L-Arginine and Sex:

Just Say Yes to NO. Arginine is an essential amino acid, one of the building blocks of proteins in the body. "Essential" refers to the fact that the body cannot manufacture arginine from other substances the way it does with some (nonessential) amino acids. To maintain your supply of this nutrient, it is essential that you either consume foods containing arginine (eg, dairy products, nuts, chicken, turkey, and other fowl) or take L-arginine supplements. Until about a decade ago, arginine was largely ignored except in its very limited protein-building role. Now it turns out, L-arginine is the main source of the primary molecule responsible for sexual arousal. It is interesting to note, however, that even back in the Dark Ages of the 19th century, people like Dr. Kellogg recognized the prosexual value of "nitrogenous elements of food" of which, it turns out, L-arginine is a major contributor. The modern awakening to arginine use has come in three major waves. The first wave hit in the mid-1980s when Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw popularized research showing that dietary L-arginine acts to release growth hormone (GH) from the pituitary gland at the base of the brain [Pearson, 1982; Merimee, 1969]. Injections of GH have since been shown to have dramatic anti-aging effects in older people, including increases in bone and muscle mass, decreases in fat, and improvements in skin tone [Rudman, 1990]. It seemed reasonable to assume that, since L-arginine induces a substantial natural release of GH [Knopf, 1965], it could have beneficial effects similar to those attributed to GH injections. The widespread successful use of supplements of L-arginine and other GH releasers by bodybuilders and other athletes testifies to the power of this amino acid. A second wave of arginine research in the late 1980s demonstrated that L-arginine supplements significantly improve immune function [Barbul, 1990] and speed wound healing [Daley, 1988], also through the release of GH. Based on the remarkable recovery of seriously ill surgical patients taking arginine supplements, one prominent surgeon stated, "Arginine is an important dietary variable that could influence resistance to infection, especially those of the intracellular variety, as well as tumor growth and the development of metastasis" [Alexander, 1990].