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Home » Health Articles » Why Arginine Is A Nonessential Amino Acid You Cant Do Without

Why Arginine Is A Non-Essential Amino Acid You Can't Do Without

The subject of a great deal of intense research by conventional medicine, nutritional therapists and sports scientists for at least fifty years, arginine is now regarded as one of the most important and potentially beneficial amino acids. Technically it's known as one of the "non-essential" amino acids, but the term in this sense means only that it can be manufactured within the body and therefore need not necessarily be obtained from the daily diet.

"Non-essential" does not in any way imply that these amino acids are unimportant. Put simply, you need the full range of both essential and non-essential amino acids to form the countless proteins from which your body is largely made. Increasingly, however, there's evidence that individual amino acids may have more specific functions, with increasing interest in the possibility of using supplementation with single amino acids to tackle particular conditions.

Arginine, for example, has been credited with helping the body to generate crucially important hormones, particularly human growth hormone; with improving sexual health and function; increasing muscle mass whilst reducing body fat; reducing cholesterol; stimulating the immune system and enhancing immune system responses.

But perhaps the most important potential benefit of arginine is its effect upon the health of the cardiovascular system. There is some research evidence that doses of 6g or more daily may help reduce low density lipids (LDL), the so-called "bad cholesterol", and that arginine may also significantly improve circulation.

Arginine is also an important precursor of nitric oxide, an important transmitter of neural nerve impulses, and a compound known to help maintain circulation in the tiny blood vessels of the brain, protecting against debilitating and possibly fatal strokes. For the immune system, arginine acts as a stimulant for the thymus gland, helping to generate the immune cells vital for tackling infection.

There is also good research to suggest that arginine may have a "protein sparing" effect, making available the maximum amount of protein for muscle growth. This has been found very useful in the treatment of those, for example the elderly, who have suffered from muscle wasting and weakness. But when coupled with arginine's apparent potential as a fat burner, and its stimulation of the production of human growth hormone; its obvious potential as an athletic performance supplement, particularly for strength and power athletes and body builders, has of course been the cause of great excitement in these communities. Arginine is also an important precursor for the body's manufacture of creatine, known as the "natural steroid" for its muscle and strength building potentiality.

The US Food and Nutrition Board has not prescribed a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for arginine, probably adhering to the traditional view that a diet adequate in protein will almost by definition provide sufficient amino acids. It is certainly true that outright deficiencies of arginine are rarely if ever seen in individuals whose diet contains enough protein, which means most of us in the affluent West. And it is also true that requirements for arginine and other individual amino acids vary widely between individuals, making the establishment of a meaningful RDA even more difficult than usual. However, good sources of arginine in the diet include dairy products and meat, particularly beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Wheatgerm, grains, nuts, seafood and even chocolate may also help boost arginine intake. An increase in the consumption of any of these, particularly the animal proteins, will also of course increase the intake of arginine, and a diet including normal quantities of these foods will usually prevent deficiencies.

It will not necessarily, however, be enough to provide the major therapeutic benefits of arginine, for which most practitioners agree free-form supplementation is required in quantities of at least several grams a day, preferably taken on an empty stomach. Although it is nomally held that the maximum benefits of arginine are obtained when it is taken in isolation, an exception is in seeking to boost the immune system, when it seems that taking arginine together with lysine, another amino acid, may greatly enhance its effects.

As with other amino acids, supplementation with arginine is generally very safe and no ill effects, other than perhaps relatively minor gastric upsets, should be observed even at many times the recommended therapeutic doses. But important exceptions to this are pregnant women and new mothers, people suffering from herpes and similar infections, and sufferers from liver or kidney disease. If arginine is taken at all by these groups, it should only be with medical advice.

In any event, supplementation with single amino acids always carries the risk of creating biochemical imbalances within the body and should not be undertaken indefinitely without qualified supervision. Body builders and strength and power athletes may, for example, find it beneficial to use arginine during the "bulk up" phase of the training cycle, thereafter reverting to a more balanced program of supplementation.

Another word of caution is that as well as its benefits, the nitric oxide produced by arginine is also a free radical with potentially harmful ageing and degenerative effects on the body's cells. This oxidative action does not remove the possible benefits of taking arginine, but it does mean that any supplement program should be combined with a good range of anti-oxidants, including coenzyme Q10 and lipoic acid. And for best results, these should always be taken with comprehensive multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplements.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

The Pros and Cons of Holding Conferences

The image that most people have about conferences is large gatherings of people in an auditorium listening to speakers on a particular subject or company. These types of conferences still occur but are being replaced by video conferences and telephone conferences. There are various pros and cons for each of these types of conferences and one may be better suited to the type of organization that has the need to hold a conference than another.

The conferences that tend to be the hardest to organize are those that require all attendees to be in one location. Scheduling difficulties are obviously an issue but there are also a large number of extra costs that this type of conference incurs. The cost of transporting all the participants to the location has to be taken into account, as does the actual hiring of the conference's location. Some companies may have their own conference facilities at their head office but the huge numbers that are often required to attend these conferences often means that a suitable venue has to be hired. Accommodation and meals are another added cost that makes these large conferences extremely expensive.

Many companies have moved away from these old-fashioned conferences due to many of the reasons I have outlined already. So what type of conferences do they have? Telephone conferences and, more recently, video conferences are the most cost effective solution. There is no need for special premises to be hired or for attendees to travel to a particular location with these conferences. Company employees from all over the globe can be brought together easily and effectively by holding telephone or video conferences. The technology that enables these conferences is being improved and updated constantly and the participants are able to be heard and seen as clearly as if they were in the same room, even if they are actually on the other side of the world!

The only downside of these types of conferences is that the organizer is likely to hold the conference at a time that is amenable to them and may involve participants in other time zones attending at an unsociable hour. This is a small price to pay for conferences that can be organized in a very short space of time. This makes them ideal for discussing urgent issues in a timely manner without having to wait until a scheduled conference can be put together.

The world is demanding rapid solutions to problems and businesses cannot afford to delay discussing issues until the next conference can be organized with all the participants meeting in one place. By holding video or telephone conferences it is easy to gather the appropriate people together and be able to thrash out ideas in a much more timely and effective manner.

Of course, there are always going to be some types of conferences that lend themselves to being held in one place. Political conferences and trades union conferences are two of the most common types that are held in huge auditoriums but I think that this is purely for the television coverage that they attract. The increase in many employees working remotely from home can only lead to a rise in the number of telephone and video conferences and lessen the need for single location conferences. Obviously, there is a downside to this, you no longer have an excuse to get out of the conferences that your flight was cancelled!