so far behind that there’s no point in even considering them.

In this case it is the 500 mg capsules of Now Foods that is the top seller, while the 1000 mg capsule of Jarrow Formulas comes in second. Now Foods also has a 1000 mg, but it costs 50% more than Jarrow Formulas does, so in this case Jarrow is a good deal. And if you are uncertain as to whether it works well or not, just read what one user from Florida has to say.

“I have been using Jarrow Arginine 1000 tablets to enhance my sexual performance for about three years now. I take two tablets a day. It took about a month before I experienced the full effects but since then I always feel confident I will obtain an erection when the time is right. I have not experienced any adverse side affects. It has allowed me to experience a very regular, reliable, and enjoyable sex life.”

Our Recommendation

If you are looking for Arginine as a natural supplement to improve blood flow, then either one of them is good enough. It just depends on each person as to how much they want on a daily basis. Some people are ok with just one 500 mg pill, while others want more. Still others want the option of choosing their own dosage, meaning they take 500 mg most of the time, but pop in an extra sometimes.

Whether you go with Now Foods or Jarrow Formulas, you cannot go wrong. They are both very strong brands, and work very well.

Jenny Allan is the webmaster at NutritionUncovered.com where she provides practical nutrition and supplement tips and advice. If you enjoyed this article you can get FREE updates by RSS.