Chapter4

ARGININE
Note:Ifyoucamedirectlytothispagefromasearchengine,andare
lookingforinformationabouthumangrowthhormone,youwillfindthemost
comprehensiveinformationaboutHGHinthenextchapter.Also,please
notethatthisisjustonechapteroftheonlineLifeExtensionManual.For
moreinformation,pleasebeginatthePreface
Arginineisanaminoacidthatisknownasagrowthhormonereleaseranda
precursorofthevitalsubstancenitricoxide.Thedecreaseofgrowthhormonein
thehumanbodywithagingisamajorreasonwhymusclemasstendstodecrease
withageandbodyfattendstoincreasewithage.Decreasesingrowthhormone
alsoarepartiallyresponsiblefortheslowerrateofskingrowthwithaging,which
resultsinthinnerandlessflexibleskin.Injectionsofgrowthhormonecanhelpto
reversetheseproblems.Eventhoughthecostofgrowthhormoneinjectionscame
downinpriceconsiderablyduringthefirst15yearssincetheinjectionsbecame
available,thepriceshavegonebackupinrecentyears,makingthemmorecostly
thananytimeinthepastdecade.Growthhormoneinjectionsintroducegrowth
hormoneinamannerthatisverydifferentfromthewayitisproducedbythe
pituitarygland.Growthhormonecannotbetakenorally,becauseitisbroken
downinthedigestivetract.
Analternativemethodofincreasingone'slevelofgrowthhormoneistotakea
growthhormonereleasersuchasarginine.Larginine,orlargininehydrochloride,
takenonanemptystomach,willcauseasignificantreleaseofgrowthhormonein
manypeople.Larginineismosteffectiveasagrowthhormonereleaserfor
peoplebetweentheagesofabout25to45.Itisnecessary,however,tousea
verylargedoseofarginine:10to30grams,dependinguponmanyfactorssuch
asone'sageandbodyweight.Itisveryimportant,however,nottooverdoseon
arginine.Ontheotherhand,somefraudulentandineffective"growthhormone
releaserscurrentlyonthemarketcontainfartoolittleargininetocauseany
growthhormonerelease.
Takingafewcapsulesofargininewillhavenoeffectongrowthhormoneinadults,
althoughargininebybebeneficialforotherreasons.Arginine'sgrowthhormone
releaseisgreatlyenhancedifsupplementalcholineandB5(calcium

pantothenate)aretakenatthesametime.Thecholinecanbeintheformofany
availableformofcholineorDMAEsupplement.(Centrophenoxine,averysafe
substanceavailablefromEuropeanorMexicanpharmacies,canalsobeusedas
acholinesource.Centrophenoxineisconvertedtocholineinthebody.)
Theeffectivenessofarginineasagrowthhormonereleaserishighly
unpredictable.Therearegreatindividualdifferencesintheeffectivenessof
arginineasagrowthhormonereleaser,andtheeffectdiminishes
dramaticallywithincreasingage.Theeffectivenessofargininecanbestbe
maintainedbynottakingitcontinuously.Ascheduleofsomethinglikefourweeks
ofcontinuoususefollowedbyatwoweekbreakgenerallyworksbest.
Theeffectivenessofarginineinreleasinggrowthhormoneisgreatlydiminishedif
foodshavebeenconsumedthatcauseotheraminoacidsorsignificantamountsof
insulintobepresentinthebloodstreamalongwiththearginine.Thatiswhythe
arginineshouldbetakenonanemptystomach(i.e.,atleastonehourbeforeor
threehoursafterameal).
Growthhormonereleasersshouldnotbeusedbyyoungpeopleuntilfiveyears
aftertheyhavecompletedtheirlongbonegrowth(unlessundercarefulmedical
supervision).Theeffectivenessofarginineforgrowthhormonereleaseis
veryagedependent.Itusuallycausesamassivegrowthhormonereleasein
peopleintheir20s.Bythetimeapersonreachestheirlate40sorearly50s,
however,arginineoftenstillcausesaverysmallgrowthhormonerelease,butthe
growthhormonelevelsrarelyapproachyouthfullevels.
Formoredetailedinformationaboutgrowthhormone,includinginjectablegrowth
hormone,seethechapteroftheLifeExtensionManualonHGH.
Manypeoplepreferlargininehydrochloridetofreebaselargininebecausethe
hydrochloridedoesn'ttasteasbad.(Somepeoplehaveproblemswithdiarrhea
whenusinglargedosesofthehydrochloride,though.)Theonlypracticalwayto
takearginineforgrowthhormonereleaseistostiritupinaglassofwateror
unsweetenedfruitjuiceanddrinkitquickly(soastominimizethetimeyouhaveto
endurethebadtaste).Itisnotpracticaltotakearginineincapsulesforgrowth
hormonereleasesinceitwouldrequiretakingatleastfifteencapsulesatatime.
Someflavoreddrinkmixescontainingarginineandothernutrientcofactorsare
commerciallyavailable.MostofthesedrinkmixesweredesignedbyDurk
PearsonandSandyShawtoprovideoptimalgrowthhormonereleasewhile

avoidingtheawfultasteofstraightarginine.
ThePearson/ShawformulationsaresoldunderthebrandnameInnerpower.
SeveralversionsofInnerpowerareavailable.Thereislittledifferenceinthe
growthhormonereleasingcapabilitiesofthedifferentversions.

Therehasbeensomeevidencethatthecombinationoflargininepyroglutamate
andlysinecanbeaneffectivegrowthhormonereleaseratmuchlowerdosesthan
larginineorlargininehydrochloride,althoughmostofthisevidencecomesfroma
single,ratherold,scientificstudy.Thisisprobablybecauselarginine
pyroglutamatecrossesthebloodbrainbarriermucheasierthanotherformsof
arginine.Inmanycountries,acapsulecontainingequalpartsoflarginine
pyroglutamateandlysineisavailable.Ihaveseriousdoubtsaboutthelongterm
usefulnessofthisparticularcombination.Theusualdoseis1200mgoflarginine
pyroglutamateand1200mgoflysinedaily.Thiscombinationdoeshavethe
additionaladvantageofapossibleincreaseinbrainfunctionasaresultofthe
pyroglutamatepartofthemolecule,althoughsomepeoplemayhaveadverse
reactionstothepyroglutamate.Oneparticularproblemwithlarginine
pyroglutamateisthatispowerfullycounteractsmanygeneralanesthetics.L
argininepyroglutamateshouldbediscontinuedadayortwobeforehavingany
kindofsurgery.(Theproblemhereisthatapersonneverknowswhentheymay
beinanaccidentorotherwisemayrequireemergencysurgery.)
Itisnotclearwhatthelysinepartofthiscombinationhastodowithgrowth
hormonereleasesincelysinecompeteswitharginineincrossingthebloodbrain
barrier.Logically,itseemsthatlysinewouldimpairthegrowthhormonerelease
inducedbyarginine.Itislikelythatthelysinemaybeanextraneouspartofthe
combination.Thepublishedscientificstudiesaretoosparsetogiveanyanswers
tothisquestion.
Annumberofargininevariantshavecomeontothemarketinrecentyears.Itis
claimedthatmanyofthosevariantsaremorepotentthanplainlarginine,and
manyofthemare.Thishasresultedinmanypeoplespendingthenightinthe
hospitalduetotheexcessivebloodvesseldilationcausedbyexcessivedosesof
theseartificialvariantsoflarginine.Anyoneusingoneofthesenewerlarginine
basedcompoundmustrealizethatlittleisknownabouttheirlongtermeffectsor
theirproperdosagelevel.

Arginineisalsoapowerfulimmunestimulantandwoundhealingagent.At
onetime,thiswasthoughttobeexclusivelyduetoitsgrowthhormonereleasing
propertiesbutarginineisapowerfulimmunestimulantandwoundhealingagent
evenintheabsenceofsignificantgrowthhormonerelease.Itisnowknownthat
argininehasotherimportantbenefitsasaprecursorofnitricoxide.
Nitricoxideisusuallythoughtofasatoxiccomponentofsmog,butrecent
scientificdiscoverieshaveshownittobeabiologicalcompoundofimmense
importance.Nitricoxideistheepithelialderivedrelaxingfactor,thechemical
secretedbytheliningofhumanbloodvesselsthatcausesthebloodvesselsto
dilate,andthusdetermineswhatpartsofthebodyreceiveextrabloodflow,and
whatpartswillreceivelessinresponsetootherbiologicalsignals.Adequatenitric
oxidealsohelpstoinsurethatthisallocationofbloodflowisaccomplishedwithout
undueincreasesinbloodpressure.Scientistshavesearchedforyearsforthe
chemicalthatcausesthisbloodvesseldilation.Theywerenotexpectingthatthe
chemicalwouldbeagas,althoughnitricoxidedissolveseasilyinwater.The
searchforthischemicalwasmadeevenmoredifficultbythefactthatthenitric
oxideinthehumanbodyisdestroyedbyhemoglobinwithinaboutthreeseconds
ofthetimeitisreleasedinthebloodvessellining.
Nitricoxidenowalsoappearstobetheneurotransmitterthatismainlyresponsible
forconvertingshorttermmemoriestolongtermmemoriesinthebrain.Thisis
anotherabilitythatoftendeclineswithaging.
Thebodyalsoconcentrateshighlevelsofnitricoxideinthefluidaroundawound.
Theexactfunctionofnitricoxideinwoundhealingisunclearatthistime.
Insomehospitals,smallamountsofnitricoxidearebeingmixedwiththeoxygen
receivedbypatientswithcertainlungdisorders.Theresultsofthisnewtreatment
appearverypromising.
Overall,theroleofnitricoxideinthehumanbodyisamajorareaofcurrent
medicalresearch.Importantnewdiscoveriesabouttheroleofnitricoxideare
beingmadeeverymonth.Thehumanbodymanufacturesnitricoxidefromonly
onenutrient:arginine.
Theremarkablewoundhealingenhancementofarginineappearstobeduetoits
growthhormonereleasingpropertiesaswellasitsroleasthebody'ssolesource
ofnitricoxide.Thereareanumberofreportsinthescientificliteratureaboutthe

woundhealingpropertiesofarginineandtheusefulnessofargininebeforeand
aftersurgery.Argininecangreatlyacceleratethehealingofbrokenbonesand
otheraccidentalwounds.
Arginineisavailableasanintravenousfluidforsurgicalpatientsandthosewho
havesustainedsevereinjuries.Inspiteoftheconsiderablebodyofevidence
showingarginine'susefulnessinwoundhealing,itisalmostneverroutinelyused
forthispurpose,andfewphysiciansarefamiliarwithit(exceptinthecase
ofArginaidfororaluse,mentionedbelow).
Anyonewhowantstoinsurethat,intheeventofsurgeryoraccidentalinjury,they
receiveadequatesupplementalarginineshouldkeepcopiesoftherelevant
medicaljournalarticlesonhandandassigna"DurablePowerofAttorneyfor
HealthCare"toatrustedpersonwhoknowsaboutthesemedicaljournalarticles.
ArgininedrinksanddrinkmixesaremanufacturedbyNovartisNutrition(adivision
ofthemajorpharmaceuticalcompany)andarefrequentlyusedinhospitalsand
nursinghomestoenhancewoundhealing.Theargininecontainingdrinks
producedbyNovartisaresoldunderthebrandnameArginaid.Arginaidisoften
usedindifficultwoundhealingsituationssuchasbedsoresandburns.Arginaidis
availablethroughtheWalgreenswebsite,butisnotsoldbylocalWalgreens
pharmacies.
ThestandardArginaiddrinkcontainstoomuchcarbohydratetocauseanygrowth
hormonereleaseinanyone.TheArginaiddrinkpromoteswoundhealingbyother
mechanisms.NovartisalsoproducesanArginaidsugarfreepowdereddrinkmix
thatisartificiallysweetened.ThispowderedArginaidproductmaypromotegrowth
hormonereleaseinindividualswhoareresponsivetoarginine.Inyounger
people,thepowderedArginaidmixmaybemoreeffectiveinpromotingwound
healingbecauseofitspotentialtoworkthroughtwodifferentmechanisms.Also,
diabeticsmayberestrictedtotheartificiallysweeteneddrinkmixbecauseofthe
highcarbohydratecontentoftheoriginalversionofArginaid.
SafetyNotes:Argininecanenhancethegrowthofherpesvirusesand
pseudomonasbacteria.Anyonewithherpesinfectionsofthebrainoreyeorwith
anyseriouspseudomonasinfectionshouldneverusearginine.Anyonewithother
latentoractiveherpesinfectionsshouldusearginineonlywithextremecaution.
Althoughargininecanpromotethegrowthofthesetwoinfections,argininealso
enhancestheimmunesystem,sotheendresultofarginineusecanbepositiveor

negative.
Arginineshouldonlybeusedwithextremecautionbydiabetics(preferablyunder
veryclosemedicalsupervision)becauseofitsinsulinblockingeffects.Itshould
beusedonlywithcautionbyborderlinediabetics.Argininemaybeextremely
beneficial,though,tosomepeoplewithtypeIIdiabetesorsubdiabeticinsulin
resistance,butitisnecessaryforthesepeopletomonitortheirbloodglucose
levelsmorecloselythannormalwhileusingarginine.
Asnotedearlier,supplementalarginineshouldnotbeusedbyyoungpeopleuntil
atleastfiveyearsaftertheyhavecompletedtheirlongbonegrowth.
Anexcellentsourceofinformationonthepracticalaspectsofarginine
supplementationisTheLifeExtensionWeightLossProgrambyDurkPearsonand
SandyShaw.(Nowoutofprint.)(SeetheRecommendedReadingsection.)This
bookcontainsnumerousreferencestotheprimaryscientificliterature.
Referencesontheeffectsofarginineonwoundhealingandimmune
response:
Albina,JorgeandReichner,Jonathan."NitricOxideinInflammationand
Immunity."NewHorizons.Vol.3,No.1.pp.4664.(1995)
Brittenden,J.,andothers."NutritionalPharmacology:EffectofLArginineonHost
Defences,ResponsetoTraumaandTumourGrowth."ClinicalScience.Vol.86.
p.123132.(1994)
Barbul,Adrian,andothers."ArginineEnhancesWoundHealingandLymphocyte
ImmuneResponsesinHumans."Surgery.vol.108,pp.331337,(August,1990.)
Daly,John,andothers."ImmuneandMetabolicEffectsofArginineintheSurgical
Patient."AnnalsofSurgery.vol.208No.4.pp.512523.(October,1988)
Daly,John,andothers."EnteralNutritionwithSupplementalArginine,RNA,and
omega3FattyAcidsinPatientsAfterOperation:Immunologic,metabolic,and
clinicaloutcome."Surgery.Vol.112.pp.5667.(July,1992)
Kirk,StephenJ.,andothers."ArginineStimulatesWoundHealingandimmune
FunctioninElderlyHumanBeings."Surgery.Vol.114,No.2.pp.155160.(1993)

Book:AminoAcidsinCriticalCareandCancer.LatifiRifat,ed.(CRCPress.
1994.)