Diagnosis

There is no standard blood test for testing nitric oxide deficiency. However, it has become a little easier to assess NO deficiency. There are oral test strips, first developed by Dr. Bryan, such as the one pictured here from Designs for Health, that measure if a patient has adequate levels. If saliva turns the strip a bright pink, then there is sufficient NO being produced. It can have some inaccuracies. One would be if someone has eaten within an hour. The other is if someone has an infection in their mouth. In both cases, you would find it falsely elevated. The immune system's reaction to the infection will cause NO to elevate in the mouth. I have been testing patients, and I have found that many are showing a deficiency of NO. The reasons for this are generally because the process of converting nitrates to nitric oxide is disturbed by one or more factors. One reason is the use of fluoridated mouthwash and toothpaste and the effect it has on the nitrate to nitrite pathway. Fluoride is antimicrobial, and the conversion process is dependent on bacteria in the mouth to accomplish this. More than two hundred million Americans use mouthwash daily. The application of fluoridated mouthwash could offset the positive effects of nitric oxide obtained from dietary intake and exercise. Finding an alternative to fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwash is especially important if you have any symptoms of nitric oxide deficiency.

I have been listening to Dr. Nathan Bryan for over a year on different podcasts and finally got around to reading this book by him. Although nitric oxide was discovered in the 1700s, its role as a signaling molecule for the cardiovascular system was discovered in 1980. In 1998, Lou Ignarro, Robert Furchgott, and Ferid Murad received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research on it. This led Dr. Bryan to apply their discovery to practical knowledge for physicians and patients about the importance of nitric oxide (NO) to improve health outcomes. With over ninety-five research articles to his credit, Dr. Bryan’s book explains his 20-year investigation into understanding why this molecule is so important to our health.

From this chart you can see that nitric oxide (NO), which is a gas, is important for nearly every facet of human physiology. It is important for the cardiovascular system, in helping to lower blood pressure, and reducing the risk of clotting. The nervous system needs NO to maintain cognitive function.