Tag Archive for: l-arginine

Brain Boon, Not Brainrot

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Maybe you’ve been hearing about brainrot; if you have a kid in the house, the odds go way up. My point in mentioning this is to suggest that peanuts don’t contribute to brainrot, but may be a brain boon as I talked about on Tuesday. The question was why?

Nutrients May Hold the Key

Peanuts, as well as other nuts, are high in the amino acid l-arginine. Nitric oxide (NO) increases dilation in blood vessels which help blood flow everywhere but especially to the heart and the brain. We usually associate nitrates from vegetables with that process, but there’s another pathway which uses arginine to increase NO levels as well. That could explain the increases in blood flow to the areas of the brain. The increase in NO could also partially explain the reduction in systolic blood pressure.

In addition, the fiber in peanuts, the antioxidant properties found in the peanut skin phytonutrients, and replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats may also have an impact on blood flow. The peanut skins contain resveratrol, a phytonutrient that has shown promise in reducing cardiovascular disease in general.

Carbohydrate intake increased while fat decreased during the eating-peanuts phase of the study. One of the key findings was that the unsaturated fats in the nuts replaced some of the saturated fats in the diet. Overall, the peanuts were beneficial.

Limitations with Hope

This was a small study with essentially healthy older adults; how that might work for people with disease must still be tested. The cost of the methodology using special MRI analytics limited how many subjects would be realistic to study, but there were at least some benefits in every category they tested. This shows that modifying the diet in just one area may be a step toward improving your health. There’s no reason not to try eating peanuts (unsalted or lightly salted is preferable) to see how it impacts us personally.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2025.10.020

The Bottom Line on Cats and Dogs and Supplements

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One of my all-time favorite movie lines is by Bill Murray’s character in the original Ghostbusters. He goes on a rant about the coming plague of ghosts and says “…dogs and cats living together…” It’s the delivery more than the words, but it still makes me laugh. I often blurt it out when people talk about all the things that could go wrong if X happens.

I decided to search the literature for specific supplements that can benefit cats and dogs, whether they live together or not. There’s no research on multivitamins-multiminerals per se, although there’s some info on the use of vitamins and minerals as additives to food.

Cats and Supplements

There are two primary areas of research on supplements in cats. The first is the amino acid taurine and the other is joint issues. The lack of taurine in a cat’s diet can result in compromised immune systems, eye problems including blindness, deafness, cardiomyopathy and heart failure, and reproductive issues. Researchers have found that taurine supplementation can increase the taurine level in a cat’s cardiac tissue. One more thing: soy interferes with taurine absorption or utilization, so make sure that the food you feed your cat is soy-free.

The other issue is joint problems such as arthritis. In research on cats, the same blends used in humans that consist of glucosamine, chondroitin, Boswellia, and fish oil help alleviate pain as assessed by owner and veterinarian pain evaluations.

Dogs and Supplements

The big issue with dogs is joint problems such as osteoarthritis. Research shows that the same nutrients recommended for cats and humans are appropriate for dogs: glucosamine, chondroitin, Boswellia, and fish oil. When it comes to amino acids, dogs require 10 essential amino acids to be healthy. While they can get that from vegetarian protein, research shows that dogs can smell it when meals don’t contain all the essential amino acids and will avoid them. That’s some sniffer dogs have!

In the category of interesting research, the amino acid l-arginine together with antioxidants has been shown to benefit dogs with memory issues. Also medium-chain triglycerides are being tested in epileptic dogs to see if the supplement can help reduce seizures. Maybe a teaspoon of coconut oil every day can benefit these dogs—there’s no harm in it while waiting for the research to be completed.

The Bottom Line

We love our cats and dogs and want them to being as healthy as they can be. Targeted supplementation for specific issues is certainly warranted, and it’s probably good to use the same recommendations for us humans and for our best friends: eat better, eat less, and move more. You’ll both be healthier for it!

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Vet Med Sci. 2019 Aug;5(3):325-335. doi: 10.1002/vms3.1822.
2. J Nutr. 1995 Nov;125(11):2831-7. doi: 10.1093/jn/125.11.2831.
3. Am J Vet Res. 1992 Feb;53(2):237-41.