Do Nitric Oxide Supplements Work? Benefits and Risks Explained

Experts delve into the claims about these popular supplements.

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IF BOOSTING YOUR performance and endurance in the gym (and in the bedroom) and improving your cardiovascular health are on your list of health goals, you might be considering nitric oxide supplements as a way to achieve them. But do they actually work?

First things first: nitric oxide isn’t the same as nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, or the stuff that gets you a little high at the dentist. So, what is nitric oxide, then?

“NITRIC OXIDE IS a gas and free radical that’s recognized to play a role in several physiological systems,” says Alex Rothstein, M.S., an instructor in the exercise science program at the New York Institute of Technology. It’s synthesized from L-arginine, an essential amino acid.

Nitric oxide acts as a vasodilator, which means it helps open blood vessels. As a result, many people take the precursor L-arginine for issues like erectile dysfunction and to improve heart health.

Nitric oxide’s role in vasodilation is also important for regulating blood pressure, says William Workman, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert at DISC Sports & Spine Center in Walnut Creek, California.

Many small blood vessels and capillaries sit dormant until you get your heart rate up during exercise, and nitric oxide enables blood to flow to these areas to allow your muscles to work, hence its reputation as a substance that can help your fitness performance.