No2 (nitric oxide) Supplements Review
May 24th, 2008 by Paul JohnsonNitric Oxide is one of the most popular muscle building supplements on the market now. Can it actually help muscle gains or is it hype? What I’m about to say may surprise you.
What are NO (nitric Oxide) supplements?
NO supplements are supposed to increase Nitric Oxide in the blood. NO Supplements contain arginine, with most in the form of Arginine-alpha-keto-glutarate. Nitric Oxide has hundreds of functions in the body, especially with blood flow, nerves, and cell communication. It acts as a vasodilator(increasing blood flow) in the body by relaxing the smooth muscles. Nitric Oxide (NO) is formed when the amino acid arginine, is broken down by an enzyme into citruline.
Why do bodybuilders take NO supplements?
To get better muscle pumps, increased strength and muscle gains, and for sexual health. It is thought that nitric oxide plays a crucial role in muscle building based on some indirect studies and theory.
NO supplement studies:
It sounds like NO supplementation is a important supplement, but there is no legitimate scientific studies showing NO supplements increased strength and muscle gains. Most of the NO advocates are using indirect reasoning to support the use of NO as a muscle builder. For example, they believe that since NO could help muscle gains because of the increased blood flow to the muscles. Other studies such as published in Am J Hypertens. 2007 Aug;20(8):825-30, showed an increase in NO production after resistance excercise. This has then led some to assume, that NO may then be involved in causing increased protein synthesis post-workout.
The problem with all these assumptions is that arginine doesn’t seem to convert to Nitric Oxide at the recommended dosages. If you go through all the studies done on high doses of arginine, you will see no increase in vasodilation (increased blood flow). It increases vasodilation only at high doses when injected. The reason why we can’t get to those levels orally, is because it is much higher than the level that causes stomach upset. So arginine will convert to nitric oxide, just not at the dosages someone could withstand orally, without getting really sick. I suppose someone could start injecting it, but NO supplements aren’t THAT good to warrant it! No legitimate scientific study I could find has been able to show a difference, in either muscle gains or strength.
Final thoughts:
NO supplements seem to be nothing more than junk. The vasodilationeffects some people “experience”, seems to be nothing more than placebo effect. Therefore it’s not going to be a Viagra alternative either, for those who seeked arginine for helping impotence. Many reputable experts, who aren’t affiliated with supplement companies, also believe NO is a waste of money.
I think you raise some great points. I could very see there not being much research to support the use of arginine based supplements as not nearly as much has been done as compared to other effective supplements such as creatine.
Personally I do not know much about the science behind the products, but having used many over the course of my life, I can say from personal experience that I have gotten a great response from Vasodilators. Within a week of taking any high quality NO2 booster, I could see a direct increase in vascularity, greatly enlarged muscle pump and moderate increase in strength. Obviously it is hard to tell how much muscle you built over the course of taking a bottle over a month, but even the fact that my pumps were significantly greater poses consideration for the supplements effectiveness. Many bodybuilding experts (those that actually bodybuild) will say muscle pumps have a direct correlation to muscle growth. Even Arnold has been quoted saying that.
While I will agree that not every supplement is of value to everyone and for some, arginine (NO2 boosting) supplements may be a waste of money, but I know for myself and others who have had great experiences feel they are a great muscle building investment to a bodybuilding program
Great blog post. I enjoy these write ups.
NO2 just gives you mental edge you are better off just taking a sugar pill and and some protien after you workout. Product should be of the market.
N.O. will help with endurance and recovery, which are important factors for building muscle. N.O. does not directly building muscle, but indirectly will help. If you have more endurance you are able to do more reps, if you recover faster, you are rebuilding muscle.
Thanks for the info.
Poorly written and biased article.
Tommy if you are smart enough to make such a statement, then care to point out where I’m wrong? Don’t make statements you can’t back up.
The only supplements that work are protein, creatine and steroids and I would not take the latter!