Proven Health Benefits of L-Citrulline

Amaka Obi
3 min readDec 2, 2017

L-citrulline is an amino acid produced in the body with so many health benefits which include increase in muscle strength as well as stamina and the treatment of mild erectile dysfunction. It is also an essential remedy for enhancing heart health. Many people who have used the L-citrulline supplement and have reported many health benefits which I will be highlighting a few of them in this paper.

The L-citrulline can be taken as a supplement and is found in various foods and fruits. Citrulline comes from Citrullus, a Latin word for watermelon, and the fruit contains healthy amounts of amino acid, approximately 1.1 to 4.7 milligrams per gram. Other foods and fruits that contain L-citrulline include, squash, cucumber, melons, pumpkin, meat and much more. The liver and intestines in the body are responsible for producing L-citrulline from 10% of L-arginine or 90% if L-glutamine.

L-citrulline supplements are more efficient and quickly absorbed by the body than the L-arginine supplements. At increasing blood arginine levels, the body can quickly get rid of arginine due to the arginase activity in the gut. It is also important to note that L-citrulline is absorbed and quickly converted to arginine.

The Benefits

L-citrulline can help decrease fatigue and muscle soreness.

A study carried out by 18 men reported that L-citrulline helps to reduce fatigue and increase the levels of ATP as well as enhance the production of creatine phosphate, which is necessarily a form of energy reserve in the body. After the men have exercised, they all reported a reduction in fatigue.

L-citrulline can help increase an individual’s exercise capacity.

A clinical trial carried out randomly on 30 patients suffering from heart failure problems showed the effects of citrulline improving their ability to exercise. The results showed that those patients who had taken the L-citrulline before getting on the treadmill stayed on for longer than those who did not use the supplement.

L-citrulline helps in the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

These supplements help improve erectile in men and reduce dysfunction by dilating the blood vessels and allowing more blood flow through the body. Another study reported that men who use the L-citrulline supplements to treat mild ED, enjoy more sex and satisfaction.

L-citrulline increases the production of Nitric Oxide in the body(NO)

The body uses L-citrulline to produce L-arginine and Nitric Oxide, so logically the more L-citrulline supplements a person takes, the more NO the body can produce. Another study carried out on children living with mitochondrial disorder reported that L-citrulline supplements efficiently increased the nitric oxide levels as well as an increase in arginine.

Taking L-citrulline supplements can help increase blood flow

An increase in blood flow in the body can go a long way in preventing a lot of life-threatening illnesses such as heart problems and the likes. A study carried out by ten healthy men reported the importance of nitric oxide in the regulating of blood flow. NO dilates the blood vessels in the body allowing blood to flow efficiently from the heart to every other part of the body, especially the brain.

Many other benefits of L-citrulline are being experienced by people who choose to use these supplements to treat and prevent certain illnesses, from reducing blood pressure to improving heart function, increasing growth hormones and much more.

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