Amino Acids

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?

now foods arginineArginine 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
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

now foods arginineNow 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
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

jarrow formulas arginineJarrow 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.

Lysine Benefits – What is Lysine Good For?

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Lysine is an amino acid present in the body. It is an essential amino acid which means that the body cannot produce it and needs to obtain it from dietary sources. Thankfully lysine is not all that uncommon and can be found in most products, both meat and vegetables that contain protein.
Lately however lysine has been put through a lot of research because of its potential health benefits.

Health Benefits Of Lysine

Most of the health benefits of lysine are not proven because they are still undergoing studies. Yet all pointers are that there are a number of benefits that can be derived from it.

jarrow formulas lysineOne of the most important benefits are in the treatment of cancer. Research suggests that lysine, when combined with phototherapy targets cancer cells while leaving normal tissue alone. The research is still at its nascent stages, but this is a very important discovery that can have immense benefits for cancer patients.

Lysine has an effect on serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin is the body’s own feel good chemical and when its levels drop, anxiety results. This serotonin is usually synthesized by the body itself and it’s life cycle is such that it keeps renewing itself. Because of this there are a number of depression medication available nowadays that are know as serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or chemicals that prevent the life cycle of serotonin from closing, thereby leaving more in the bloodstream.

Lysine has shown to have remarkable effects in making sure that the levels of serotonin in the body do not go down. In one research in Syria on 93 families, it was found that increasing the lysine intake in their diets was sufficient to reduce anxiety to a large extent.

There are pointers to show that lysine is good at reducing herpes infections. Once again more research is needed to conclusively prove this, but the pointers are there.

A number of animal studies have showed that a deficiency in lysine also damages the immune system. The exact reason why this is so is not known, but considering that lysine is an essential amino acid, its deficiency can cause a number of problems.

Lysine plays an important part in the formation of collagen. This collagen is the most abundant form of protein in our body and without lysine collagen cannot be formed. Also other uses for lysine is in bone and bone marrow formation. It is therefore very important in the overall good health of a person and also to keep bones strong and healthy.

There is also evidence to suggest that lysine is beneficial to women suffering from osteoporosis.

Lysine however is not something that you can get easily everywhere. In fact the simplest, and the cheapest way to get lysine is to purchase it online.

Below we discuss the top selling brands of lysine.

Product: Jarrow Formulas, L-Lysine 500mg
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Jarrow Formulas is a popular supplement manufacturer and make quite a few other supplements. They are one of the big supplement manufacturing brands so you know that what you get is good quality stuff. They have also been around for long enough for you not to have doubts as to what kind of a company they are.

Jarrow Formulas L-Lysine are not too expensive, and work very well. Check out what a user says about them.

“This definitely works for keeping cold sores at bay. If you feel like you are getting one, start taking 1 every hour for several hours, and it will not fully develop. It works for me!!”

Product: Now Foods, L-Lysine, 1,000 mg, 100 Tablets
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Now foods is another very popular manufacturer of supplements and come within the top selling three brands for a number of other supplements. Because they are a known brand, you can trust them to give you what they say. They are cheap enough although slightly more expensive than the Bluebonnet ones, which is why they come in second favorite. They are however very very good as you can see from the review below.

“I have been taking this for a while now and I have to say the benefits are that I don’t get sick. I don’t get colds and I’ve never had the flu! I noticed that many people give this to pets too to help ward off unnecessary illness. It gets a thumbs up in my book for helping me stay healthy.”

source naturals lysine

Product: Source Naturals, L-Lysine, 500 mg, 200 Capsules
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Source naturals is another very popular manufacturer of supplements. One big advantage with sticking with popular brands is that they have been there for some time in the market. That way you know that the product is good, if not they’ll start getting bad reviews, and will be driven from the market.

When compared to brands like Now Foods, Source Naturals is not as good, which is why they come in third. They are cheap enough, and if it were only price, then they would come above Now Foods. But although they are good enough, you don’t get the kind of reviews that you find in products that have really made a difference. It seems to be a good run of the mill brand. Take a look at what some people have to say about it.

“This is a great product. Have been giving it to my son for his leg cramps/muscle spasms. He used to have them multiple times a night. Since he’s been taking this product, he rarely has them at all.”

And another review.

“I find that my hair and nails are growing more quickly and thicker. I noticed after one month of taking this product. The original reason that I started taking Lysine was to bind iron to the red blood cells. This has worked perfectly as well. I’m very impressed with this product.”

Taking Lysine is very good simply because it is essential to our body and nowadays with all of us watching our weight, we may not be getting enough. Any brand is good, there’s no way that it can do you harm as long as you go for the well known brands. How effective it is of course will differ based on the concentration of Lysine in the capsule, which is why there is a preference for some brands over others. Go for any one that you feel comfortable with.

Our Recommendation

If you’re looking for Lysine, go for any one of the above. Of course different brands work for different people, but you cannot go wrong with any one of these.