High Blood Pressure (III)

By Dr. Gary Tran Quang Minh

L-Arginine: This is the second most important substance to use to deal with high blood pressure. As CoQ10, L-Arginine is also a Molecule of the Year. The scientist who unraveled the mystery of this fascinating substance received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Google it for more details. I read that story many years ago. The late sixtyish guy presented his discovery on the mechanism of action of this substance at a scientific conference. All of a sudden, he dropped his pants to show to the big audience his horrendous erection. You could hear the appreciative female audience's rumbling WOW crescendoing in the quiet huge hall. The story is too long to tell here and it does not help Zorro's hypertension a bit. So, I skip and cut it to the chase.

Basically, L-Arginine acts to drop blood pressure [That's why it causes mind-boggling erection in men from allowing large quantity of blood rushing into their organ with its blood vessels all dilated] by dilating the blood vessels through the action of NO (Nitrous Oxide) on the endothelial cells lining these blood vessels' walls. In this regard, it has the same action as your nitroglycerine patch or medicine that conventional doctors use to treat congestive heart disease because this medicine also provides NO.

Unlike nitroglycerine which is an explosive invented Nobel of the Nobel Prize fame, L-Arginine is an amino-acid produced by the body. Meat and nuts (from plants and not the nuts Dat may think about) are very high in arginine. Can you understand why Buddhist monks don't eat meat and there is not a whole lot of sexuality problems in Buddhism? Buddhist monks don't ingest a lot of arginine in their diet to arouse anything. And even if they want to arouse something, they couldn't due to the absence of arginine.

In your body L-Arginine plays a vital role in the normal function of your blood vessels. Research showed that it caused a 4-fold increase in the dilation of blood vessel. Dilation of blood vessel is what causes the reduction of blood pressure. The reason L-Arginine can do this is due to the fact that it produces NO in the endothelium (cells lining the blood vessels) which is a vasodilator (something that dilate blood vessel) through the action of an enzyme system called nitrous oxide synthase ( Enzyme involved in the synthesis of nitrous oxide ). NO is able to dilate blood vessel because it can block the adrenaline hormone, which is a stress hormone that constricts blood vessels for the flight or fight scenario. This hormone is produced by the adrenal glands (nang thuong than). NO also is also a substance that can maintain the elasticity of blood vessels.

Holistic doctors commonly use L-Arginine to treat high blood pressure the way allopathic doctors use nitroglycerine to deal with it because both substances have similar function on the blood vessels: relax the smooth muscles of blood vessels, thus allow them to dilate. Research showed that a defective nitrous oxide is at the origin of hypertension because blood vessels cannot dilate without it. If blood vessels constrict it's very hard for blood to flow through to distant parts of the body, thus requiring the heart to pump harder to force the blood through leading to hypertension.
Another research showed that high dose of L-Arginine increase blood to the extremities by 29%. The doses used were from 5.6 to 12.6 grams ( 5,600-12,600 mg ) a day. I would not recommend you use this high dose because it not only increases blood flow to your arms and legs but to another of your organ that makes it very uncomfortable if you don't have a very young wife. If you have an old wife, and if she finds out what happens to you after taking that stuff, she would not let you travel to VN alone anymore. Probably, she would not let you go anywhere alone anymore, not just Viet Nam. That scientist who discovered the mechanism of action of this wonderful substance must have taken the high end of that high dose to have that horrendous show of male virility that made all these female scientists drool at that conference first day. Stick with 3,000 mg (1 tablet of 1000 mg three times a day is plenty) a day. This is the amount I am taking until TKT sent me the Quinoa article and I had to reduce it to 2000 mg or else my blood pressure is too low for comfort.

Too damn much excitement for today. It's not good for an old heart. The third important substance will follows soon.
Zorro or anyone with high blood pressure may need to be on this substance ASAP. It's sold at Vitamin World or Whole Foods store. Buy the 1000 mg tablet size or else you may have to swallow too many pills.

Good health.