When to Take Ornithine

Ornithine is a naturally occurring amino acid in the human body. During the citric acid cycle, ornithine is created by the breakdown of another amino acid called arginine. Though it is considered a nonessential amino acid (which means that your body can produce it), ornithine has proved useful for improving a variety of conditions and is currently available as a nutritional supplement. When added as a supplement to your daily diet, i can help in treating several different issues.

• Ornithine can help increase muscle mass.

Building Muscle Mass

• An ideal time to take ornithine is when you are looking to increase muscle mass. Ornithine stimulates growth hormone levels and insulin production, two key factors in building muscle. It is also vital to maintaining muscle mass as you age. As you get older, tissues in the muscles can't renew themselves as efficiently as before. Ornithine accelerates the regeneration of muscle tissue.

Liver Detoxification

• If you need to detox the liver, ornithine can be a valuable tool to achieving this end. It aids in ridding toxic ammonia from the liver and boosting the overall proper functioning of the organ. When combined with L-aspertate, ornithine can also provide detoxification help for those suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.

Increasing Sperm Count/Maintaining an Erection

• Ornithine supplements can be paired with their amino acid counterpart, arginine, to aid in increasing sperm count. Together, the amino acids guarantee that nitric oxide emission is functioning at the proper level to ensure that blood is flowing to the penis. A lack of nitric oxide can prevent an erection, but ornithine metabolizes arginine within the body to keep the nitric oxide in healthy supply.

Secondary Burns

• In clinical studies, ornithine--given in conjunction with another amino acid called glutamine--has been shown to speed up recovery time on secondary burns. This combo markedly improved the quality of healing and had a dramatically positive effect on reducing the length of hospital stays among burn sufferers.

Fighting Aging

• With its ability to help regenerate muscle tissue, ornithine boasts strong anti-aging properties. Paired with glutamine, ornithine can maintain muscle and support the growth of new muscle tissue, two very important elements in staving off the ravages of age.

Some Considerations

• Meat, fish, dairy and eggs are all acceptable sources for increasing your ornithine intake.

  Though side effects of ornithine consumption are rare, those who take more than 10 grams per day may experience some gastrointestinal discomfort.

  Many of the energy drinks, protein shakes and sports beverages currently on the market already contain ornithine, so be sure to check the label.