Nitric oxide: the key to athletic performance and better erections

We can be well-trained, but if our muscles don’t get the oxygen and nutrients they need, they are unable to perform optimally. Therefore, one of the keys to this is good blood flow to the muscles, as it is with the blood that oxygen and nutrients reach them. The substance that ensures a sufficient blood supply is produced inside our bodies and is called nitric oxide. How to support its natural production?

Nitric oxide (NO) is well known to people suffering from heart disease, especially coronary artery disease, or insufficient oxygenation of the heart muscle. The drug nitroglycerin, which they take, releases nitric oxide, which increases blood flow through the coronary arteries supplying the heart. This compound came to prominence with the discovery of Viagra. Even in its case, the effect is provided by NO, which “dilates” the blood vessels in the small pelvis, significantly improving the blood supply to the penis, and thus allowing an erection.

However, blood circulation is also crucial for sports performance. The more blood that reaches the working muscle, the more oxygen and nutrients its cells receive for energy production. That’s why every athlete (and, of course, cardiac and erectile dysfunction sufferers) should also be interested in how to get their endothelial cells to produce more nitric oxide. Because it is nitric oxide that is one of the most important signaling molecules that increase the permeability of blood vessels and therefore the blood supply to working muscles. (Signaling molecules are, simply put, substances that penetrate inside cells or bind to their receptors, and subsequently influence the behavior of those cells.)

More blood to the muscles

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced in the endothelium, which is the layer on the inside of blood vessels. However, this is not a passive lining, but a very active tissue – the endothelial cells produce substances that influence the activity of the smooth muscle, which is another layer of the vessel wall adjacent to the endothelium. These muscles, which cannot be influenced at will, play an important role in the regulation of blood flow: by contracting or relaxing, they change the permeability of the blood vessel in question and therefore the amount of blood that flows through it.

The production of NO causing increased blood flow to the muscles is particularly important for endurance athletes, for whose performance the supply of oxygen and nutrients through the blood to the muscle is a limiting factor. A number of studies have already shown that if we increase NO production through dietary measures, we can increase their performance (for example, in a test of running or driving at a constant speed until exhaustion) as well as influence the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), which is taken as one of the main indicators of endurance. However, increased blood flow to the muscles will also have a significant effect on performance in strength events.

In addition, increasing NO production will also help improve mental performance, such as learning and memory, immunity, sleep quality, pain perception and may even affect the speed of the aging process.

Five steps for better blood circulation

When looking for ways to increase NO production, it is important to know how this substance is produced in the body. Three compounds are required: the amino acid arginine, nitrates or nitrites, and the enzyme nitroxidesynthase (eNOS), which catalyses the biochemical reaction (i.e. it does not take place without its participation).

The following steps are therefore important:

1. Arginine intake – arginine is not an essential amino acid, the body can create it on its own (it is essential only in childhood). Therefore, sufficient consumption of good quality protein with a balanced content of all essential amino acids is essential. At the same time, however, if we supply arginine directly to the body, we “save it a lot of work”. That is why this substance is a frequent part of dietary supplements for athletes and for erection support. For athletes, its necessity for the formation of creatine is also important – creatine phosphate is then formed from it, which is a source of energy for working muscles. Supplementing citrulline, which serves as a storage source of arginine, can also be beneficial. Foods rich in arginine include various seeds and nuts and whole grain cereals.
2. Consumption of nitrates – up to 80% of nitrates are ingested from vegetables. Beetroot is a well-known leader in this respect (according to research, consuming beetroot juice before exercise can significantly improve running performance), while spinach and other leafy vegetables are also important sources. In addition to vegetables, fruit and meat are also rich in nitrite.
3. Promoting the bioavailability of NO.
4. Support nitroxidesynthase production.
5. Protection of NO from oxidative destruction.

Useful dietary supplements

A very suitable alternative to promote blood flow are dietary supplements that not only contain nitrates, but also have epigenetic effects – that is, they can affect the activity of certain genes in our DNA. As a result, they promote, for example, the production of eNOS or the bioavailability of NO.

Pomegranate

Pomegranate extract is very popular among athletes for its ability to support natural testosterone production and therefore muscle strength and muscle growth. In addition, however, it is also highly effective in promoting blood flow to working muscles.

It contains not only nitrates, but also supports the production of eNOS, and thanks to its high antioxidant potential, it helps to protect the already formed NO from oxidative damage by free radicals.

Research from 2014, for example, showed that if the extract is taken half an hour before exercise, it significantly improves not only blood flow but also performance in a run-to-exhaustion test. In other studies, it also improved the performance of strength athletes and significantly improved their recovery rate, i.e. even the return of full performance ability after a previous strenuous exercise.

A positive “side effect” is the improvement of erection ability and increased appetite for sex, which is appreciated not only by middle-aged and older men, but also by many endurance men. This is because strenuous endurance training increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which counteracts testosterone.

Curcumin

Also, curcumin significantly improves blood circulation (of the whole body and working muscles) both in the short term and especially in the long term.

For example, the researchers tested a group of adults who were given 2,000 mg of curcumin daily for 12 weeks and examined differences in blood flow in the main artery in the upper arm. The result was surprising: blood flow increased by an average of 34%! This is mainly due to the fact that curcumin improves the bioavailability of nitric oxide and also protects it from oxidative degradation due to its high antioxidant potential.

In addition, curcumin is also beneficial for athletes because its anti-inflammatory action significantly promotes recovery and reduces post-exercise fatigue and muscle soreness.

In this context, however, it is important to mention the main problem – the limited absorption of curcumin. This is greatly improved if curcumin is taken together with piperine, which is found in pepper, for example.