CardioMax and Arginine

The information, Pro & Cons, about ARGININE are varied. But, when deciding on using Arginine, a determination of the purity and what you are really getting, and at what cost ( total with shipping ) is of prime importance.

We offer here the Vitamist product CardioMax. A pure Pharmaceutical grade product, made in the USA with natural USA ingredients, NF/USP labeled product from a 25yr. old Pharmaceutical company with patented products listed in the PDR and an FDA & FTC inspected facility. Product formulation has been designed for maximum effectiveness based on the latest data from world wide medical references by Dr. Clive R Spray, chief Chemist for Mayor Pharmaceutical and Vitamist. By choosing a monthly order ( CardioMax + Omega spray), you enjoy wholesale pricing ( 44.80 + 15.96 = 60.76 ) with no shipping and handling costs. And, if you contact us, we will add for you a FREE Vitamist Spray product of the month for as long as you continue a monthly order - our gift to you.

Actions and Benefits - L-arginine is a dibasic amino acid, meaning it can pass the brain barrier. It is best known for its cardiovascular benefits and plays a role in a number of physiological functions in the body. l-arginine is converted to nitric oxide which relaxes the blood vessels and regulates blood vessel flexibility and tone. When combined with Citruline, l-arginine effective metabolism is increased. L-arginine may help with conditions that improve when blood vessels are relaxed (called vasodilation), such as atherosclerosis, erectile dysfunction, and intermittent claudication. It helps the body get rid of ammonia (a waste product). L-arginine is also involved in protein formation. In larger amounts, L-arginine stimulates the release of hormones growth hormone and prolactin.
L-arginine has been used for erectile dysfunction. Like the drug sildenafil citrate (Viagra), L-arginine is thought to enhance the action of nitric oxide, which relaxes muscles surrounding blood vessels supplying the penis. As a result, blood vessels in the penis dilate, increasing blood flow, which helps maintain an erection. The difference in how they work is that Viagra blocks an enzyme called PDE5 which destroys nitric oxide and L-arginine is used to make nitric oxide. Unlike Viagra, L-arginine must be taken daily.
L-arginine is conditionally essential, which means that the body normally has enough. It's produced in the kidney and to a lesser extent, in the liver.
Food sources of L-arginine include plant and animal proteins, such as dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, and nuts. The ratio of L-arginine to lysine is also important - soy and other plant proteins have more L-arginine than animal sources of protein.
Severe burns, infections, and injuries can deplete the body's supply of arginine. Under these conditions, L-arginine becomes essential and it is necessary to ensure proper intake to meet the increased demands.
L-arginine is also essential for children with rare genetic disorders that impair the formation of L-arginine.

Side Effects of L-Arginine - L-arginine may lower blood pressure because it is involved in the formation of nitric oxide. It may also result in indigestion, nausea, and headache.
L-arginine should not be used soon following a heart attack. If you have a history of heart disease, consult your doctor before taking L-arginine.
Higher doses of arginine can increase stomach acid, so it may worsen heartburn, ulcers, or digestive upset cause by medications. Arginine appears to increase stomach acid by stimulating the production of gastrin, a hormone that increases stomach acid.
L-arginine may also alter potassium levels, especially in people with liver disease. People with kidney disease and those who take ACE inhibitors or potassium sparing diuretics should not use supplemental L-arginine unless they are under professional supervision. It may also alter the levels of other chemicals and electrolytes in the body, such as chloride, sodium, and phosphate.
Arginine may increase blood sugar levels, so it shouldn't be used by people with diabetes unless under a doctor's supervision.
Pregnant and nursing women and children should not use supplemental L-arginine, as it's safety has not been established.
People with genital herpes should not take L-arginine because it may aggravate their symptoms.

Cardio-Max and CardioCare

Now that we have the "Official" data noted, we offer a library of current information from Alternative Medicine sources, along with information from those in the Medical Profession looking to Preventive in lieu of Catastrophic care.

Frequently Asked Questions On Arginine - excerpts as noted by Dr H. Elwardt, ND Ph D
What is L-arginine?
L-arginine or arginine is among the 22 amino acids (nitrogen-containing molecules that form protein), which are the building blocks of the body. As well as being vital for growth and the repair of the body tissue, they are used to make hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and neurotransmitters, and help transport substances around the body. Arginine is classified as being a non-essential amino acid. This means your body should produce enough of its own arginine; however, it simply does not produce enough; thus we need to get more arginine from our diet. Arginine is found in meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy and nuts. Very little is found in fruits and vegetables, which may be detrimental to a vegetarian diet.

Why do I need to take an arginine supplement if I am getting it in my diet?
You simply are not getting enough in your diet. The average American diet will contain about 3.3 to 5.4 grams of arginine while the vegetarian diet will contain almost one full gram less. Individuals over the age of 50, who are on a strict ‘heart healthy’ diet, take in about 2.6 grams of daily arginine. Arginine derived nitric oxide (ADNO) is decreased by poor diets, lack of exercise, age, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking. Because high concentrations of arginine can overcome the negative risk factors associated with heart disease and the average American is not getting enough in their diet, arginine supplementation simply makes sense.

Can I take too much arginine?
Arginine has long been considered by nutritionists to be the least toxic of all the amino acids and its consumption, even in relatively huge quantities, seems to have very few adverse side effects. Clinical trials at hospitals in the U.S. and abroad have repeatedly administered 30 to 50 grams or arginine safely to patients without reported problems. Numerous body builders have long taken large doses of arginine with no reported ill effects.

What is the recommended daily dosage of an arginine supplement?
The benefits of arginine supplementation are clearly dose-dependent and can range from between 5 to 30 grams taken orally every day.
Five grams of arginine taken daily appears to be the recommended dosage for the benefit of increasing nitric oxide levels in the blood and preventing heart disease and stroke. However, if you already have a risk factor like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or scored a D or below on your DPA analysis, then I would recommend at least 10 grams per day until they are all brought under control. You should then take 5 grams in the morning and 5 grams right before bedtime. You should avoid eating protein (by two hours on either side) at the same time you take the supplement because the other amino acids found in the source of protein will block the absorption of the arginine. It is for this same reason you should avoid buying an arginine supplement, which might contain any of the other amino acids like lysine, carnitine, taurine, ornithine, or glutamine. Arginine is the most sensitive of the amino acids and the others will block out its absorption.
Stimulation of the growth hormone will require higher dosages of arginine to be taken at bedtime on a totally empty stomach. Male body builders can take 9 to 21 grams depending on body weight, while women body builders can take 6 to 18 grams.

Is it safe to take arginine with my medications?
First off, anyone who is taking any medications prescribed by your doctor should continue taking those medications and certainly consult with your physician before changing your daily routine of medication. Going cold turkey with your prescription drugs could send your body into a tailspin. In the clinical trials performed over the last twenty years with the use of arginine, there have been no contraindications with any of the medications associated with cardiovascular disease like cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and other heart medications. With that said, I must warn the person who is taking Viagra (or generic) or a nitrate drug (nitroglycerin). Like arginine they both increase nitric oxide in your blood, and if taken at the same time may cause complications like too low of blood pressure.
If you are monitoring your own sugar level, as in the case of diabetes, or blood pressure, keep a watchful eye as your levels begin to drop from taking arginine. When they remain at a lowered level, ask your doctor to adjust your medication dosage. My friend, if you are consistent with your daily dose of arginine, I am telling you there is great potential that one day your doctor will have you off all those toxic chemicals, which do nothing but cover-up the underlying problem—the lack of nitric oxide in your blood vessels.
As far as the cholesterol lowering statin drugs like Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, Mevacor or Pravachol, if you read my book (Let’s STOP the #1 Killer in America TODAY), you would quickly discover I am not a big fan of these drugs. And it is my professional opinion that the moment you start to take arginine on a daily basis and commit to doing this for the rest of your now much extended life, you can throw away these toxic poisons forever. You must read my book to fully appreciate why I am so animate about this, but I will say that it is not the cholesterol number that is the issue. It is the oxidizing of the LDL cholesterol, which then becomes sticky and attaches to the vessel wall. Arginine prevents the oxidizing of the LDL cholesterol, thus no plaque build up and several studies actually attest to the plaque melting away.

How soon can I expect results?
Oral arginine does not work as quickly as injections of arginine, but it does appear to work as well. Increasing your oral intake by only 50 to 100 percent of what you’re already receiving from your food can begin to impact your health positively in a few short weeks. Many people have reported immediate changes in their energy levels. It is recommended that you keep a health journal so you can keep track of your changes as they happen.

Can pregnant women take arginine?
At this time, arginine is not recommended for pregnant women. There are studies that show that arginine derived nitric oxide may benefit a unique form of hypertension called preeclampsia and may prevent premature labor and preterm birth, but further studies are still necessary.

Is there anyone who should not take arginine supplements?
There are a few health conditions that may theoretically be exacerbated by arginine supplementation; however, the risk is extremely low at the dosage of six grams of daily arginine. If a person was taking 30 grams of arginine or more, they should be aware that it may have an impact on the following conditions: migraines, depression, MS, AIDS, breast cancer, prostate cancer, cirrhosis, hyperkalemia, septic shock, and stroke. With that said, I wish to point out, that all of these conditions can also benefit from an increase in arginine derived nitric oxide.

Is it true that arginine can cause an outbreak of the herpes virus?
The herpes virus typically lays dormant in humans until activated by stress, colds, lack of sleep or nutritional factors. Taking an arginine supplement can stimulate the replication of the herpes-simplex viruses if the arginine supplement does not have the appropriate co-factors and is taken in large doses. Look for a quality arginine formula that has the necessary co-factors like citilline and anti-oxidants Beware of arginine supplements that contain lysine. Lysine is an amino acid, which helps to combat the herpes virus, but the two amino acids taken together, compete with each other to cross the blood brain barrier, thus canceling each other out. If you are subject to frequent outbreaks of the herpes virus, but still wish to benefit from the use of arginine, you might try doing a lysine supplement with vitamin C in the morning and a low dose (5 grams) of arginine right before bed or vice-versa.

Can I give arginine to my children?
A recent study showed that 60% of five to ten year old children already have at least on risk factor for cardiovascular disease; such as, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure or diabetes. In today’s fast food society, a single French fry we feed are children is more carcinogenic then giving them a cigarette. Both deplete the body of nitric oxide, which will lead to cardiovascular disease. There is a concern that arginine used by a child may cause their body to decrease the output of the growth hormone and thus stunt their growth process.
However, it is my opinion that giving a child a small dose of arginine (1 to 2 grams depending on body weight) soon after eating, can overact the harmful effects of trans fatty acids found in their diet and not have any influence on the growth hormone, which requires an empty stomach and large doses.
However, if your child is eating quality meals, getting plenty of exercise and is taking a one-a-day multi-vitamin/mineral, then there is no reason for them to take an arginine supplement.

L-arginine: a Primer for its power - by John Prendergast in 2006
In the beginning, Dr. Robert Furchgott in 1980 found that the endothelial lining of the walls of blood vessels made a substance that kept the vessels smooth and dilated. This was Nitric Oxide (NO). Soon it was discovered that l-arginine converts to NO in the endothelium. I learned about l-arginine in 1991 when I was in a professional association teaching physicians with Victor J. Dzau, MD when he was director of Cardiovascular Research at Stanford University Medical Center.
Dr. Dzau was appointed Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University and President and CEO of the Duke University Health System effective July 1, 2004. He is also James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Director of Molecular and Genomic Vascular Biology at Duke. Prior to that, he was the Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic (Medicine) at Harvard Medical School, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Physician-in-Chief and Director of Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. Prior to his work at Harvard and Brigham and Women's, he served as Arthur Bloomfield Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Stanford.
He was the first to explain to me the extraordinary observation that atherosclerotic heart disease could not only be controlled but reversed. His research touched on clinical improvement and was forwarded with multiple studies by John P. Cooke, MD. Dr. Cooke is presently head of Cardiovascular Research at Stanford. Very productive on new insights and understanding of vascular health, you will find his name on many of the research papers in the following documents.
White papers, as I have labeled this, have characteristically been a document, a summary fixed in time that delivers knowledge and philosophy about some situation. This, on the other hand, is to be a living document updated continuously. It is my task to continue this project forever since it is so personal to me. I will need your help too to pass on significant information.
My personal story began with meeting these individuals. Since I had been noted to be heavily laden with atherosclerosis in my abdominal arteries at age 37 I took an uncommon interest in their research into the reversal of atherosclerosis. After 10 years of l-arginine use, I had no evidence of atherosclerosis. The testing available today with arterial wave form analysis allows me to monitor how well I’m doing with my personal regression therapy.
What other studies support this therapy?
There many studies on the effect of l-arginine on the lining of the artery, the endothelium. The results depend on the structure of the study, the patient population and dosage of l-arginine used. Nothing works in every situation but in my experience it works in 99% of the patients I see with vascular disease. It does not change the endothelium in healthy people. It will change it in people who are asymtomatic but who have elevated cholesterol, hypertension or the impact of metabolism problems due to vitamin deficiencies.
Heart failure is a complex situation but the endothelial dysfunction is improved with l-arginine. Other conditions include pulmonary hypertension, transplant vasculopathy, tobacco use, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and salt sensitive hypertension. In patients with coronary artery disease, 2 of 4 have shown increased endothelial function, treadmill exercise time and improved symptoms. In peripheral artery disease walking distance improved 76 per cent in two of three studies. And don’t forget the Nobel Prize in Medicine given in 1998. - http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1998/

What is lacking is the large, double blind, placebo controlled, long term study that will answer all the questions. L-arginine is a natural occurring product that cannot be patented. Although many pharmaceutical companies are beginning to try to develop products that have the positive aspects of l-arginine none have yet reach the market. So far I have become the only long term study I know having started on l-arginine in 1991 when Victor Dzau introduced me to John Cooke, MD “who will tell you how much you and your patients should take”. It was my time.
In 2001 I had another CAT scan of my abdomen just like I had at age 36 that discovered my asymtomatic atherosclerosis. All my atherosclerosis was gone. I had a heart scan to confirm that all the calcium build up in the arteries was gone. None was seen. My score was zero.
The following are a few of the works that led to the time of the granting of the Nobel Prize. The subsequent published research will be from PubMed, our National Library of Medicine computerized library that is open to anyone in the world. Twice I was scheduled to speak to the United States Senate – first to be sure there would be no cut in funding and secondly to make it free to the world. I was asked to speak in favor of funding and searches being free to all based on a dramatic use of the Internet and the Library to enable a major clinical turnaround for a patient. I did not go. The Senate did the right thing.
These will be in the summary abstracts with all the usual identification that the Library includes. These are the same features that anyone can use to find special news they may want to pursue a personal need for health information. I use it daily to stay abreast and I will use it to update this project. You should learn to use it too.
Resources
In the beginning…
Ignarro LJ (ed.) Nitric Oxide: Biology and Pathobiology, San Diego: Academic Press, 2000
Egashira K. Clinical importance of endothelial function in arteriosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Circ J 2002; 66:529-533.
Hishikawa K, Nakaki T, Tsuda M, et al. Effect of systemic l-arginine administration on hemodynamic and nitric oxide release in man. Jpn Heart J 1992: 33:41-48
Houston M, Regan MC, The role of vascular biology, nutrition and nutraceuticals in the prevention and treatment of hypertension JANA 2000; Suppl 1:5-71.
What other studies support this therapy
Blum, A, et al. 2000 Oral L-arginine in patients with coronary artery disease on medical management. Circulation 101: 2160-64.
Boger RH, Bode-Roger SM, Thiele W, et al. Restoring vascular nitric oxide formation by l-arginine improves the symptoms of intermittent claudication in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 1998; 32: 1336-1344.
Ceremuynski L, Chamiec T, and Herbacynska-Credo K. Effect of supplemental oral l-arginine on exercise capacity in patients with stable angina pectoris. Am J Cardiol 1997 80 331-33.
Clarkson P, et al. Oral L- arginine improves endothelium-dependent dilation in hypercholesterolemic young adults. J Clin Invest 1996 97: 1989-94.
Drexler H, et al. Correction of endothelial dysfunction in coronary microcirculation of hypercholesterolemic patient by L-arginine. Lancet 1991 338: 1546-50.
Lerman A, Burnett JC, Higano ST, et al. Long term l-arginine supplementation improves small vessel coronary endothelial function in humans. Circulation 1998; 97: 2123-2128.
Maxwell AJ. Anderson BE, Cooke JP. Nutritional therapy for peripheral arterial disease: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of HeartBar. Vascular Med 2000; 5:11-19
Siani A, Pagano E, et al. Blood pressure and metabolic changes during dietary l-arginine
supplementation in humans. Am J Hypertension 2000; 13: 13(5Pt 1: 547-551.)
Wolf A, Zalpour CD, Theilmeier G, et al. Dietary l-arginine supplementation normalizes platelet aggregation in hypercholesterolemic humans. J Am Coll Cardiol 1997, 29; 479-485.
White Paper Clinical Trials - we can supply details on request - too vast a summary for this site.

The Arginine Solution
The First Guide to America's New Cardio-Enhancing Supplement
By Robert Fried, Ph.D. , Woodson C. Merrell, M.D.

In the field of medicine and health it is one of the revolutions of our time: the discovery that the amino acid L-arginine may be a "magic bullet" for the cardiovascular system. Now, as the evidence mounts, including research that recently won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, more and more scientists and doctors see the extraordinary health benefits of increasing arginine intake. A virtual arterial cleanser, arginine helps eliminate blockage and maintain blood flow. In this persuasive, groundbreaking book, Robert Fried, Ph.D., and Woodson C. Merrell, M.D., two renowned New York health experts, make the case for making arginine part of your life, while also pointing out the situations in which elevated intake may be contraindicated.
The Arginine Solution offers the research and clinical evidence that proves arginine's effectiveness in raising the body's production of nitric oxide, a principal blood pressure regulator. Arginine, an amino acid available in inexpensive supplement form, can have a powerful impact on your cardiovascular health. In addition, as it helps increase blood flow throughout the body, arginine can also boost...
• male potency
• the immune system
• mental acuity
• and weight loss
while it reduces the harmful effects of...
• aging
• diabetes
• asthma
and many other conditions.

Drawing on the latest research, case histories, and their own experience, Drs. Robert Fried and Woodson C. Merrell have written a book that can improve the quality of life for many and even save lives - with a reliable, natural substance that plays an essential role in human health and longevity.
Chapter 1 - A Few Grams of Prevention - The New Supplemental Safeguard for Your Good Health - Here's a double health to thee! - Lord Byron

If you're now reading these words, chances are you take your own health, and that of your loved ones, very much to heart. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates called health "the greatest of human blessings," a sentiment that has been echoed by poets and philosophers throughout the ages. Health is today, as it has always been, the only currency whose presence or absence can make the poor rich, and the rich poor. "Give me health and a day," declared Ralph Waldo Emerson, "and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous."
Never before in human history has mankind understood so much about the multiple processes that preserve our well being, or rob us of it. From genetic engineering to pioneering brain research to potential cures for cancer, we stand poised at the threshold of a new era, a time when countless scourges that have so long afflicted our species are finally beginning to yield to unprecedented scientific investigation. Researchers the world over are increasing the knowledge base at an exponential rate. Sometimes it almost seems as if disease itself has become an endangered species.
But the same technological revolution that, with its right hand, forges new hope for cures is, with its left hand, foisting upon all too many of us the need for such cures. Consider this: For our ancestors in antiquity, food was rarely plentiful and obtaining it almost always required great physical effort. Modern life, on the other hand, has put the "ease" into disease. Today, we can lie on the sofa, TV remote control in one hand and cell phone in the other, and dial up a double-cheese pepperoni pizza for speedy home delivery.
The seductiveness of fast food, employment that requires long hours in sedentary pursuits, daily stresses for which the age-old "fight or flight" response can rarely be exercised without inviting trouble, a surfeit of cigarettes and alcohol and various drugs that are all too easily obtainable: These are but a few of the hallmarks of industrialized society for which our hard scrabble evolution as a species has ill prepared us. No wonder that so-called lifestyle disorders - heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, many forms of cancer, and so on - continue to fell so many of us every year.
Make no mistake: These are hardly overhyped conditions that only target "the other guy." An astonishing 7.5 percent of all American adults alive today have suffered a heart attack or periodic chest pains from heart disease. That's one out of every thirteen adults!
Even as medical researchers look for new ways to undo such damage once it's been wreaked, others look for ways to intercept disease before it's sunk its harpy claws too deeply into our flesh. In recent years, modern medicine has seen a resurgence of interest in integrative medicine - an approach that combines the best of the "fix what's broken" philosophy of conventional modern health care with the "preemptive strike" philosophy long embraced by alternative medicine healers and preventative medicine specialists alike.
Perhaps you, or someone you love, are now suffering from some kind of broken part. Maybe you've been diagnosed with coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, impotence, or any one of a long list of terribly common health problems. There is nothing like the loss of good health to compel a keen interest in doing everything possible to foster its return.

On the other hand, perhaps you are now in nearly perfect shape, free of any major physiological disorders and totally committed to staying that way. You take seriously the constant drumbeat of caveats and public health advice.
You eat a wholesome diet low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables, and fiber.
You exercise most days of the week, and include both aerobic and strength training in your regimen.
You've quit smoking, or better still, you've managed to avoid ever having suffered an addiction to this most ruinous witches' brew of cynically tailored toxins.
You sleep at least six to eight hours each day.
If you drink alcohol, you do so in moderation.
And to manage the inevitable stresses of life better, you take time for yourself each day to meditate or use other techniques to elicit the relaxation response proven so beneficial in moderating stress hormones.
Perhaps, too, you have also been impressed with the accumulating evidence supporting the health benefits of nutritional therapy - "nutraceutical agents" like vitamins E, C, and the carotenoids; the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish; the isoflavones in soy; and a host of other foods, from oat bran to garlic to olive oil, increasingly linked to good health. Other therapeutic agents, especially botanical remedies, are receiving unprecedented scientific study - and being embraced more and more by clinicians and patients alike because of their powerful healing properties.

We will be showing you how a long- and well-known nutrient, the aminoacid arginine, is fast emerging as one of the most potent nutraceuticals yet described. It works, when the body breaks it down, in the process releasing a simple gas called nitric oxide, or NO, a substance formerly best known for its presence in smog. In the body, however, NO is hardly a pollutant. Over the last decade, researchers have made a series of truly revolutionary discoveries about the critical functions NO plays in an astonishing array of bodily systems. Indeed, so momentous have these discoveries been, and so far-reaching their implications for bettering human health, that the most prestigious of all scientific awards - the Nobel Prize for Medicine - was bestowed upon three pioneering American NO researchers on October 12, 1998.
Already the work of the three Nobel laureates - Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro, and Ferid Murad - has inspired a legion of pharmacologists searching for new cures for ancient ailments.
Case-in-point: the bestselling anti-impotence drug Viagra, which arguably could not have been invented without an understanding of nitric oxide's key role in relaxing the smooth muscles of blood vessels. A wide range of other investigational drugs - designed to treat everything from atherosclerosis to septic shock - may soon hit the market, thanks to the NO discoveries. Arginine-derived nitric oxide, or ADNO, is a multifaceted molecular marvel, one made all the more amazing by the fact that researchers only so recently discovered that it even exists inside human tissues.

Consider just a sample of the many jobs ADNO has now been shown to perform inside the human body:
• It relaxes arteries, thereby helping to maintain normal blood pressure, which would otherwise skyrocket when ADNO is in short supply.
• It helps keep open the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, preventing angina pain.
• It's a potent free-radical scavenger that helps to both lower serum cholesterol and prevent the "bad" LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and becoming even worse.
• It's a powerful anticoagulant, or blood thinner, that helps prevent blood platelets from clumping together into the clots that can cause heart attack and stroke.
• It enhances blood flow to the penis, helping to boost erections.
• It serves as a critical "bullet" by different immune-system cells that use it to kill foreign bacteria and viruses and even shrink or destroy some cancerous tumors.
• It's used by the brain to encode long-term memory and ensure blood flow to brain cells.
• It functions as a "messenger molecule" that allows nerve cells in the body and the brain to communicate with each other.
• It may reduce pregnancy-related hypertension, a potentially life-threatening condition for mother and child.
• It may help regulate insulin secretion by the pancreas, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes.
• It helps control the lung airways, allowing you to breathe easier and avoid common lung disorders.
• It relaxes "hypertonic" sphincter muscles, preventing and healing hemorrhoids and anal fissures.
• It stimulates the body into releasing the all-important human growth hormone (HGH), a key to longevity as well as improvement in body composition by boosting lean muscle mass and bone density while decreasing fat tissue.
Given such powerful and manifold effects, it is perhaps not surprising that ADNO has also been theoretically linked to some medical disorders. We detail these in the book's final chapter and strongly encourage you, if you suffer from one of these maladies, to discuss arginine supplements with your doctor before initiating self-treatment.
For the vast majority of men and women, however, the use of supplemental ADNO as a nutraceutical self-treatment is safe, devoid of side effects, and often startlingly effective in preventing, controlling, and overcoming common causes for ill health.
If you're looking for ways to counter problems already incurred, we invite you to read on to see how the Arginine Solution can play a role in a speedy return toward health. If you are now healthy but ever open to new strategies to preserve the robust status quo, we invite you, as well, to weigh the considerable evidence in support of ADNO.
An ounce of prevention, so they say, is worth a pound of cure. We wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, if not exactly with the dosage level prescribed. As you will see in coming pages, when it comes to the Arginine Solution, you don't need nearly an ounce - a modest three to six grams of daily prevention is usually plenty for most adults.
Chances are you're already taking in at least this much, if not more, from your diet. Statistics show that most adults obtain over five grams each day from dietary sources including meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, cereals, nuts, potatoes, and many other foods. Later in this book, you will see how researchers have safely administered thirty to fifty grams or more

of arginine intravenously to patients with certain medical conditions -without triggering any major side effects.
Our recommendation, to be sure, is much, much more conservative. Indeed, our "Arginine Solution" - three to six grams taken by mouth in three divided doses per day - represents the average adult's normal intake. At this level, supplemental arginine appears reasonable and is usually safe - and not because the amount is too small to have much of an effect. Quite the contrary: As you will see throughout this book and in the extensive bibliography of scientific literature that follows, a multitude of studies offer compelling evidence that a few grams of prevention can be worth a ton of cure.*
Arginine costs relatively little. Given such a modest price and all the benefits it can provide to a variety of your bodily systems, medical economists calculating cost-to-benefit ratios would be hard pressed to find a better health-care bargain available anywhere today.
© 1999 by Robert Fried, Ph.D., Woodson C. Merrell, M.D., and James Thornton