Have you heard what arginine
(L-arginine) can do for your heart?

Is Arginine a "super hero" for the heart? The evidence is building that it just may be.

The benefits of L arginine:

• open clogged arteries

• reduce the chest pain of angina

• reverse impotence

• boost immunity

• increase mental acuity

• lessen the complications of diabetes.

• For some people with high blood pressure, arginine alone can restore it to the normal range.

How could one supplement accomplish all this?
Arginine's health benefits stem from its conversion to nitric oxide (NO) in cells that line the inside of your blood vessels. It is the body's most potent blood vessel expander and main blood pressure regulator. The discovery of nitric oxide's crucial role in heart health earned three American scientists the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1998.

Helping your heart
In their current book, The Arginine Solution, Drs. Robert Fried and Woodson C. Merrell note that as people age and develop such disorders as hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and atherosclerosis, their ability to make sufficient amounts of nitric oxide from arginine is impaired, contributing to a further decline in their cardiovascular health.

Reducing high blood pressure
Several recent studies confirming arginine's ability to lower high blood pressure have piqued public curiosity about this supplement. For example, in a 1998 Italian study, daily oral doses significantly reduced systolic blood pressure in patients with borderline hypertension.

Improving blood flow to your heart arteries
Arginine apparently can also help people with heart failure or blood vessel disease. For instance, University of Minnesota researchers reported that taking arginine for six weeks improved blood flow and walking distance in people with heart failure.

Arginine may improve leg pain associated with heart disease.
1998 German study found that it helped those with severe intermittent claudication (leg pain associated with atherosclerosis of arteries in the leg).

Diabetes benefits
Arginine blood levels are often reduced in diabetes, and some evidence suggests that arginine can slow the progression of atherosclerosis in those with type 2 diabetes. It should not, however, be taken by people with diabetic retinopathy.

Arginine is obtained through a wide range of foods, including meats, poultry, fish, dairy products, and nuts. The body manufactures arginine by digesting the proteins in these foods.

L Arginine side effects 
Overall, arginine is considered very safe but as with any supplement, caution is advised. You should consult with your doctor before taking arginine if you are taking certain prescription drugs.

Suggested dose:
Arginine is sold as L-arginine, the naturally occurring form of the amino acid.

• The recommended dosage for high blood pressure is 1,000 mg L-arginine twice a day. Results should begin to appear in a month or two. If needed, increase the daily dose to a maximum of 6,000 mg (in three divided doses). Take with carbohydrates rather than protein, which can hinder absorption.

Summary
If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, angina or other risks of heart disease you should give strong consideration to taking arginine.

This natural supplement has very few side effects (I haven't had any) and will not only improve your heart but also your sexual vitality!

CoQ10 And The Heart
Another heart supplement that I would not be without is coenzyme q10. The heart is one of the few organs in the body to function continuously without resting; therefore, the heart muscle requires the highest level of energetic support.

Statin Drugs can rob you of Co Q10!
If you are taking any of the statin family of drugs such as Vytorin, Zetia, Lipitor, Zocor or Crestor to lower your cholesterol you should not be without CoQ10. Other drugs, such as beta blockers and some antidepressants, also interfere with Coenzyme Q10.

Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs can literally "kill" CoQ10 synthesis.

Bio-availability is the key.
No supplement will help you if your body can't use it effectively. CoQ10 is a notoriously bulky nutrient that's quite hard to absorb and therefore the type of supplement you choose can make all the difference.

New Form of Coenzyme Q10 Announced by Dr. Al Sears!
Al Sears, MD, graduated from the University of South Florida, College of Medicine with honors in Internal Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry and Physical Medicine.