This information is excerpted from The Arginine Solution by Robert Fried, Ph.D., Woodson C. Merrell, M.D. and James Thornton

In the field of medicine and health it is one of the revolutions of our time: the discovery that the amino acid L-Arginine may be a "magic bullet" for the cardiovascular system. Now, as the evidence mounts, including research that recently won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, more and more scientists and doctors see the extraordinary health benefits of increasing L-Arginine intake. A virtual arterial cleanser, L-Arginine helps eliminate blockage and maintain blood flow. In this persuasive, groundbreaking book, Robert Fried, Ph.D., and Woodson C. Merrell, M.D., two renowned New York health experts, make the case for making L-Arginine part of your life.

There is much research and clinical evidence that proves the effectiveness of L-Arginine in raising the body's production of nitric oxide, a principal blood pressure regulator. L-Arginine, an amino acid available in inexpensive supplement form, can have a powerful impact on your cardiovascular health. In addition, as it helps increase blood flow throughout the body, L-Arginine can also boost...

• male potency

• the immune system

• mental acuity

• and weight loss

while it reduces the harmful effects of...

• aging

• diabetes

• asthma

Even as medical researchers look for new ways to undo such damage once it's been wreaked, others look for ways to intercept disease before it's sunk its harpy claws too deeply into our flesh. In recent years, modern medicine has seen a resurgence of interest in integrative medicine - an approach that combines the best of the "fix what's broken" philosophy of conventional modern health care with the "preemptive strike" philosophy long embraced by alternative medicine healers and preventative medicine specialists alike.

Perhaps you have been impressed with the accumulating evidence supporting the health benefits of nutritional therapy - "nutraceutical agents" like vitamins E, C, and the carotenoids; the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish; the isoflavones in soy; and a host of other foods, from oat bran to garlic to olive oil, increasingly linked to good health. Other therapeutic agents, especially botanical remedies, are receiving unprecedented scientific study - and being embraced more and more by clinicians and patients alike because of their powerful healing properties.

The amino acid L-Arginine, is fast emerging as one of the most potent nutraceuticals yet described. It works, when the body breaks it down, in the process releasing a simple gas called nitric oxide, or NO, a substance formerly best known for its presence in smog. In the body, however, NO is hardly a pollutant. Over the last decade, researchers have made a series of truly revolutionary discoveries about the critical functions NO plays in an astonishing array of bodily systems. Indeed, so momentous have these discoveries been, and so far-reaching their implications for bettering human health, that the most prestigious of all scientific awards - the Nobel Prize for Medicine - was bestowed upon three pioneering American NO researchers on October 12, 1998.

 Arginine-derived nitric oxide, or ADNO, is a multifaceted molecular marvel, one made all the more amazing by the fact that researchers only so recently discovered that it even exists inside human tissues.

Consider just a sample of the many jobs ADNO has now been shown to perform inside the human body:

• It relaxes arteries, thereby helping to maintain normal blood pressure, which would otherwise skyrocket when ADNO is in short supply.

• It helps keep open the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart, preventing angina pain.

• It's a potent free-radical scavenger that helps to both lower serum cholesterol and prevent the "bad" LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and becoming even worse.

• It's a powerful anticoagulant, or blood thinner, that helps prevent blood platelets from clumping together into the clots that can cause heart attack and stroke.

• It enhances blood flow to the penis, helping to boost erections.

• It serves as a critical "bullet" by different immune-system cells that use it to kill foreign bacteria and viruses and even shrink or destroy some cancerous tumors.

• It's used by the brain to encode long-term memory and ensure blood flow to brain cells.

• It functions as a "messenger molecule" that allows nerve cells in the body and the brain to communicate with each other.

• It may reduce pregnancy-related hypertension, a potentially life-threatening condition for mother and child.

• It may help regulate insulin secretion by the pancreas, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes.

• It helps control the lung airways, allowing you to breathe easier and avoid common lung disorders.

• It relaxes "hypertonic" sphincter muscles, preventing and healing hemorrhoids and anal fissures.

• It stimulates the body into releasing the all-important human growth hormone (HGH), a key to longevity as well as improvement in body composition by boosting lean muscle mass and bone density while decreasing fat tissue.

 I have been using a liquid product for five years that has 5 grams of L-arginine per ounce and have had wonderful success.  I am a diabetic and have had cardiovascular disease.  Recently I had a major physical exam and my doctor of 25 years told me that my blood tests were better than any time in the last 25 years.  My blood sugar runs between 95 and 120, my cholesterol was normal, blood pressure was 120/80, and I feel good.  If you would like more information email me at lcoast73@yahoo.com