Nitric Oxide and Longevity

What enables us to reverse the aging process? It’s an often asked question these days. We don’t want to live longer with disease and chronic ailments that make our days miserable. We want to live with vitality, vibrancy and most of all the ability to move freely and fully.  There are so many bodily changes that happen as we age that make the task of keeping up a challenge. There are key things that can help us along the way and make a huge difference.  We now know that if we eat a nutrient dense, whole food, bio-individual diet with proper sleep, regular exercise and social engagement, then our chances of fending off disease and chronic illness increase no matter what our genomes link us to. We’ve learned that epigenetics and the type of lifestyle we live have more of an effect on the way our genes play out than actual genetic predispositions.  Every day we learn of new exciting developments that make living fully a lifelong possibility.  

One of the most interesting areas of study has been around nitric oxide (NO). This gaseous molecule that’s made in the body is vital to the health of virtually every system in your body and it’s considered one of the early markers of aging. You see, NO production within the body greatly decreases as we age by about 50% by the time we reach our 40’s. Yes, that’s for real and it is a steep drop. So, why is that important to know? Well, NO has many uses.  It aids optimal flow of oxygen and nutrients through our blood vessels, boosting our brain function and mitochondria. It’s a major proponent in relaxing the blood vessels in a process called vasodilation, which allows that efficient blood flow. The more efficient the blood flow the less our heart and muscles have to work and the faster recovery happens when our muscles do have to work. Given this importance we can understand why low levels of nitric oxide are associated with several diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, digestive tract issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

In addition to an increase in age, some factors that limit the body’s ability to produce nitric oxide include sleep deprivation and increased stress, inflammation, autoimmune conditions, heart disease, obesity, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol, caffeine and mouth breathing.  

I’ve talked previously about how breathing through your nose is beneficial to your immune system, the overall health of your body and how it’s a huge component in helping your body intake more oxygen. It’s also important for the production of NO. When we breathe through our nose, NO is released and finds its way into our system increasing the flow of blood through the arteries. There are very interesting studies looking at nasal nitric oxide’s role in decreasing the severity of COVID 19. Read more about this HERE.

Nitrate oxide synthase is an enzyme family that enables your body to produce nitric oxide from an amino acid called L-arginine. In addition,there’s another amino acid at play here. It’s called L-citrulline and it can be converted by the body into the useable L-arginine. These amino acids can be found in many great foods that you can eat.

What numerous studies point to is becoming increasingly evident. Nitric Oxide is a key player in the wellness game when it comes to optimal health and longevity. If you have any of the conditions mentioned above you may want to discuss with a health professional whether supplementing with nitric oxide might be beneficial for you.

You can start helping yourself by introducing the following foods into your weekly diet to help your body support its natural production of nitric oxide. Foods that help in NO production include things like garlic, beets, dark chocolate ( always stick to a non dutch processed chocolate that is about 85%), leafy greens are great, nuts and seeds like walnuts, flaxseed and pumpkin, citrus, pomegranates and watermelon.

Sverdlov, A. L., Ngo, D. T., Chan, W. P., Chirkov, Y. Y., & Horowitz, J. D. (2014). Aging of the nitric oxide system: are we as old as our NO?. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310385/

Torregrossa, A. C., Aranke, M., & Bryan, N. S. (2011). Nitric oxide and geriatrics: Implications in diagnostics and treatment of the elderly. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390088/

Trexler, Smith-Ryan, [...], Wingfield (2014)The effects of pomegranate extract on blood flow and running time to exhaustion https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4146683/

Aprehart-Treichel, J. (2011) Nitric Oxide Gene Variant May Affect Depression Riskhttps://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/pn.46.9.psychnews_46_9_20_1.   

Djupesland PG, Chatkin JM, Qian W, Haight JS. Nitrogenmonoksid i nese og bihuler--luftveienes fysiologi i et nytt perspektiv [Nitric oxide in the nose and paranasal sinuses--respiratory tract physiology in a new perspective]. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1999 Nov 10;119(27):4070-2. Norwegian. PMID: 10613100.