Nitric Oxide, the Miracle Molecule
Natural Treatment for Cardiovascular Disease
Nitric Oxide can be increased with supplements, diet, and exercise. Learn why a healthy lifestyle is linked with preventing stroke and heart attack.
You've been diagnosed with heart disease. You know you need to make some drastic changes to your eating habits--and fast. But where do you start? Making a 360 degree change when you've been dining on juicy steaks, burgers and fries for years on end can be confusing and overwhelming, especially if you're already not feeling well.
There have been advances in understanding why healthy food choices are so critical in avoiding stroke or heart attack that you may not have heard about. Having a better understanding of why food choices are so critical may offer that extra boost of motivation you’ve been looking for.
NO Discovery
In 1998, Dr. Louis J. Ignarro was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering the importance of nitric oxide (NO) to the entire vascular system. In times past, NO was considered to be nothing more than a noxious gas emitted from car exhaust systems. Now we know that NO is such a vital part of the vascular system that long term health relies on a NO-supportive environment within the body.
Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is a signaling molecule produced organically that regulates blood pressure, clots that cause stroke and heart attack, and atherosclerosis. It penetrates membranes with biological signals and messages, influencing every bodily organ including the lungs, liver, stomach, genitals, and kidneys. NO is manufactured primarily by the endothelium, the very thin and fragile inner lining of blood vessels.
Endothelium
When the endothelium is healthy, NO is produced at optimal levels and released into the blood stream, and carried on to every other organ of the body. Since the bulk of NO is produced by the endothelium, if blood vessels become incased with plaque, or atherosclerosis, NO production is suppressed. NO continues to be further researched. For now it is believed that NO:
- Fights bacteria, viruses, and parasites
- Suppresses proliferation of some types of cancer cells
- Prevents serious complications in diabetic patients, particularly in association with impaired blood flow
- Plays major role in memory (currently being researched for prevention of Alzheimer’s)
- Is a Neurotransmitter
- Increased sexual functioning (NO findings led to development of Viagra)
- Is a powerful antioxidant: deactivates free radicals that contribute to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
While lack of NO in the body can develop when endothelial tissue is damaged by age, lack of physical activity, illness, or genetics, it is known that specific nutrients and food choices are directly related to the bodies ability--or inability--to manufacture nitric oxide.
Ignarro, Louis J. NO More Heart Disease. New York: St Martin's, 2005.
ABSW: http://www.absw.org.uk/briefings/nitric%20oxide.htm
