L-Arginine: To the Immune System and Beyond

When scouring the internet or walking into a health or nutrition store, we are often faced with a lot of large, sometimes intimidating words on labels for supplements that we are unsure about. Without some prior research, it may be easy to get lost in aisles or pages online of these supplements without much direction. L-arginine may be one of those culprits; however, you came to the right place to learn more about it, so you don’t have to miss out on its benefits anymore!

So, what is it? L-arginine is an amino acid, and amino acids are required for our body to make proteins. Our bodies need amino acids to perform essential functions such as the building of proteins and the synthesis, or creation, of hormones and neurotransmitters in our brains. Those are some pretty important jobs! Our bodies need 20 amino acids to function properly and grow, and not all of these amino acids can be developed by our bodies. Given this, we must obtain the essential amino acids through our diets, which can be found in animal and plant based protein sources. L-arginine is classified as a conditionally essential amino acid, which means our bodies can create this amino acid to the degree it is needed, however, more L-arginine is needed during times of illness, pregnancy, trauma, and physiological stress. This means that supplementation of a conditionally essential amino acid could be of benefit to us in times that our bodies are not functioning at their best.

When our bodies are going through stress, such as infection or trauma, your need for arginine increases due to the physiological responses to these situations. Our bodies are unable to produce the levels needed for functioning, so supplementation can help. With low levels of arginine, we may face issues such as impaired function of our immune system and blood flow.

Recent research has found that L-arginine can help increase the activity of T-cells, which are a type of immune cell in our bodies. T-cells are vital to our immune system’s defense against viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells. By supplementing our diets with L-arginine, we can provide our T-cells with the amino acids they need to function properly as our body works through the stress of illness. Arginine is needed for the synthesis of nitric oxide, which plays a vital role in our immune system and its response to infectious diseases. Increased levels of nitric oxide have also been found to improve blood flow to muscles, which is important for exercise. With our busy lives and the thoughts of life going back to some form of normalcy after Covid on the horizon, it is important that we are taking care of our bodies and doing what we can to prevent slowdowns caused by illness.

In addition to immune function, L-arginine has been found to help users with their athletic performance. By increasing the production of nitric oxide in our bodies through L-arginine supplementation, we can improve the blood and oxygen flow to our muscles, which is important for exercise. When our bodies deliver blood to our lungs, more oxygenated blood reaches our muscles, and the oxygen provides the fuel for our muscles to work harder and more efficiently.

For those who may not be getting enough protein rich food sources in their diet, L-arginine supplementation can be of great benefit! As always when adding in a supplement, it is important to understand the needs of your own body to make sure you are taking the appropriate amount. If you’re looking to improve your overall health and your exercise performance, check out our L-arginine product, and give it a try!