Supplement Round Up: NO Boosters
What are NO Boosters?
NO Boosters can include arginine, citrulline, beetroot, and sodium nitrate. Arginine and citrulline are amino acids. Arginine is converted to Nitric Oxide(NO). Citrulline is a precursor to arginine. Beetroot is made from pulling nitrates out with a resin. Sodium nitrate is naturally found in the body. Beetroot and sodium nitrate both have nitrates that go into NO production. You can supplement all of these to possibly enhance your training.
What do NO Boosters do?
NO Boosters will enhance performance and recovery due to nutrient and oxygen delivery. This is because NO Boosters will increase blood flow and vasodilation. Many increase the nitrates that are in your body to then increase NO production which increases these effects.
How much of NO Boosters should I take?
- An effective dose of arginine is 3-5g pre-workout
- It has been shown that you need 6-8g citrulline pre-workout
- Beetroot has been seen effective at above 500mL per day (beets and beetroot juice should ideally be fresh)
- 8.5-10 mg/kg of sodium nitrate is needed to be effective
How safe are NO Boosters?
There are minimal side effects. Most only having possible GI disturbance.
Where can I find NO Boosters?
One of our favorite recommended products is Vasophil Sour Apple (citrulline & arginine). Create a Fullscript account here to purchase it today from our high quality, reputable dispensary.
Bottom line:
Research suggests that athletes who are well-trained already have a higher amount of NO production. This type of supplement may benefit those who are untrained to less trained. There is only slight differences from placebos and does not seem to enhance performance in a significant manner. At the ISSN conference, we learned that researchers are going “back to the drawing board” by investigating NO boosters in different athletic populations. It has few to no side effects and may affect people differently.
Need a personalized supplement regimen?
Schedule your FREE Nutrition Consultation here today!
Special thanks to one of our interns, Brittany Wuis, who is a student at N.C. State, a Certified Personal Trainer and NPC Figure Competitor.
