What are the health benefits of citrulline? Citrulline is an amino acid that is naturally made by your body. And surprisingly it was first discovered in watermelon. It is found in foods and in dietary supplements.
There are two types of dietary supplements and that is L- citrulline and citrulline maleate. Citrulline maleate is more commonly found in sports supplements.
What are the health benefits of citrulline? iStock-photo credit: Bascisca
One of the benefits of citrulline is it increases vasodilation which means it widens the arteries and veins. It is associated with increasing blood flow and lowering your blood pressure levels. The increase in nitric oxide and blood flow is how it can help heighten exercise performance and oxygen content in the muscles.
There was a small study of about 30 people who had high blood pressure where they took L-Citrulline supplements. And it resulted in a reduction of blood pressure by 4 to 15% after two months.
Some of the foods that citrulline is found in is:
- Watermelon
- Cucumber
- Melon
Research studies show that taking 4.5 grams of citrulline can be effective for weight-training performance. It shows that taking 3 to 6 grams of citrulline can be effective in improving blood pressure levels.
Studies show that taking 6 or more grams of citrulline will help improve oxygen content in muscle for the highest effectiveness. There was a small study in 41 men who took citrulline maleate and it revealed that they were able to perform 53% more repetitions in their upper body workout vs the placebo group.
And what’s interesting about that same study is that two days after their workout their muscle soreness was 40% lower than the placebo group.
The result of this study revealed that citrulline decreased fatigue and increased exercise performance. And in this study, they took the supplement 60 minutes before they performed the exercise.
It is important to understand that any more than 10 grams of citrulline per day would be considered too much to take.
The Bottom Line is that citrulline has tremendous health benefits and it is found in foods such as watermelon, cucumber, melon, etc. It can be found in foods, and it is available in dietary supplement form. Some of the health benefits are improving blood pressure levels, increasing exercise performance, and improving oxygen content in the muscles.
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References
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