A New Year Brings a Reliable and Credible Source of Information on Nitric Oxide
January NO blog – Jan 10, 2019 by Dr. Nathan S. Bryan
It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that I launch my own information and education blog on nitric oxide, or what – health researchers refer to as “NO”.
I have spent my entire academic career spanning almost 20 years studying this single molecule nitric oxide. I have a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctoral Degree in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport with additional fellowship training at Boston University School of Medicine within the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute. I was recruited for my first faculty position at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston by Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for his part in the discovery of nitric oxide and then spent several years being mentored by Dr. Murad as my Department Chair at the Institute of Molecular Medicine. I have published close to 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers, all on NO, and presented hundreds of invited lectures at medical and scientific conferences around the world. The many seminal discoveries from my research program has resulted in over a dozen issued US and international patents, all related to nitric oxide-based technologies. These patents are some of the most successful to be commercialized out of the University of Texas system.
I do not say this to impress you, but rather to impress upon you that I know nitric oxide and therefore feel that I can provide an unbiased, scientific and factual education on how it works in the human body and guide you on how to distinguish sound science from creative marketing, especially as it relates to commercial products. I find it humorous that there are people out there with no scientific background who have never published a paper in the nitric oxide research who claim to have a product that makes NO. The science of NO in complex and complicated, even for experts in the field.
The discovery of nitric oxide is only about 30 years old. There are over 160,000 papers published in the scientific literature on nitric oxide. Performance and endurance athletes have been using it for more than twenty years. Top rated collegiate sport teams use it now. It is beginning to gain traction and awareness with consumers. Many companies are racing to market or sell nitric oxide-based products. However, consumers are confused, and it is very difficult if not impossible for consumers to comprehend what is real vs what is hype or deceptive marketing.
There is no doubt that during the next 30-40 years – nitric oxide will rein as king in health and wellness. Today -a very large percentage of consumers know the importance of multi-vitamins, Vitamin C and D, nitric oxide will become just as popular and well known in the next 10 years. It is important for people to know how the human body makes nitric oxide, so they can understand how certain products may or may not work in individuals. The scientific literature tells us that all chronic diseases are caused by loss of the production of NO so people with any chronic disease cannot make NO as young healthy people can. As a result, there are products that may work in some people but not in others due to their underlying condition.
We are also entering a revolutionary new era in health and medicine where patients can research and educate their doctors on new and innovative science that their doctors may not know. This requires getting science-based information from research and that is where I hope this blog will help as it relates to education on NO.
Historically, medicine has been a reactive practice, meaning people don’t seek medical attention until they get sick or have a medical crisis. We must transition to a proactive practice, meaning taking the steps to maintain health so that you do not get sick or have a medical crisis. Patients must take responsibility for their own health and wellness. You cannot stay or get well without fixing the nitric oxide production within your own body. Your body cannot and will not heal or fix itself unless you restore the production on this single molecule nitric oxide. Unfortunately, there is not a single prescription medication that does this so going to see your doctor is not a viable approach.
I hope to provide you invaluable information on how you can use diet, lifestyle and nutrition as first line defense against the loss of NO production. I will also educate you on how simple things you do daily may be disrupting nitric oxide production. This includes using mouthwash, certain medications and drugs, smoking, oral hygiene and other things that you may not even realize may be doing you harm. The human body is remarkable in that if you eliminate things that are harmful to it and provide the body with the raw materials it needs (you can do this through diet), the human body will heal itself.
As William Mayo has said “The aim of medicine is to prevent disease and prolong life; the ideal of medicine is to eliminate the need of a physician.” If I accomplish my job as an educator and teach healthcare providers and consumers about the importance of NO in health and medicine, then perhaps we can accomplish what Sir William Osler described as “One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine.” The practice of medicine must change from a reactive approach to a proactive approach. Applied physiology is always superior to applied pharmacology.
I hope this website and blog will be the go-to source for valid, credible, scientific and factual information on nitric oxide that consumers and healthcare providers can use every day. Although, admittedly, I have a bias based on my own scientific research, patents and technology, I will always try to maintain an unbiased perspective on the science of NO.
Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer of men and women worldwide. This is simply unacceptable given that we know without a shadow of a doubt what causes cardiovascular disease- the loss of nitric oxide production. The science is clear, the research is valid. Our only challenge now is to educate – doctors, dieticians, and consumers. We have the tools and the technology to determine NO production in patients and we have the technology to restore NO production in humans. My single focused mission is to provide that education. I hope you will share my message and get others to join. Together we can, and we will change the world.