Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight I’d like to present to you to the 1992 winner of Molecule of the Year. (Yes, that’s an actual award. No, I don’t think you get a trophy or a modeling contract out of it. Yes, I know I’m a geek.)
Nitric Oxide (NO)
Tired of getting confused with it’s hilarious-at-parties-but-really-vacuous-cousin N2O (a.k.a. laughing gas), this sexy little number plays a big part both in polluting our atmosphere and in running our central nervous system. It is also involved with how much hair you lose, penile erections, and acclimating to high altitudes. But aside from these nifty accomplishments, NO has another very interesting effect – it is one of the best vasodilators we have.
A vasodilator means that it works on the inner lining of your blood vessels to open them up by relaxing your smooth muscles and thereby increasing blood flow. It is frequently used in hospitals, particularly in pediatric units to treat babies with meconium inhalation lung problems. (For those of you who’ve not had a baby, meconium is the tar-like first poop that your precious little nugget excretes soon after birth. Incidentally only one of many strange substances that will ooze, spew and dribble from various orifices in said nugget. Some babies, however, poop while still in the womb. They then breathe in the meconium which can cause all kinds of problems.)
Who Cares?
You do. And here’s why: it’s become one of the hottest muscle building supplements on the market. That’s right, one of the worst pollutants known to mankind and simultaneously a wonder pediatric drug, is being used to Pump You Up.
What does it do for you, exactly? According to one product, N.O. -Xplode, it does everything but cure malaria and solve Rubix cubes blind-folded. Bask in the unfettered (and unedited) hyperbole:
“N.O.-XPLODE is an extreme pre-training energy and performance igniter. From the very first serving you will experience elevated physical and mental energy, muscle-expanding pumps, unparalleled strength and stamina; not to mention tunnel-vision like mental focus, allowing you to zone in and have the best training session possible. By combining all of these benefits in one knock-out formula, you will experience a level of training intensity that you never thought was imaginable, getting you physically and mentally dialed in for the training session of a lifetime; leaving those days of lack-luster workouts behind. Once you train with N.O.-XPLODE, you will never train without it! NO-Xplode has the unique ability to get you dialed in and pumped up for every single workout by inducing a strong and advanced nitric oxide, creatine, and body-mind stimulating surge.”
(Note to N.O. Xplode – I realize that spelling is not your strong suit but let me tell you that as a chemistry teacher it hurts me deep inside to see you punctuate N.O. That makes it sound like a rapper or a euphemism for something dirty, which amount to the same thing, I know. But. It is okay to just write NO. It is also okay to just say NO. To drugs. Just saying.)
Alter(ed) Egos
Sold under various names and formulations (such as Black Powder & MuscleTek NaNo Vapor), it is generally one of the more expensive supplements out there. GNC tries to hard-sell me on it every time I walk in their door. (Well, except they are in the mall so they don’t have doors. But they do have a nice little massage chair! And now suddenly I’m rethinking my decision to buy vitamins from the mall.) Anyhow – typical retail price: $63.99-$79.99 for one bottle. Although the last time I went in the salesman tried to sell me on NO2 Black… for $103.99. Dreams of a fat commission vanished before his eager eyes as I plopped down two $13.99 bottles of fish oil. Although his frown could also have been because my kids just knocked over his entire display of vita-paks and were now riding the rowing machine like a pony.
Pros
I received this tip from a reader who wished to remain anonymous. He is a mid-20’s collegiate competitive athlete who tested this out for us. Mr. X (for Xplode, NOT for XXX, sickos) seemed hesitant to talk about it at first but then waxed rhapsodic about being able to up his reps, maintain his weight through an extra set, and “push through previous barriers.” He added that his perceived exertion was less for the same intensity of exercise and it also helped him stay laser-focused. He admitted that this last effect might be due to the caffeine, of which there is probably a lot although no product listed exactly how much. Mr. X added that this was one of his favorite supplements (the other being creatine) and that he felt it had provided measurable muscle gains.
Cons
Mr. X added an interesting caveat: He is a personal trainer and yet he would not recommend it to any of his clients. His reasoning was that as a highly trained athlete he knows what his limits are and what his body normally feels like so if anything fishy started happening he could back off immediately. A novice lifter would not have that self insight.
Other known side effects of NO include:
– headaches (the most often reported side effect – and a known effect of vasodilators)
– “Xplosive” diarrhea (Oh how I chuckled! I love punny people. Punny lifters? Even better!)
– dizziness, light headedness
– heart palpitations (“like I was on speed” – probably the caffeine)
– insomnia (again, probably the caffeine)
– increased flushing (getting red in the face, nothing to do with toilets people)
Conclusions
This is interesting to me. On one hand I love anecdotal evidence in the form of personal experiments. As long as the person is not getting paid to talk about the supplement (and Mr. X wasn’t) then their opinion means a lot to me. Most muscle-building supplements just don’t work but it sounds like this one might actually do something.
One the other hand, it’s air pollution. You’re imbibing fruit punch-flavored air pollution. That can’t be good. Plus there’s the whole vasodilation thing. I kinda like my veins the way they are (even if they are a little bulge-y). I also don’t like supplements much in general. And if they put it in Viagra…? Lastly – $103.99?! Egads.
Any of you try this stuff? Tell me what you think of it! I need more input!! Also, what do you think of a personal trainer who takes things he wouldn’t advise his clients to?
Update: Reader FitJerk, who is a professional supplement reviewer (didn’t even know they had those!) made an iteresting point about the mechanics of this product in the comments that I was worth bumping up: “There is no NO being produced in these products. They contain the ingredient L-Arginine which is supposed to be a pre-cursor to N.O but it ISN’T! Studies have proved it. In fact, the amount of L-Arginine you’d have to take to even notice minute benefits of a “pump” is about 30g. At that dose you’ll have stomach cramps and upsets before a major pump. The amount of L-Arginine in N.O Xplode is a few grams… if that. So it’s all insignificant. The only reason you feel anything after taking this stuff is because of the 200+ mg of caffeine (about 2 cups of coffee worth) and the fact that your body produces a natural pump while resistance training. So if that’s what you want, might as well just drink a friggin’ RedBull.”
As a chemist, I give this post 2 thumbs up. Happy belated Mole Day!
Personally, I try not to put things in my body that I can make in the lab (other than caffeine…you take my caffeine and I'll cut you). Especially not when said chemical is going to set me back $100 a bottle.
I've seen this before in the gym… please tell I'm not the only one who sees NO-XPLODE and immediately thinks it's anti-diarrhea medicine.
I think it's totally fine (and in fact very moral) for the trainer to refuse to advise clients to take something he himself uses. He sees a risk of injury, he feels confident in his own ability to avoid that risk but (I assume) considers it irresponsible to influence other (potentially less well-informed) people's decision to do the same.
By the way, hi! I just found your blog recently and I like it a lot, so thanks.
Let me first say that all of the "pump" products are bullsh*t. I professionally review supplements and even this article (although very good) is missing a KEY point.
THERE IS NO "N.O" BEING PRODUCED WHEN YOU USE THESE PRODUCTS.
They contain the ingredient L-Arginine which is supposed to be a pre-cursor to N.O but it ISN'T! Studies have proved it. In fact, the amount of L-Arginine you'd have to take to even notice minute benefits of a "pump" is about 30g.
At that dose you'll have stomach cramps and upsets before a major pump. The amount of L-Arginine in N.O Xplode is a few grams… IF THAT. So it's all insignificant.
The only reason you feel anything after taking this stuff is because of the 200+ mg of caffeine (about 2 cups of coffee worth) and the fact that your body produces a natural pump while resistance training.
So if that's what you want, might as well just drink a friggin' RedBull.
Cheers 😉
Is there anything companies won't try to repackage and sell for a ridiculous amount of money?
And yes I also thought of anti-diarrhea when I saw NO-XPLODE (giggle).
FitJerks – Wow, I had no idea about the L-arginine stuff! Thanks for filling me in. It makes sense to me. (PS> I think I really need to start reading your blog now!)
this post made me miss the days when my husband and I owned a small biz catering to professional bodybuilders (musclebobble dolls of their likenesses—not supps :)).
it seems athletes (ALL KINDS) will try anything in the name of BIGGER STRONGER FASTER.
It seems FitJerk has x-ploded NO-xplode — I wonder if it can even be sold here in the UK, since we have different laws to the US on trade descriptions, and it seems these supplements might be deliberately misleading.
And of course, we can argue that anything like this is probably 90% placebo — the same effects could probably be attained with hypnosis.
Which really sucks, because reading about it here was starting to make me think it could be good. Then again, you almost sold me some behaviour meds, too 😉
If I saw a NO-XPLODE sign in the gym, I would think about somebody working so hard and getting so pumped up that his whole body blows apart.
But I've been watching zombie movies all week, so what do you expect.
Except that tomorrow marks 6 weeks since I've had a Red Bull, or any caffeine for that matter, I like FitJerks' Red Bull statement. Oh, Red Bull, how I miss thee. Le sigh.
Anyway, I've never taken fitness supplements, and as much as I love(d) Red Bull, I could never drink it before, during, or right after exercising. I was always too dehydrated if I did. I'm not a big fan of vitamins, either. Nothing against them, but I've never been in the habit, mostly because I've never been good at being able to swallow pills. After complaining about sore and stiff feet and ankle joints a few months ago, I tried the chewable adult vitamins for a month. In the end they didn't help, so I discontinued. But getting back to muscle supplements, I'm going to pass. Maybe it's the way I'm designed, but if I'm going to work that hard to lose weight and tone, I want to be able to say that I did it myself, all hard work.
I get Nitric Oxide the old fashioned way, I earn it!
Excellent post!!
Thx for the info! I actually read this last night & sent FJ your way because he knows about this stuff & I was curious… not to take it but just if he knew more about it. I guess he did!!! 🙂
Funny, I read a bunch of articles on NO a few weeks ago for my endrocrinology/neurophysiology class 🙂 I'm a big geek too and you just made my day!
FitJerk is right, the only thing working in the supplement is the caffeine. NO reacts very quickly with the surrounding cells (within a few seconds) and so it can't travel far in the body. Whenever you hear of NO pills being used it's not actually NO, since it would all react in the stomach (plus how do you make gas stay in pill form? I'm a biologist, not a chemist!). The only time NO is directly used in gas form is for vasodilatation in the lungs, because it won't go any farther. NO pills that actually work contain either the natural enzyme that makes NO in our body (NO synthetase) or a chemical or another that will increase the quantity of this enzyme (this is the case for viagra and the likes). Using the precursor for NO (L-arginine) is useless at any dose since NO won't be created in larger quantities than naturally needed in your body (if you don't add NOS), and L-arginine is an amino acid so extra L-arginine will be used as building blocks for proteins long before it will be used to make NO.
I stay away from sport supplements of any kind. They rarely work and they alway bank on the lack of knowledge or available information on the consumer's part. It makes me mad how stupid they think or wish people are (and this goes for a lot of other products, TV commercials and even some 'news' reports too). The only pills I take are vitamins when I don't eat to well.
I am already a big fan of caffeine for Pumping Up purposes, but can't see forking over big money for the supposed benefits of NO. Sounds like a scam to me! Plus, the side effects do not sound worth the supposed benefits.
Thanks for the great explanation! I had never heard of this stuff, but now I know I can safely ignore it without feeling like I'm missing out on anything.
Not really related to your post (except the comment about buying two bottles of fish oil), but do you take regular fish oil while pregnant? With my first pregnancy I was told to take a plant-based DHA to avoid any mercury, but those Expecta Lipil supplements are a heck of a lot more expensive than a bottle of fish oil capsules! Just wondering! thanks!
I think I'll vote NO on this, also.
cammi99
Some of those side-effects read like menopause in a box. Why would anyone willingly put up with them?
I've seen ads for this stuff in "those" magazines. You know, the scary ones, with scary, seemingly steroid-addled people on the covers.
I think I'll stick to my multi-vitamins.
Yay! Additional support for my energy drink habit! :p
Holy geez, if I get wired off 2 cups of decaf coffee, this suppliment would have me bouncing off the walls. So would a small red bull or a cup of coffee. The one time I do ingest caffeine on purpose is 45 mins into a long run (of at least 90 mins).
I'll stick with my healthy food, tea, and the gummy chewable vitamins and get my gains by training harder, thanks!
I'm just not into taking any supplement that has the word "explode" in it.
Fitmama – I do take a fish oil. Nothing fancy, I get the Sam's Club bottle but it does say that it is "purified" to remove mercury. I'm hoping that's true and not just marketing speak…
Sadly about 15 years ago there was a move for the FDA to start regulating supplements. The supplement industry convinced health and fitness buffs that the black-booted thugs would take away their vitamins, echinacea, and St. John's Wort. The public said no way! Instead we ended up without regulation and with "The claims on this bottle have not been verified." In fact many supplements are nothing…literally they are ground up vitamins. Some are a good deal worse and most are fraudulent. Some are dangerous. Just because GNC is in the mall doesn't mean that you can trust what they peddle. Let's not forget that they happily sold products that contained ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Stay away! You don't need 1000% of any vitamin or mineral and many of them are dangerous at elevated levels. Let's bring back the move to regulate this stuff!
Man, I get sweat more just from having a cup of tea. Having an energy drink makes me less in control and decreases my performance. I don't know…too often supplements are sold until a few people have heart attacks while using them and then they disappear when the sellers are strong-armed by law suits and the government. Best thing is to eat healthy and avoid supplements.
Ditto for me. As a biochemist thanks for exposing the another fake supplement. I saw this and giggled. I've actually been involved in some NO research… NO cannot be "produced" by taking a product like this. It's just silly. I looked and looked and tried to figure out how it would work the way they claimed, or be helpful…and the caffeine in it was the only thing I could come up with…
For NO, go to the dentist…:)
I am interested as to why a personal trainer would think it's OK to use something for himself and not his clients. I get his reasonings…but it's just shy of wierd, kinda addict like "it's OK for me, reallY' talk.
And I want that parking sign…
I'm guilty of information overload. So when I read in Oxygen Magazine about NO or creatine or any of them, my brain just puts out it's "CLOSED" sign. Too many of them out there- some people swear they work. I'd rather not take my chances.
And no offense to mr X, but it wasn't exactly a randomized double blind study!?!
Aside from taking energy supplements, our body should be replenish with plenty of water in order to survive the daily fatigue.
Taking natural supplement is better than artificial supplement because it contains natural ingredients that are beneficial to our health system. It is good to take it regularly to maintain a youthful glow.
I think, that you commit an error. I can prove it write to me in PM, we will communicate Orthomol biotin
BAN THE ILLEGAL TOBACCO DRUG, which KILLS 14,000 addicts and another 1,800 INNOCENT people (who were exposed to TOXIC TOBACCO SMOKE) around the world, EVERY DAY!
PROSECUTE THE CRIMINAL TOBACCO PUSHERS, TOO!
TOBACCO IS TERRORISM!
http://medicolegal.tripod.com/tobaccomurder.htm