Nitric oxide is a simple but crucial molecule that is vital to controlling your body’s flow of blood. It’s not possible to get nitric oxide from your diet or from a supplement, but there are some ingredients that can increase your body’s production of it.
Improving nitric oxide production can also increase your physical performance during exercise, improve your strength, and lower the occurrence of erectile dysfunction in males.
Best Nitric Oxide Workout Boosters
If any of these benefits appeal to you, then nitric oxide supplementation may be worth checking out. We have researched and reviewed a variety of nitric oxide supplements to determine their quality, ingredients, and benefits, and we have selected the top candidates for this year’s top nitric oxide supplements.
1. Vital Advanced Nitric Oxide
Vital Advanced Nitric Oxide is marketed as a nitric oxide supplement, but in function, it is really more of a pre-workout supplement. The set of amino acids that it includes in its formula is part of a proprietary blend, so it is impossible to know exactly how much of each is included. This means that the potential it carries for actually boosting nitric oxide production is hard to pin down.
Vital Advanced Nitric Oxide also contains stimulants that are commonly found in pre-workout supplements, such as synephrine and Yohimbe. These aren’t commonly found in nitric oxide supplements and might be a bit more than you were looking for.
The fact that these are included in a proprietary blend means that you should be cautious as you don’t know how much of these stimulants you might be getting.
2. Parker Sports Nutrition N.O. Nitric Oxide Fuel
The Parker Sports nitric oxide booster is overwhelmingly straightforward. It relies entirely on a few active ingredients, namely L-citrulline, L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, and L-arginine. Unfortunately, the dosage of each of these ingredients to be found in every capsule is lower than would be preferred.
Because the product is so simple, it doesn’t contain any other ingredients that could boost the effects of these 3, so it isn’t quite as powerful as many other nitric oxide supplements on the market.
3. Prime Labs Muscle Xplode
Prime Labs Muscle Xplode takes a more holistic approach and includes herbal extracts like Yohimbe bark extract and green tea extract. It does contain a complement of amino acids that are essential to boosting nitric oxide production, which is a good sign. If you’re looking for these stimulant benefits and want a natural source, then this product may be a good option for you. In terms of pure nitric oxide boosting power, there are more effective options out there.
4. Cellucor NO3 Chrome
The nitric oxide booster available from Cellucor is almost entirely based on amino acids, but it does also include a few extra ingredients that can’t be found in many other supplements. It contains grape seed extract and vitamin C, which don’t necessarily increase nitric oxide levels but which can be linked to increased levels of antioxidants.
There is a proprietary blend of ingredients which is labeled as the “extreme vascularity complex”, which makes it difficult to tell the exact doses of some of the ingredients. There are many who prefer to know exactly what dose they are getting of ingredients like Nitrosigine and citrulline, and if this describes you then there are other supplements on this list that may be better for your needs.
5. Healthy Body Inc Nitric Oxide Pump
Nitric Oxide Pump is possibly the best nitric oxide supplement available out of those that contain only amino acids. It provides a straightforward and simple supplement that is well-balanced and focuses directly on the task it was created for.
It does this by providing almost completely equal amounts of L-citrulline, L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, and L-arginine. Unfortunately, the dose of each ingredient is smaller than would be preferred, but at least it is well-balanced in that they are all available in the same quantities.
6. VEINZ Nitric Oxide
VEINZ has chosen an interesting marketing stance, and their bright blue capsules are designed to suggest a product that is cutting-edge and exciting. In reality, the formula of the VEINZ nitric oxide supplement is actually very simple and well-established. It features a large amount of arginine, with only very small doses of alpha-lipoic acid and citrulline. A small amount of Yohimbe allows for a small stimulant boost to increase energy, but that’s about it.
This product is a good option if you are ready to fully commit to arginine, but if you’re looking for something more balanced you will likely find better options elsewhere.
7. Evlution Nutrition Pump Mode
While the majority of nitric oxide supplements come in pill form, Evlution Nutrition Pump Mode is a powder that comes in a tub. It is designed to be mix into pre-workout shakes or a simple glass of water. This supplement does a lot to increase nitric oxide production, but that’s not its main goal. It contains glycerol that can help to improve water retention and pump up the fullness of your muscles after exercise.
Pump Mode takes an interesting approach and doesn’t include any amino acids at all, opting instead to include betaine nitrate, which is a fairly new ingredient in the world of nitric oxide supplements.
Evlution has a repeated habit of working to stay on the cutting-edge of development for their supplement products, and Pump Mode is no different. If you’re interested in the newest sources of nitric oxide production and you’re willing to move away from older proven methods, this product may be just what you’re looking for. If you’re more interested in a long-standing and established booster, Pump Mode may not be right for you.
8. N.O. XT
The main ingredient of N.O. XT is L-citrulline, which is present in each dose in a massive 1.5-gram serving. This shows that it is most certainly the primary focus for this product’s nitric oxide production source.
The supplement also contains L-glutathione and Nitrosigine, which is a proprietary compound of arginine. It also includes BioPerine, which is a black pepper extract that improves bioavailability.
The fact that they include BioPerine shows even further that the supplement relies heavily on its large dosage of amino acids to provide nitric oxide production. If you’re interested in a supplement that goes all in on this approach, N.O. XT may be the right choice for you.
9. Sheer Strength Sheer NO
Sheer NO is a prime example of a balanced compound done right. It contains 4 ingredients that all support each other to increase nitric oxide production. Pine bark extract, L-citrulline, L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, and L-arginine are each delivered at doses between 600 mg and 1100 mg within a single gel capsule.
Sheer NO doesn’t offer a large selection of additives or fillers and makes a great option for simple and straightforward nitric oxide enhancement.
10. Zhou Nutrition NO Pro
Zhou Nutrition NO Pro is a blend of supplements that combines the best of proven ingredients and cutting-edge trends to provide the best boost of nitric oxide available. This blend includes L-citrulline, L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, L-arginine, and beetroot powder, which combine to make an extremely efficient nitric oxide booster.
It’s really the beetroot powder that puts NO Pro at the front of the pack. It provides both plant extracts and amino acids to improve nitric oxide production on 2 fronts. NO Pro also features a vegetable cellulose capsule, making the entire product vegan safe.
Benefits And Side Effects
Nitric oxide is extremely important for regulating blood flow, especially when you are exercising. With this in mind, it’s a bit surprising that it has only been recently that nitric oxide supplements have become popular.
This is likely due to the fact that supplements can’t contain nitric oxide but instead contain ingredients that help the body to produce it. It was only recently that scientists were able to determine that supplementation could actually help the body to make more nitric oxide naturally.
Nitric oxide is actually a gas, and your body produces it on the cellular level to help regulate the flow of blood in your muscles and throughout your body.
Benefits
Blood flow throughout the body is a vital part of everyday life and a key component of basically any human activity, so the benefits of increased nitric oxide levels reach pretty much every area of life.
Higher levels of nitric oxide can improve your weightlifting performance, increase endurance, and even lower the chances of experiencing erectile dysfunction. These may all seem unrelated, but the flow of blood is vital to all of these areas.
Because it improves endurance and overall performance, nitric oxide supplementation has become very popular in the world of sports nutrition. There have been studies using beetroot powder which showed to be an excellent source of nitric oxide and which greatly increased the endurance of various athletes.
One of these studies was published in 2012 in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and it examined the effects that beetroot powder had on the performance of runner who performed a 5k trek. The study involved 11 subjects who participated in a 5k treadmill test about an hour after consuming a supplement.
Some of the subjects were given beetroot extract while others were given a control substance. Those who were given beetroot outperformed the others by about 5 percent, and the main difference was seen in the last half of the run. This shows that the primary cause of the improved times was most likely endurance.
Beetroot is only one of the many ways to boost nitric oxide production. Sports Performance published an article by Raul Bescos and a few other scientists based out of the University of Barcelona, and it stated that there are 2 main pathways through which the body creates nitric oxide. One of these pathways is NOS-dependent and the other is not.
The first nitric oxide pathway is regulated by L-arginine, an amino acid that the body uses to directly produce nitric oxide. This pathway also uses L-citrulline, which it converts into L-arginine and then into nitric oxide in the same way. The second pathway depends entirely on nitrates to produce nitric oxide, and these nitrates can be found in many foods like beetroot powder.
It stands to reason, then, that if you want to get the best results possible you would want a supplement that contains resources for use in both pathways simultaneously. This means supplements that contain a nitrate source like beetroot powder, as well as the right amino acids, are the most likely to provide maximum results.
It’s more difficult to prove the correlation between nitric oxide levels and strength training, but there does seem to be a significant connection between the use of nitric oxide supplements and the results that are achieved during training. In 2007 Sport Science & Medicine published a study that followed the activities of a sedentary group of subjects who then started their first strength training program.
Research showed that as they saw an improvement in their strength their nitric oxide levels also rose. It was also found that high-intensity weight training seemed to have a more drastic effect on the increase of nitric oxide than low-intensity training did.
This causes many to think that the reverse also applies and that an increase in nitric oxide levels can help increase strength with training. This has not yet been tested in any sizable conclusive study, but several smaller studies have suggested it may be the case.
Exercise isn’t the only reason to use nitric oxide supplements. New evidence has come to light which shows that low levels of nitric oxide may cause erectile dysfunction. The first time doctors noticed this was among patients who had Type 2 Diabetes. Erectile dysfunction is a common side effect of diabetes, and a 2004 study found that this is caused by a cellular pathway that diabetes inhibits. That cellular pathway is regulated by nitric oxide.
It was found that L-arginine supplementation could help with this issue among diabetic patients, which further shows the connection with nitric oxide. In one study, it was determined that L-arginine supplementation could improve the condition in 31 percent of subjects as compared to 11 percent among those given a placebo.
There are obviously many possible causes of erectile dysfunction, but in the event that low nitric oxide is a factor, these supplements have been shown to help.
Side Effects
Nitric oxide is naturally occurring in our bodies, and as such the supplements that help to produce it are relatively safe. Because they are so new, there is not much data available. However, the best sources to boost nitric oxides are natural sources like amino acids and organic nitrates. There is no evidence or even logic to suggest that having these in your diet would be dangerous.
There are some sources of nitrates out there that aren’t purely natural, and these are often found in preservatives that are used in processed meats. There are some who believe that these nitrates can cause an increased risk of colorectal cancer, but this is not proven.
These are no diseases whatsoever which are currently linked to eating root vegetables like beets, so there are many who believe that these may be the safest source of nitrates available.
Recommended Dosage
Boosting nitric oxide levels is something that can only be achieved through the intake of natural ingredients like amino acids and vegetable nitrates. Because of this, the dosage of these ingredients is a bit vague. If you are supplementing with beetroot powder, most researchers suggest a dose of 500 mg per serving. If you are supplementing with L-arginine, most studies that showed promise tested using 3 grams to 8 grams of L-arginine a day.
However, these are doses that were used for medical research and may not be the same as the optimal dose for general use. Three grams a day is a good place to start, and as new research is released we can only hope that a more conclusive result regarding optimal dosage can be found.
Best Nitric Oxide Supplements Final Words
Nutritional research is constantly working to make new discoveries and find new ways of improving your health. One of the most recent and most exciting new areas of research is nitric oxide supplementation. Simple and natural sources like beetroot and L-arginine can help to body produce more nitric oxide to improve strength, increase endurance, and lower the chances of erectile dysfunction.
To get the best results possible, you should look for a supplement that contains the best ingredients to access both of the nitric oxide creation pathways, which are namely beetroot, L-citrulline, and L-arginine. It is best to have all three together because they can work side by side to access the 2 separate pathways in your body that independently generate nitric oxide.
If you are able to find the right supplement for your needs, the higher levels of nitric oxide in your system can help you to get better results while training, improve endurance, and regulate blood flow for better overall health.