Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate - First Supplement Usage
<< Part 1 - What Is It? <<
Now that you’ve figured out what arginine alpha-ketoglutarate is you might be curious about the history of this supplement.
How was it discovered?
What would cause someone to want to start supplementing with arginine or increasing their intake through foods?
Let’s find out…
History of Arginine
The history of arginine actually starts way back in 1886 when a Swiss chemist named Ernst Schultze isolated it from a lupine seedling extract.
Not much of interest came of that discovery until 1932, when scientists at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany discovered the urea cycle.
This series of cellular reactions occurs in our bodies when ammonia is converted into a less toxic substance called urea. We then excrete urea out of our bodies when we urinate.
Arginine Supplements
Arginine was found to have a significant role in the creation of urea, which shows that it’s needed to help detoxify our bodies.
Seven years passed and arginine was found to have another important role. In 1939, it was proven that arginine aided in the creation of creatine. I’m sure that many of you know what the benefits of having creatine in our bodies are. This shows that arginine can also help us perform better in the gym and recover faster by ensuring our bodies are rich with creatine.
1998 was another notable year for arginine. It was in this year that the Nobel Prize was awarded to three American scientists who discovered that arginine also aids in the creation of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps our veins relax and puts less stress on our hearts because our blood can flow easier. Better blood flow can also boost your performance in the gym.
Also in this year, a group of Italian scientists discovered that arginine helped reduce blood pressure in their patients.
Arginine started to appear so beneficial that doctors would take it and then end up recommending that their patients take it. Hospitals were even giving it to their patients so that their infectious wounds would heal quicker.
It was in the 1990s when the surge of arginine products started hitting the market. This is when you would have first started to see a lot of nitric oxide supplements come out.
Later it was found that when you combine arginine with alpha-ketoglutarate it ensures that the arginine is more easily absorbed. With this more efficient version or arginine you won’t have to use as much of it and you’ll get “more bang for your buck”. It’s usually listed as AAKG on supplement labels.
It’s funny that arginine was first found in a pretty flowering plant, was found to have all these health benefits and then is mostly used by big manly men trying to look ripped. I find it ironic that one source of some bodybuilders’ manliness sprouted from an extract from a flower!
All joking aside, arginine does seem to be a very beneficial amino acid with a well documented history.
Although we’ve gone over a few benefits of arginine already, let’s dig a little deeper and find out more about how arginine can benefit you.
