I couldn’t help but reposted Dr Mercola’s most recent article about nitric oxide levels increasing after sun exposure. If there is one biochemical that I absolutely love, its this one. Lets face it, NO is only one nitrogen away from laughing gas, and who doesn’t like that!
I go to great lengthens to help many of my clients increase there levels of nitric oxide. This molecule has been found to be so beneficial in many chronic diseases, from resistant high blood pressure and cancers, to chronic urinary tract issues and many things in between. It is important to note however that people with certain disease conditions should severely limit there NO production, as this molecule can also be a highly reactive free radical. People with autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia, just to name a few. Perhaps this differential is why most people feel great in the sun, but certain populations don’t, like people with multiple sclerosis.
I personally get my NO fix from juicing beets. They are a great source of natural nitrates that can be converted in the gut to sustained-release nitric oxide! Adding magnesium and vitamin C to the mix is a recipe for some serious energy.
Give it a try if you’re feeling tired one day!
Posted at mercola.com by Dr. Mercola on July 15th, 2013
By now, you are probably aware I am a strong proponent of sun exposure and its many health benefits. Most of those benefits come from the boost in vitamin D, but a new UK study suggests sunlight’s benefits extend far beyond vitamin D.
In fact, exposure to the sun may be one of the most important steps you can take in preventing heart disease and stroke. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh discovered that when sunlight touches your skin, nitric oxide is released into your bloodstream, and nitric oxide is a powerful blood pressure lowering compound.
Researchers have concluded sun exposure may even prolong your life by significantly cutting your heart attack/stroke risk. The abstract for the study was published online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology on April 15, 2013.
The Edinburgh researchers mentioned an absolutely stunning statistic. For every one skin cancer death in northern Europe, between 60 and 100 people die from stroke or heart disease, related to hypertension.
Knowing that your risk of dying from heart disease or stroke is 80 times greater on average than from skin cancer really puts it in perspective. While higher vitamin D levels also correlate with lower rates of cardiovascular disease, oral vitamin D supplements do not appear to benefit blood pressure, and this latest study may be telling us why.
Researcher Richard Weller stated:
“We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer. The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight.”
You are My Sunshine
Research is illuminating a forever-growing list of sunlight’s health benefits. This isn’t really surprising when you consider the fact that we evolved hunting and foraging under the sun.
This team of researchers found that your body’s production of nitric oxide is separate from its production of vitamin D, so it follows that there are two completely separate sets of benefits. Until now, increased vitamin D had been thought to be the sole explanation for the sun’s health benefits, but it appears from these latest findings that vitamin D is only one part of the story.
Besides the benefits derived from increased vitamin D, the sun also provides relief from a wide variety of health problems from mechanisms separate from vitamin D. For a comprehensive overview, refer to our previous article on the sun’s benefits, but here are just a few:
- Improved mood and energy levels through the release of endorphins
- Better melatonin regulation and synchronization of your biorhythms
- Suppression of the symptoms of fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis
- Treating skin diseases (including psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and scleroderma) and antibiotic-resistant infections, such as MRSA
- Treating tuberculosis, neonatal jaundice, and possibly T cell lymphoma
Why Care About Nitric Oxide?
The researchers found that sunlight triggers your skin’s production of nitric oxide. Why is this significant? Because nitric oxide is crucial for maintaining healthy blood pressure, helps prevent atherosclerosis, and plays a role in modulating immune system function.
Your skin contains large stores of nitrite and nitrate, but only the nitrite is biologically active. Sunlight appears to prompt conversion of nitrate to nitrite and nitric oxide (NO). Please don’t confuse nitric oxide (NO) with nitrous oxide(N2O), or “laughing gas,” the anesthetic gas used by dentists.
Nitric oxide is such an important compound that it was dubbed “Molecule of the Year” by Science magazine in 1992, followed by the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine for its discovery as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. Your blood vessels require the amino acid L-arginine for the synthesis of nitric oxide, since L-arginine is its precursor in your body.
By helping to regulate your blood pressure, nitric oxide enhances blood flow. Nitric oxide signals the smooth muscle cells in your blood vessels to relax so that your vessels dilate and your blood flows more freely, which helps your arteries stay free of plaque. When you have inadequate nitric oxide, your risk for coronary artery disease increases.
If your blood is flowing freely, then nearly every physiological process will function better. If your blood is sluggish, then important cells and nutrients can’t reach the areas that need them. It’s like getting the tow truck to the scene of the accident… no tow truck means no repairs.
Not only is nitric oxide important in regulating blood pressure, it also functions as a signaling molecule in your brain and immune system. Besides sitting in the sun, you can increase your nitric oxide levels with a few natural supplements and techniques:
- Calcium and magnesium rich foods and supplements, and vitamins C and E
- Olive extract
- Bitter melon
- Electrical acupuncture
- Taking a warm bath, or by breathing in and out through one nostril (close off the other nostril and your mouth)