Here ™s how exercise, L-arginine and vitamins C and E work together. Exercise increases the amount endothelial NO synthase, an enzyme that converts L-arginine to nitric oxide, which in turn lowers abnormally elevated blood pressure, prevents unwanted blood clotting and early inflammation associated with coronary artery disease, and protects against stroke and myocardial infarction. The antioxidant vitamins C and E work together to remove destructive oxidants from the blood stream, thereby stabilizing the nitric oxide, which can thus rise to higher levels in the blood stream and produce a more beneficial effect.

Sedentary mice fed with the supplements showed a 40 percent reduction in atherosclerosis lesions compared with the mice that were on a regular, high cholesterol diet but neither given the supplements nor put on an exercise regimen. The mice that exercised, but were not fed the supplements, showed a 35 percent reduction in the legions.

This is interesting, because it shows that the supplements work well even in the absence of exercise, Ignarro said.

Ignarro recommends making simple lifestyle changes that include moderate exercise, eating a low-fat diet, and taking dietary supplements that are commercially available anywhere, which together can make a difference in one ™s vascular health. I would say just do it, he said. It works in mice, it ™ll work in humans.

Grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Mayo Foundation, and National Research Funds from the University of Naples supported the research.

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