Nitric Oxide, Upbeet, Tre

 One of the last times I got together with Dr. Arthur Furst near the end of his accomplished life he shared with me that he was researching the importance of nitric oxide. The chemical is very important for circulatory health and is the basis of pharmaceuticals used to treat erectile dysfunction in men and chest pain in those with heart disease. This month's newsletter discusses research on this important topic and NeoLife Upbeet which was designed to provide a natural source for this nutrient.

A food source of nitric oxide is the preferable source of supplementation. Overloading the body can be harmful. Test strips are available to test whether nitric oxide is deficient in the body. As we age this becomes much more likely.

NeoLife Tre is a wonderful complement to Upbeet. It helps nitric oxide work better by slowing its rapid degradation in the body. Many people have commented that they notice a pronounced benefit from Tre including improving heart function and improving problems with male performance.

Click here for the Newsletter on NitricOxide and Upbeet

Link to article on ability of pomegranate juice to enhance nitric oxide function.

Nitric Oxide and Energy production

 NeoLife's new product Upbeet is designed to promote healthy nitric oxide production. One of the recent findings with regard to this gas with a half-life of less than 7 seconds it that it plays a major role in the function of insulin and the production of energy from food. One recent research paper noted the following: "In particular, nitric oxide (NO) is emerging as a central regulator of energy metabolism and body composition. NO bioavailability is decreased in animal models of diet-induced obesity and in obese and insulin-resistant patients, and increasing NO output has remarkable effects on obesity and insulin resistance." This is good news. A supplement that helps prevent weight gain and promotes fat burning for energy.

Reeference:

Hill, Bradford, et al., Regulation of obesity and insulin resistance by nitric oxide, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, August 2014;73:383-399.

Blood Pressure, Garlic, Nitric Oxide

 Nitric Oxide and Blood Pressure

This month's newsletter was written before the introduction of NeoLife Upbeet which is designed to increase nitric oxide production. Low levels of nitric oxide are associated with increased blood pressure. Increasing levels of nitric oxide can lower blood pressure in situations where other measures are ineffective.

The amino acid arginine is the precursor to nitric oxide. This is found in NeoLife's Sport Biotone. Polyphenols also improve the functioning of nitric oxide. These are found in NeoLife Tre. These two supplements are wonderful support for the new Upbeet product.

References:

Moncada, S., et al., Role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide in the regulation of blood pressure, Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA, May 1989; 86: 3375-3378.

Napoli, Claudio, et al., Pomegranate juice protects nitric oxide against oxidative destruction and enhances the biological actions of nitric oxide, Nitric Oxide, 2006; 15(2):93-102.

Garlic and Blood Pressure

Garlic has been repeatedly shown to be a blood pressure lowering agent. Not only does it enhance nitric oxide functioning, but the sulfur compounds also appear to be of benefit. Garlic appears to lower both systolic and diastolic pressure by a little under ten points.

Reference:

Ried K, Fakler P., Potential of garlic (Allium sativum) in lowering high blood pressure: mechanisms of action and clinical relevance. Integr Blood Press Control. 2014 Dec 9;7:71-82.

Upbeet

 New Product: Upbeet Superfood Drink Mix

NeoLife's latest product is called Upbeet. It is a tasty blend of nutrients which enhance nitric oxide production and functioning. This nutrient helps muscles work longer and harder while supporting heart health by dilating blood vessels for healthy circulation and reducing blood pressure.

The supplement is a blend of betalains from beets, black ginger, pomegranate peel, moringa leaves, kale and Joseph's coat. The biggest problem with beets is that most people do not like the taste, but this product has a superior taste. The product is a powder that mixes easily in water. Pills of beets bypass oral absorption, but as a drink this is not a problem. The flavor is mixed berry and ingredients are organic and GMO free.

Vitamin E Complex and Nitric Oxide

 NeoLife has always maintained that vitamin E should be supplemented as a complete complex. There are 8 members of the family. Each member has an affinity for different tissues and functions differently. Nitric oxide is a chemical produced by the immune system to fight cancer and infectious agents. The only problem is that this compound is so unstable that is is converted to nitrate or nitrite within 10 seconds. Both of these can be a source of dangerous nitrogen based free radicals.

Gamma-tocopherol and gamma-tocotrienol, two lesser known members of the vitamin E family prevents the conversion of NO to these dangerous cancer promoting chemicals. Alpha-tocopherol does not. This may explain why Stephan Christen found that supplementing laboratory animals with large amounts of synthetic vitamin E increased the incidence of tumors by depleting the body of gamma-tocopherol. Nature knows best when she combines nutrients into complexes and vitamin E is one of the clearest examples of this important nutritional principle.

References:

Papas, Andreas, The Vitamin E Factor, New York:HarperPerennial, 1999, p.37.

Christen, Stephan, γ-Tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 74, Issue 6, December 2001, Pages 714–722, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/74.6.714

Vitamin E Deficiency

Vitamin E has been called the vitamin without a disease. Dramatic cures as one sees with scurvy when vitamin C is added to the diet were not seen. Early research showed that deficiencies of the vitamin developed slowly and symptoms generally tend to appear only after extensive and often irreversible damage has taken place.

It takes a long time to increase tissue levels of vitamin E. This reminds me of the story of Earl Pearson who was diagnosed with emphysema. After supplementing with large quantities of vitamin E for five years under his doctor's supervision he was told he no longer had the disease.

The following warning by Papas should encourage us to make sure the vitamin E intake is adequate: "We have learned...that vitamin E deficiency may go unnoticed for years without clinical symptoms....unnoticed muscle and nerve damage can pile up...depleted tissues get replenished slowly and the nerve tissue even more slowly. When clinical symptoms appear it is usually too late for repair!"

References:

Papas, Andreas, The Vitamin E Factor, New York:HarperPerennial, 1999, p.14-15.

 Nitric Oxide

One of the last days I spent with Dr. Arthur Furst he was involved in research on nitric oxide and showed me some of the research he was reviewing. Very little was known about nitric oxide at that time. Nitric oxide is a powerful free radical, but research since the late 1980's has shown that this noxious compound plays many important roles in body chemistry as an important chemical messenger and signaling molecule. This molecule plays a role in the ability of white blood cells to attack and destroy viruses and bacteria. It also plays a role in allowing the dilation of blood vessels. This is why nitroglycerine tablets were once used to treat angina or chest pain. Viagra accomplishes its wonders by promoting the functioning of nitric oxide. The nitric oxide molecule is also involved in the production of a substance called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which plays a key role in brain function and cognition.

Nitric oxide exists for only about 10 seconds before it is converted to other compounds. Studies have shown that ingestion of nitrates will result in the formation of nitrosamines in the stomach if production of hydrochloric acid is low as it often is in older people. This suggests that support of stomach acid in older people is important for not only digestion of foods but also for the reduction of risk of stomach cancer which can be caused by nitrosamines. It also suggests that loading up with nitrates as found in bacon and sausages may not be the optimal means of improving nitric oxide functioning in the body.

Two supplements appear to be of particular value in optimizing nitric oxide functioning. These are Biotone Tissue Toner with its arginine and Tre with its concentrate of pomegranate juice. Arginine, an amino acid, is involved in the production of nitric oxide where it is needed in the body. Pomegranate juice is protective of the functioning of nitric oxide once it is produced in the body. It is much more enhancing of nitric oxide functioning than numerous other substances.

References:

Article on Nitric Oxide

Nitric Oxide and Cognition

Arginine and Nitric Oxide

Nitric Oxide and Pomegranate Juice

Nitric Oxide, Vitamin C, and Stomach Acid

Stomach cancer is the second most common cancer in the world according to some studies. Research has shown that contributing factors are a diet high in nitrates or low in vitamin C. Decreased production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach also plays a role in stomach cancer. Bacteria that produce cancer causing nitrosamines proliferate in the stomach when stomach acid production is depressed or absent. This often happens with aging or with overgrowth of H. pylori bacteria in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid not only aids digestion of foods, but it also kills bacteria in foods as well as those bacteria that attempt to take up habitation in the stomach.

Vitamin C inhibits the formation of nitrosamines in the stomach. There is a direct correlation between lower vitamin C levels in the stomach and for formation of cancer causing nitrosamines. One more reason to make sure that regular intake of vitamin C is part of one's lifestyle. Vitamin C converts potentially dangerous gastric juice nitrite which can form nitrosamines to nitric oxide.

Betagest is a natural support for stomach acid derived from beet stems and beet roots. Dr. Hugh Tuckey who researched stomach acid for 30 years found that this form of stomach acid support was the most effective for addressing problems of low stomach acid production.

References:

Nitrate and Stomach cancer

Ruddell, W.S.J., Gastric Juice Nitrite: A risk factor for cancer in the hypochlorhydric stomach, The Lancet, November 1976; 308(7994):1037-1039.

 

Heart Health and More

In one of my last meetings with Dr. Arthur Furst he sat with a huge stack of research papers by his side. As we talked, he explained that he was reviewing the research on nitric oxide. The most important function of this important compound is to relax the inner muscles of the blood vessels causing them to widen and increase circulation. Physicians have long administered nitrates to treat chest pain and common treatments for erectile dysfunction target nitric oxide as well. I have been asked if there are any products in NeoLife that boost nitric oxide. Studies have shown that allium vegetables boost nitric oxide. One study found that garlic boosted nitric oxide by up to 40% within an hour of consumption. This was almost twice the effect of a similar study done with beets. The NeoLife Garlic Allium Complex supplies garlic and other allium vegetables in a non-odoriferous supplement form. The biological precursor to nitric oxide is the amino acid arginine. This amino acid is naturally present in nuts and chocolate so products with these ingredients (for example the Fruit and Nut Bar) as well as all NeoLife protein products will contain arginine. The Sport Biotone is also an arginine containing supplement. It not only fosters nitric oxide but also helps to preserve growth hormone in older individuals. This not only increases energy, but also helps burn fat and build muscle. NeoLife Tre contains concentrated pomegranate juice. One ounce contains the antioxidants one would obtain from 20 ounces of pomegranate juice without the sugars. Pomegranate juice has been shown to increase synthesis of nitric oxide, to prevent it from being oxidized or destroyed within the body, and also has the ability to enhance the effects of nitric oxide. One of my friends who suffered with erectile dysfunction found that the Tre was effective in restoring his normal functioning. Nitric oxide functioning is also enhanced by Coenzyme Q10 and Citrus Flavonoids (Super C). Users of these supplements are likely to have pretty robust nitric oxide production well into old age. Recent studies suggest the role of nitric oxide is much more than just healthy circulation.  A recent paper by Pacher notes, "Since its early description as an endothelial-derived relaxing factor, NO has emerged as a fundamental signaling device regulating virtually every critical cellular function, as well as a potent mediator of cellular damage in a wide range of conditions."  Article on Garlic and nitric oxide Garlic and Heart Disease Garlic and Blood Pressure Pacher Paper