Have you noticed that as you get older, things just don’t work quite as well as they used to? This isn’t just in your head. One of the key reasons for this is the decline in a crucial molecule called nitric oxide. As your nitric oxide levels fall with age, it can lead to a whole host of problems affecting your heart, brain, muscles, and even your reproductive health. This fact has not gone unnoticed by predatory supplement brands, who are all too eager to take your money by spinning a story that their magic pill will stop this decline. But I’m here to tell you there’s a better way. It’s cheap, it’s incredibly effective, and most importantly, it does not line the pockets of supplement companies.
Before we dive in, it’s important to understand that we can’t just swallow a nitric oxide pill. Nitric oxide itself is an incredibly unstable gas. Instead, we need to find smart strategies to help our bodies produce more of it. For years, the market has been flooded with options, from prescription drugs to over-the-counter amino acids, all claiming to be the answer. But many of these fall short, either because the body builds a tolerance to them or because they simply don’t work as advertised. In this article, we’ll cut through the noise, look at the science behind the most popular options, and I’ll reveal the simple, evidence-based nitric oxide booster that I personally use. (Based on the insights of Dr. Brad Stanfield)
Key Takeaways
- Common Supplements Fall Short: Popular ingredients like L-arginine and L-citrulline have shown underwhelming results in clinical trials for boosting nitric oxide or improving performance.
- Beetroot Has Potential but Problems: Beetroot juice can effectively lower blood pressure, but the nitrate content in supplements is wildly inconsistent, and whole beets are high in oxalates, which can be problematic for some individuals.
- Arugula is a Superior Choice: Arugula (or rocket) is one of the highest vegetable sources of nitrates, surpassing beets, but is low in oxalates, making it a safer and more effective whole-food option.
- Whole Foods Over Pills: A food-based approach provides a reliable, safe, and inexpensive way to boost nitric oxide without the risks and inconsistencies of supplements or the tolerance issues of prescription drugs.
1. The Problem with Most Nitric Oxide Supplements
If you walk into any health store, you’ll likely see shelves lined with products marketed as nitric oxide boosters. One of the most common ingredients you’ll find is L-arginine, an amino acid that is a key building block in the body’s primary pathway for producing nitric oxide. It seems logical: give the body more raw material, and it will make more of the final product. However, the science doesn’t quite back this up. Many human studies have examined L-arginine supplements and found that while they do increase L-arginine levels in the blood, this doesn’t reliably translate into higher nitric oxide levels or improved athletic performance.
This led researchers to another option: L-citrulline. Your body converts L-citrulline into L-arginine after you ingest it. Interestingly, research has shown that taking L-citrulline is actually more effective at raising L-arginine levels in your blood than taking L-arginine itself. So, could this be the key? Unfortunately, the research here has also been underwhelming, especially when it comes to performance. A 2023 study, for example, tested L-citrulline in healthy young adults to see if it would increase their time to exhaustion during exercise, and it found no effect. While a 2019 meta-analysis did find that L-citrulline seems to slightly reduce blood pressure, it required very high doses of at least 6 grams a day. For most people, these options are simply not worth the money or the effort.
2. What About Beetroot? A Promising but Flawed Option
More recently, excitement has been building around nitrate supplements, which target a completely different pathway for producing nitric oxide. This is important, so pay close attention. Nitrate (with an ‘a’) is found naturally in foods like leafy green vegetables. When you eat these foods, bacteria on your tongue convert the nitrate into nitrite (with an ‘i’). This nitrite is then further modified through digestion to ultimately create nitric oxide in your blood vessels. Beets are rich in nitrate, so they have become a popular source for these types of supplements.
Do they work? The clinical trials are encouraging. A landmark study in 2014 tested daily doses of beetroot juice on patients with high blood pressure. They found that it significantly reduced blood pressure by about eight points—an effect size comparable to some prescription medications. The study also found that beetroot juice improved blood vessel function and reduced stiffness. Another study found that just one week of daily beetroot juice improved exercise endurance in elderly patients with heart failure. This all sounds great, but here’s where you need to be cautious. The actual nitrate levels in beetroot products are all over the map. The testing company ConsumerLab.com found that nitrate content in the products they tested ranged from a potent 500 mg to a useless 4.3 mg per serving. Any company trying to sell you a nitric oxide boosting pill is stealing your money; you simply can’t fit an effective dose into a capsule. To get the minimum 300 mg dose considered necessary for health effects, you need a juice or a concentrated powder. Furthermore, beets have a downside: they are one of the highest food sources of oxalates, which can inhibit the absorption of other nutrients and may lead to kidney stones in susceptible people.
3. The Tadalafil Hype: Too Good to Be True?
You may have heard buzz around an off-patent drug called tadalafil (the active ingredient in Cialis) as a potential nitric oxide solution. Its mechanism is quite clever. Instead of trying to add more raw materials like nitrate, it amplifies the signal that the nitric oxide already in your blood is sending. Nitric oxide works by creating a messenger molecule called cGMP, which tells your blood vessels to relax. However, your body also produces an enzyme called PDE5 that destroys cGMP almost as quickly as it’s made. Tadalafil works by blocking that PDE5 enzyme. By stopping the breakdown of cGMP, it prolongs and strengthens the effects of the nitric oxide your body is already producing.
This drug has been linked to some eye-popping data. One recent observational study found that men prescribed tadalafil had a 34% lower risk of death and a 27% lower risk of heart attack over a three-year period. But—and this is a huge but—we have to be extremely cautious. These are observational studies, not randomized controlled trials. This means they are subject to what’s called “healthy user bias.” Men who are prescribed and continue to take a drug for erectile dysfunction are, almost by definition, healthier, more engaged with the healthcare system, and likely have better baseline cardiovascular function than those who don’t. We can’t prove the drug caused these benefits. Until we have rigorous clinical trials, it’s not something I would consider taking or recommending for preventative care.
4. My Go-To Nitric Oxide Booster: The Arugula Advantage
So, after dismissing ineffective supplements and unproven drugs, what’s the answer? This brings me to the nitric oxide booster that I actually take. It’s a natural food source of nitrates, just like beets, but it’s far superior. It’s low in oxalates and is actually one of the highest nitrate vegetables available, comfortably surpassing beets on average. What is this powerhouse vegetable? It’s arugula, also known as rocket.
An arugula salad is an evidence-based, zero-risk, whole-food approach to getting a significant dose of dietary nitrate. One analysis found that arugula contains about 4,800 mg of nitrate per kilogram. This means a large 100-gram (3.5 oz) salad could provide nearly 500 mg of nitrate—well above the therapeutic dose used in the beetroot studies. Preparing it couldn’t be simpler or more delicious. Just toss a generous amount of fresh arugula with some high-quality olive oil, a crack of black pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. That’s it. You get a powerful, science-backed health benefit from a simple, delicious meal that costs pennies compared to expensive, unreliable supplements.
Conclusion: Choose Real Food for Real Results
Your journey to better health doesn’t have to involve navigating the confusing and often misleading world of supplements. When it comes to boosting your nitric oxide levels, the answer isn’t found in a pill or a powder with questionable ingredients and inconsistent dosages. As we’ve seen, the most popular supplements like L-arginine and L-citrulline are largely ineffective, and even promising options like beetroot come with significant caveats. The most effective, safest, and cheapest strategy is to turn to your grocery store. By incorporating nitrate-rich powerhouses like arugula into your diet, you give your body exactly what it needs to support its own natural nitric oxide production. It’s a simple change that empowers you to take control of your health, one delicious salad at a time.
Source: Dr. Brad Stanfield