Published in GAINSWave Magazine

By Dr. Judson Brandeis MD – Board Certified Urologist

What if there was something you could take that would improve your athletic performance, memory, blood pressure, immunity, and erectile function? Would you be interested to find out more about a uniquely developed supplement without side effects and backed by Nobel Prize winning research?

Nitric Oxide 

When I was at UCLA, one of my physiology professors, Louis Ignarro, won the Nobel Prize for discovering how the nervous system uses nitric oxide to regulate blood flow by dilating the arteries.

When nitric oxide is released by the nervous system and the inner lining of arteries, the body begins to make and release a compound called cGMP. This release of cGMP is the first step of a process that ultimately results in the widening of the arteries to increase blood flow. Sadly, as a person ages, the body begins to produce less nitric oxide, which then causes there to be a decrease in available cGMP, which typically results in greater difficulty dilating arteries to accommodate blood flow.

In a follow-up paper published with several of my colleagues from the UCLA Department of Urology, Dr. Ignarro described how a new class of medications called PDE-5 inhibitors would function in the body. These medications work by keeping blood vessels open using a mechanism that blocks the enzyme that breaks down cGMP.

Pfizer calls these incredible little blue pills Viagra®.

Nitric Oxide is safe 

Like other subsequently developed PDE-5 inhibitors, Viagra’s effect on the body is predominantly localized to the penis. but has been shown over the years to also target the blood vessels in other parts of the body. These unintended consequences can potentially result in headaches, facial flushing, visual changes (blue shift in vision), reflux and muscle aches, which are all among the most commonly reported side effects of these medications.

Unlike these PDE-5 inhibitors, nitric oxide is able to avoid these side effects because it’s effect on the body is systemic, safely and evenly improving blood flow throughout the body.

How to Boost Nitric Oxide    

Typically, this is about the time when men begin to wonder how they can improve or boost their nitric oxide levels.

One way to boost nitric oxide is to take supplements or eat foods that are high in an amino acid called L-citrulline. L-citrulline can be found in high quantities in foods like garlic, leafy greens and even watermelon. Within the body, L-citrulline is converted to L-arginine and then combined with oxygen to create nitric oxide and recycle any remaining L-citrulline back into the bloodstream.

Other foods that can boost Nitric Oxide include beets, radishes and other foods high in nitrate (NO3), which can be converted by the saliva in the mouth into nitrite (NO2) and then into nitric oxide (NO).

As we age, the amount of nitric oxide that we produce can fall by as much as 10% every decade beginning in your early twenties. By age fifty, most men have nitric oxide levels well below optimal levels, which results in a fall in circulation throughout the body. If left untreated, we risk losses to our athletic ability, short-term memory, and even erectile function.

So, what happens if we boost and maintain optimal nitric oxide levels instead of letting them decline?

Improved Athletic Performance        

For years, doctors and scientists have worked to better understand the internal functions that makes boosting nitric oxide so effective. The resulting research and experimentation almost instantly began producing positive results especially in its ability to improve athletic performance:

• Weightlifters — Recently, a study from Baylor University on weightlifters compared men two similar groups over a period of eight weeks. The group using the nitric oxide boosters were able to improve their bench press max by 13 pounds over the control group.
• Cyclists — In another rigorously controlled study, nearly two dozen cyclists were prescribed a supplement meant to boost nitric oxide production over 7 days. The result was a nearly instant improvement in their track times of roughly 1.5% (p <0.05) and subjectively, participants reported feeling significantly less muscle fatigue and more concentration right after exercising.
• Soccer Players — Over the course oof 7 days in another trial, two dozen collegiate male soccer players were given supplements containing L-citrulline and L-arginine and compared to a similar group taking placeboes. At the end of the trial, those taking the supplements performed, on average, 4.5% better than those from the placebo group.

But performance isn’t just limited to athletes, nitric oxide boosters can also provide important benefits for aging men like lowering blood pressure.

Lowering Blood Pressure    

One issue that nearly all aging adults face as they grow older is the threat of developing high blood pressure or hypertension. For men suffering from high blood pressure, symptoms like headaches, fatigue and even erectile dysfunction can become a commonplace occurrence. Incredibly, including nitric oxide boosters as part of a comprehensive strategy to lower blood pressure can help.

Nitric oxide boosters are innovative tools in that they work both quickly and over time to offer patients a comprehensive experience. While a lot of focus is place upon the long-term benefits of using an NO booster, the short-term effects are equally incredible. For example, a study out of the Hypertension Institute in Nashville, TN showed that a single dose of a nitric oxide supplement reduced Systolic blood pressure by 4 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg within 20 minutes of ingestion.

Nitric oxide supplements are also being used extensively to protect against vascular injury in people suffering from COVID-19 infections. As brain fog is prevalent among that suffering infection, NO boosters have been shown to improve memory and mental sharpness by boosting blood flow to the brain.

Another area many tend to overlook when it comes to blood flow is their sexual health. Penile erectile function is entirely dependent on proper blood flow. In general, there are two ways to improve blood flow: boosting the signal and cleaning out the pipes.

To maximize the signal, the nitric oxide boosting supplement, AFFIRM, increases both the concentration and release of nitric oxide from the nerves in and around the penis. This increase of nitric oxide then boosts the production of cGMP which then leads to increased penile blood flow.

By taking a PDE-5 inhibitor like Viagra or Cialis, you can augment the benefits of AFFIRM by preventing cGMP breakdown which maintains this increased blood flow to the penis.

Additionally, it’s been shown that by improving the condition of the arterial pipes delivering blood to the penis, it is then possible to sustain these strong erections. Many find GAINSWave therapy helps to stimulate your body to grow new blood vessels in the penis, which, when used in concert with nitric oxide boosters can vastly improve both sexual quality and experience.

AFFIRM 

Most of the age-related issues we face as we grow older are a result of poor blood flow. For example, a heart attack occurs due to lack of blood to the heart. A stroke is a result of a lack of blood to the brain, etc.

Unfortunately, there is no accurate method for measuring nitric oxide in the body, as no test exists to indicate just how low nitric oxide is affecting a person’s health. Instead, doctors look for potential indications of declining levels by examining your risk of hypertension, as high blood pressure may be a result of insufficient nitric oxide.

As people age, it becomes increasingly important to find a way to safely increase the level of nitric oxide within the body, giving each person’s system the building blocks needed to function optimally.

AFFIRM works to increase blood flow throughout the body by making nitric oxide more available. This uniquely formulated supplement harnesses the power of amino acids and antioxidants to improve the health of the body’s blood vessels and increase blood flow throughout.

The root cause of many of the problems we encounter as we get older is related to our circulation or lack thereof. If blood can't reach the body’s organs, cells and tissues, then this can definitely affect a person’s health negatively over time. Because nitric oxide is essential for the flexibility of the body’s arteries, optimizing the amount that is available can help the body to move blood more efficiently, causing less pressure, allowing for a generally healthier individual.

Takeaways

1. Nitric Oxide (NO) is essential for normal blood circulation
2. Nitric Oxide declines as we age, diminishing blood flow to all organs, including the brain, muscles, and penis.
3. AFFIRM has been shown to dramatically boost nitric oxide availability through two different pathways
4. Improving nitric oxide levels in the body also improves physical performance, mental acuity, blood pressure, immunity and erectile function
5. AFFIRM and PDE-5 inhibitors like Viagra and Cialis can work in concert to boost the signal to open up blood vessels
6. Aside from nitric oxide boosters like AFFIRM, GAINSWave, P-shots and Penis Pumps all work to improve the health of the arteries within the penis.