# AAKG & L-Arginine supplementation



## lycan Venom (May 6, 2014)

Found contradicting information on wikipedia in regards to oral supplementation. 

Arginine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arginine alphaketoglutarate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I find everyone has opinions about certain products working or not. I personally haven't seen any benefit from proprietary blends except sickness. I just started mixing AAKG with BCAAS, and creatine in my own proprietary blend and after a week was told by coworkers I was noticeably bigger.

I'm not sure if it's just my change in diet, workout and sleep pattern with AAS use or if AAKG has actually worked.

I'm very curious as to others use and thoughts on if it works or if it's a placebo effect. I know competitors have been supplementing for decades but is there justifiable medical proof other than wikipedia sources and bro science?


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## Sully (May 6, 2014)

Check ergo-log. If there are any studies out there, they'll likely have them.


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## chicken_hawk (May 6, 2014)

I tend to believe there is a big benefit to taking non competing AA's individually. L-Luecine appears to be much more anabolic when take alone then with the other BCAA's as does L-alanine and most others. I myself am experimenting with Luecine by itself at the moment and then EAA's after that. Too early to tell, but it is a work in progress.

Hawk


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## Ironbuilt (May 7, 2014)

Yes I agree with Hawk. I buy bulk powders indivually so I know exact amount I take not some so called amount in a premixed blend.


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## Monstar (Jun 18, 2014)

Arginine

What is it?
Arginine is a conditionally essential amino. It's an essential amino acid in infancy/early childhood, and under stress conditions where the body cannot manufacture sufficient L-arginine to meet increased demand. Beyond it's role in protein synthesis, arginine is a precursor of important metabolites, including creatine and nitric oxide. It is an important intermediate in the urea cycle, and can stimulate the secretion of growth hormone.

What is it supposed to do?

The current interest in arginine and related compounds such as arginine- AAKG lies in its role in the production of nitric oxide(NO). N0 is the new superstar molecule with researchers as it appears to play a role directly or indirectly in alomost every aspect of human physilolgy, such as thew immune system/nervous/cirulatory, many other body systems.

Arginine is akey component of the nitric oxide production pathway ( arginine serves as the substrates for the NO synthase enzyme, which produces citrulline and NO from arginine) which is essential for a cascade of reactions involved in vasodilation and cardiovascular function.

Supplements containing arginine/AAKG are supposed to enhance the production of NO, and increase the "pump" you get during a hardworkout.


What does the research say bout it for athletic performance? 

Recent data suggest Arginine May have some legitimate uses regarding health and wellbeing. For example, The lining of the artery walls called Endothelium needs to dilate and contract effectively.

Nitric oxide is essential to this function and several studies have found arginine supplements at 8-20 grams per day restored endothelial vasodialation in the coronary arteries and may improve overall blood flow, which is important for people suffering from ischemic issues.

Another study suggests that arginine supplementation greatly improved penile dysfunction in men with penile dysfunction as NO is essential for blood flow involved in getting an erection.

Arginine has shown a very good safety profile today and appears to have virtually no toxic effects. From an athletic/ muscle building point of view, things become much less clear. Early studies suggested arginine could increase growth hormone levels, but in truth (a) these effects were found using very high doses and we're intravenous and (b) short live spikes in GH don't appear to have any positive effects on muscle mass or performance and healthy athletes anyway.

Nitric oxide is a messenger molecule related to virtually every pathway in the human body, one way or another. Therefore, simply raising no will have both positive and negative effects, which of most are not known at this time.

Having chronically elevated levels of NO above normal may not be a good idea. For example, those nitric oxide is associated with some potentially positive effects mentioned above, elevated NO Levels are also associated with some negative effect. High levels of no are associated with increased levels of an extremely powerful pro-oxidant called preoxynitrAte, which immune cells use to kill pathogens. High levels of peroxynitrate may lead to greater oxidative stress, immune disorders, and increased information. For example, high levels of NO and peroxynitrate are associated with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and multiple chemical sensitivity. Therefore, it might not be a wise idea to have chronically elevated levels, especially if you have any of the aforementioned syndromes.

What about real-world athletic performance?

A decade ago, arginine had a brief day in the limelight with athletes as a supplement that might stimulate growth hormone. However, its use as a GH relaser never materialized into new muscles for users, so it quickly fell out of favour.

Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in arginine by athletes and supplement companies. This is due to recent findings showing a long list of possible uses with arginine, ranging from possible protection from heart disease, reducing cholesterol, to increasing blood flow.

This brings us to new supplements known as " hemo dilators " that claim to give you a " perpetual pump " and other marketing buzz words based on elevated NO. These new products are based on a form of arginine called arginine alpha ketaglutarate, which is simply arginine bound to alpha keto glutarate/ AKG, a supplement that had short life some years ago. Some of these new supplements claim some form of time delay or extended release to keep no levels elevated.

There are many problems with the above, some of which have been mentioned already.

First, there are no data to shows such products keep NO Elevated all day, there may be medical and physiological reasons to avoid constantly elevated levels of NO, And there are no studies at all showing such products increase LBM. In fact, there has been one study that demonstrates that NO Supplements are worthless for increasing lean body mass.

One study, sponsored by an nitric oxide supplement manufacturer, concluded: bold () " A AKG Supplementation appeared to be safe and well tolerated, and positively influenced one RM bench press And Wingate Peak power performance. AAKG Did not influence body composition or aerobic capacity."

To say that supplement manufacturers are overstating the muscle building effects of these new ( And they are not really new, but are just being repackaged as new) Product is being kind..

Interestingly, while some improvements in performance were seen in the prior study, These may well be due to the age of the subjects being tested in both studies: 30-50 Year old man. Middle aged men are more likely to have some markers of cardiovascular disease, Such as elevated hemocystein and asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels. ADMA Is a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide Synthesis (NOS), Which is the enzyme responsible for nitric oxide production.

It is important to note, a variety of recent studies have found no increases in blood flow to muscles, nor increases in protein synthesis, or changes in other markers that would indicate benefit to athletes, with arginine.

Recommendation

From a health perspective, arginine and AAKG, May have some real uses for people with high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, ischemic ( meaning a reduced blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues) and even men with erectile dysfunction. As for athletes, the jury is still out for either arginine or arginine alpha ketoG.

At this time this would not be a recommendation for increasing either muscle mass or performance.


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