Did a vitamin-like supplement make athletes faster?
No effect of short-term arginine supplementation on nitric oxide production, metabolism and performance in intermittent exercise in athletes.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Arginine increased in blood, but nitric oxide markers (nitrate/nitrite) didn’t rise more than placebo.
Arginine is a known precursor to nitric oxide; many assume more arginine = more nitric oxide = better performance. But here, even with higher arginine, nitric oxide markers rose equally in both groups.
Practical Takeaways
Skip arginine supplements for short-term performance boosts before intense workouts.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Arginine increased in blood, but nitric oxide markers (nitrate/nitrite) didn’t rise more than placebo.
Arginine is a known precursor to nitric oxide; many assume more arginine = more nitric oxide = better performance. But here, even with higher arginine, nitric oxide markers rose equally in both groups.
Practical Takeaways
Skip arginine supplements for short-term performance boosts before intense workouts.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of nutritional biochemistry
Year
2009
Authors
Tsung-Han Liu, Ching-Lin Wu, Chi-Wei Chiang, Yu-Wei Lo, H. Tseng, Chen-Kang Chang
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Claims (3)
Taking L-arginine pills can raise the level of arginine in your blood, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll produce more nitric oxide or get better at exercising—sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t.
Taking a specific amount of arginine supplement for just three days doesn’t change the levels of nitric oxide in the blood of highly trained male athletes when they do short, intense workouts.
Taking arginine supplements for just three days won’t make you stronger or more powerful during short, intense workouts like sprinting or lifting heavy weights—even if you’re already a well-trained athlete.