Does Pro-arginine Make You Gain Weight?

Building muscle is difficult for some people, making it tempting to seek out any type of sports supplement that can shorten your time in the gym while still helping you bulk up. ProArgi~9 is a supplement from Synergy Worldwide that claims to increase the dilation of your arteries for improved muscular endurance and strength. ProArgi~9 is more likely to improve your heart health than your physical fitness, however.

Improved Nutrient Delivery

The amino acid arginine is the primary ingredient in ProArgi~9 supplements. It is the main precursor amino acid that contributes to the production of nitric oxide in your body. Researchers Louis Ignarro, Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998 for proving nitric oxide dilates your arteries for improved blood flow. While the Nobel Prize winners promoted nitric oxide as having life-saving potential for heart disease treatment, arginine supplement manufacturers like ProArgi~9's Synergy Worldwide claim that widened arteries from nitric oxide increase blood flow and nutrient delivery to your muscles.

Conflicting Research

Though claims for supplements like ProArgi~9 make sense, science does not always support the sales assertions of arginine manufacturers. In 2011, the “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” published a placebo controlled study of arginine alpha-ketoglutarate supplements, which are a popular form of arginine -- though slightly different from ProArgi~9. The Sacred Heart University researchers in the study failed to find any improvement in muscular endurance or lowered blood pressure as a result of the arginine supplements. Subjects in the study even performed fewer repetitions after taking the supplement, which suggests arginine supplements may decrease your ability to build muscle.

Citrulline

ProArgi~9 may have a slight benefit over arginine-only supplements because it contains the other amino acid necessary for nitric oxide production: citrulline. Citrulline may help to increase your arginine and nitric oxide levels better than arginine supplements alone, according to nutrition professor Gene Bruno of the Huntington College of Health Sciences. Bruno notes that, theoretically, a combination of citrulline and arginine like that present in ProArgi~9 should be beneficial to bodybuilders and athletes trying to gain weight.

Growth Hormones

Synergy Worldwide claims that ProArgi~9 “stimulates the release of human growth hormone.” Increased HGH in your body can improve muscle tissue production and subsequent weight gain. Polish researchers published a double-blind trial in 2010 demonstrating that a combination of arginine and the amino acid ornithine may improve growth hormone production during heavy resistance training exercises. ProArgi~9 does not contain ornithine, however. As of 2011, there was no research showing that the ingredients in ProArgi~9 actually produce a notable increase in your growth hormone levels.