Choosing the Best L-Arginine Supplement

To function at a high level, the body needs a consistent and adequate supply of essential nutrients.

These nutrients provide the foundation for many of our cells, allow chemical reactions to occur throughout the body, and ultimately ensure that the many physiological processes within the body are occurring efficiently.

While a deficiency in any one of these nutrients can cause huge declines in health and function, the reverse is often also true. There are a number of these nutrients that, when taken in excess, can boost the efficiency of the body, causing large improvements in health and performance.

L-Arginine is one such nutrient.

What Is L-Arginine?

L-Arginine (also known as simply ‘Arginine’ in some circles) is one of the 20 amino acids we receive from proteins within the diet.

L-Arginine is unique as it is considered a semi-essential amino acid as although it is produced in trace amounts within the human body, we actually need to consume it through our diet to ensure we have enough available for normal function.

While L-Arginine is used as a key structural component in many of our cells and enzymes, it can also be converted into nitric oxide, and is subsequently known to play an important role in the maintenance cardiovascular health and function.

In conjunction with this, L-Arginine has also been said to interact with the body’s endocrine system, stimulating the production and secretion of specific hormones. This is said to have positive implications throughout the entire body, boosting health and function in a very big way.

With all this in mind, the supplementation of L-Arginine can have some massive benefits, making it an excellent option for those looking for a simple dietary supplement to improve health easily and effectively. 

What Are the Benefits of Taking an L-Arginine Supplement?

As L-Arginine acts with the body across a number of different physiological systems, its consumption has been shown to improve health and function in a number of different ways. This genuinely makes it one of the most versatile supplements on the market.

L-Arginine Supplements and Heart Health

L-Arginine has the capacity to be converted into nitric oxide – a key compound that promotes the vasodilation (or relaxation) of our veins and arteries. This reduces the amount of effort required by the heart to pump blood around the body, causing a huge reduction in blood pressure as a result.

In conjunction with this, L-Arginine supplements have also been shown to cause large reductions in blood cholesterol levels, another known risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular dysfunction.

Through these two key mechanisms, L-Arginine offers a great way to improve heart health and stave off unwanted cardiovascular disease ^[1].

L-Arginine Supplements and Exercise

As L-Arginine has the capacity to improve blood flow throughout the body (again through its conversion to nitric oxide), it improves the body’s ability to transfer oxygen to the muscle tissue. This improves exercise performance acutely, while also increasing energy production significantly ^[2].

Additionally, L-Arginine supplementation has also been shown to boost the production of human growth hormone – one of the most anabolic hormones within the body ^[3].

Through this mechanism, L-Arginine has been suggested to improve our ability to build muscle and lose fat, making it a great option for those looking to make changes to their body composition, or improve the results of their exercise regime.

L-Arginine Supplements and Inflammation

Inflammation is one the body’s primary defense mechanisms. In an acute sense, it helps us heal wounds and fight off invaders.

Unfortunately, when it occurs in response to harmful lifestyle factors, inflammation can become chronic. In this scenario, inflammation gets deployed against the body’s own tissues, which greatly increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, metabolic disease, and dementia.

Fortunately for us, L-Arginine has been shown to interact with a key enzyme known as superoxide dismutase, causing substantial reductions in inflammation. As such, it offers a great way to reduce the risk of developing inflammation driven diseases ^[4].

Best L-Arginine Supplement Reviews

As with most supplement products, some options are deniably better than others. With this in mind, we have gone ahead and found what we believe to be the best three L-Arginine supplements available on the market.

Each of these are of excellent quality, and offer us with a great option in their own right.

HAVASUs Extra Strength L-Arginine Supplement

For sheer convenience and effectiveness, it is hard to look beyond this L-Arginine supplement by HAVASU. Providing us with an extremely potent dosage pf 1200mg per capsule, while also using great quality ingredients, you really can’t go wrong.

While it is indeed one of the more expensive options on the market, you can be completely certain of its quality and efficiency.

BulkSupplements Pure L-Arginine Base Powder

I must admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for BulkSupplements. They consistently offer great quality, no-fluff, products that are extremely cost effective – and of course, their L-Arginine supplement is no different.

The only knock on this product is that it does come in powder form, meaning you have to mix it with liquid to consume. This does reduce its ease of use slightly.

NOW L-Arginine 500mg Capsules

This L-Arginine supplement is another great option, perfect for those individuals looking for a good quality capsule that won’t break the bank. While this option only provides a dosage of 500mg per capsule, it offers great absorbability, and you can be assured of the product quality.

A great option at a very decent price point.

L-arginine is an incredibly important amino acid that is known to play a number of unique roles within the human body. With this in mind, its supplementation has been shown to cause large improvements in heart health, exercise performance, all while causing significant reductions in inflammation.

The three options listed in this article are what we believe to be the best three L-arginine supplements available on the market. If you have had any experience with them, we would love to hear about it – so please drop us a comment and we will get back to you ASAP.