Nitric Oxide, Beet Root Extract and Plexus Slim

Nitric Oxide, you may be thinking of the gas used at the dentists office . Or perhaps the stuff used to make cars go really fast. That is what I thought it was when the doctor tested my husbands levels at his physical today. But I was wrong. “Nitric Oxide is a molecule that our body produces to help its 50 trillion cells communicate with each other by transmitting signals thoughout the entire body” So, why the heck am I writing about this?

About a week and a half ago my husband had an “event” happen halfway through the service at our church. He was leading worship and got very light headed. He felt like he was going to pass out, had light sensitivity, experienced tunnel vision and had weakness in his legs. It was basically all he could do to plow though the set with the help of his team. I was at home with our kids when he called and said “I feel like I am dying”. Now, for those of you that know him, the hubs is not someone given to dramatics or hysterics. Of course it completely freaked me out. I tried to calm him and talk him through it. It seemed to me like he might be having a panic attack. I told him to wait in his office and I headed up there. I texted our pastors and they met me in his office. We checked blood sugar and vitals and all seemed good. He had been at church since 6:30 am, it was a stressful morning, he didn’t eat and had about 2 pots of coffee. Yes, I said POTS. He came home with me and immediately went to bed. I really expected him to wake up fully recovered, but that was not the case. After visits to our family doctor in Amarillo this week and full physical we still had no answers. He has continued to experience bouts of the same symptoms and just said he felt really weak and fatigued. The only thing a complete panel of blood work revealed was low B12.

Having walked through both adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, I was obviously suspicious of some of his symptoms. We ordered a saliva test for his adrenals (sending it off tomorrow!) and sought out a Nurse Practitioner who works for a local D.O. It was during our visit with her this morning and her assessment of Michael that she brought Nitric Oxide to my attention. She left the room and came back with a little vial of test strips similar to those used when testing Ph. She laid it on his tongue and over the course of about 30 seconds it turned a pink color. The color indicated that Michael does indeed have low nitric oxide. With all of my investigation into natural health I had NEVER heard of this. So while she continued her assessment I turned to the google machine. 

What I found is that nitric oxide has been shown to be important in the following cellular activities:

• help memory and behavior by transmitting information between nerve cells in the brain
• assist the immune system at fighting off bacteria and defending against tumors
• regulate blood pressure by dilating arteries
• reduce inflammation
• improve sleep quality
• increase your recognition of sense (i.e. smell)
• increase endurance and strength
• assist in gastric motility

There have been over 60,000 studies done on nitric oxide in the last 20 years and in 1998, The Nobel Prize for Medicine was given to three scientists that discovered the signaling role of nitric oxide. 

WHAT??? 60,000 studies and a Nobel Prize? Have YOU ever heard of this? As the nurse explained it Nitric Acid is needed for EVERYTHING your body does. And if you are low in it you can experience severe fatigue, depression, anxiety etc … Additionally, is very important for cardiac health. In fact, heart patients are often prescribed nitroglycerin when experiencing cardiac symptoms because it dilates the blood vessels. Turns out nitroglycerin acts by releasing nitric oxide which relaxes narrowed blood vessels, increasing oxygen and blood flow.

So at this point I am kind of intrigued. Then she walks back into the room with the nitric acid lozenges for Michael to begin taking. I took a look at the ingredients and my jaw dropped. One of the primary ingredients and methods of increasing Nitric Oxide levels is Beet Root Extract. Well, at this point I just start laughing, quietly, to myself. You see, a question that I often get asked about Plexus Slim is “what makes the pink drink pink? The answer is: Beet Root Extract. Mind. Officially. Blown.

If you have spent anytime reading through the health testimonials related to Plexus Slim, and if you have read the medical literature, you will find that many of the benefits people experience on Slim are very similar to those listed as benefits of nitric oxide. Slim is proven to lower cholesterol and balance lipids. We KNOW it improves energy (holler!) and so many report lowered blood pressure and improved mood.

I am just constantly blown away by the powerful combination of ingredients used in Plexus Slim. I have talked before about chromium and its beneficial effects no both thyroid and adrenal health. I have also discussed how alpha lipoic acid lowers blood sugar and heals neuropathy. But in all of the researchI have done on Slim never did I read ANYTHING about the beet root used for coloring or anything about its potential health benefits. I have reported from the beginning of my journey that my energy has increased immeasurably and it is so cool to see that this ingredient has played such a big role in that!!!