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Nitric oxide—known by the formula NO—is so vital for humans' internal physiological processes that it was <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.cir.98.22.2365#:~:text=Nitric%20oxide%20was%20named%20%E2%80%9CMolecule,Furchgott%2C%20PhD%2C%20Louis%20J." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">crowned Molecule of the Year in 1992</a>. It plays a chameleon role as a signaling molecule, able to enter and elicit functions in nearly every system of the human body.In the past recognized merely as a free radical, NO is now known to play a variety of roles within the body due to the diverse forms it takes. Both highly reactive and small, NO can diffuse through cell walls, interact with myriad receptors within a variety of internal systems, and signal functions across the cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems.Much of NO's effects are visible in the human bloodstream and vascular system, where it regulates blood pressure and stimulates circulation by relaxing the blood vessels. It also helps the immune system and central nervous system operate, <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.cir.98.22.2365#" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"affecting everything from gastric motility to memory to behavior."</a>To be able to do this, the molecule undergoes a transformation within the body. Ordinary nitric oxide is somewhat latent, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068772/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">residing in the innermost layer of the blood vessels</a>. Once it is released and <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315626" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">begins interacting with red blood cells, it becomes active nitric oxide</a> and is thus able to travel throughout the body, delivering highly beneficial supplies of blood and oxygen.Nitric oxide's benefits are still being studied by researchers, and it is thought that the chemical compound might one day provide the basis for a number of life-altering treatments, including those that target the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15265275/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">development of Alzheimer's disease</a>, due to its molecular pathways' role in the propensity of neurological disorders.<a href="https://www.nnoxx.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NNOXX</a> detailed the differences between active and ordinary nitric oxide using its own science and a variety of other scientific sources.&nbsp;Read on to learn about four essential facts to know about active nitric acid, including where each form of the chemical compound is found in the body, what transformations it undergoes, and how it helps the human body function.

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<h2>Ordinary nitric oxide exists in the inner lining of blood vessels</h2>Nitric oxide will eventually transform and travel throughout the body's systems, but its long and varied journey starts within the inner layer of the blood vessels, called the endothelium. This is where endogenous nitric oxide originates—that is, nitric oxide that is produced internally. Vascular nitric oxide is derived in part from enzymes near the blood vessels, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2932548/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">react with nitric oxide synthase to form the chemical compound</a>. Once it is formed, nitric oxide is highly reactive, meaning that it can interact with a variety of chemicals to elicit responses in almost all of the body's systems.

ACCESS THE FIRST WEARABLE NITRIC OXIDE MONITORING DEVICETake your health and fitness to the next level with the first wearable device that measures <a href="https://www.nnoxx.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">active nitric oxide</a> levels in real-time, unlocking insights and elevating your fitness and performance.

<h2>Ordinary nitric oxide is used in the body to create active nitric oxide</h2>Ordinary nitric oxide has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC14594/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">quite a short half-life</a>. Its main influence on the body comes through its transformation into active nitric oxide, which is known as <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315626" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SNO-hemoglobin.</a> Once released from endothelial cells, ordinary NO binds to hemoglobin molecules—which are a protein <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK259/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contained within red blood cells</a>—and travels back to the lungs laden with both NO and carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is expelled as waste, making room for the intake of oxygen. This spurs a synthesis reaction resulting in active NO.

<h2>Active nitric oxide is found in the bloodstream attached to hemoglobin</h2>After leaving the lungs, active nitric oxide can enter a variety of internal systems, influencing a plethora of functions. This is facilitated by hemoglobin, which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2785508/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">transports and releases the active compound throughout the body</a> in areas where oxygen levels are low. Due to its crucial role in such processes, a deficiency in NO can contribute to metabolic and cardiovascular disease.

WHAT IS ACTIVE NITRIC OXIDE?Find answers to questions like, “<a href="https://www.nnoxx.com/science-of-active-nitric-oxide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What is active nitric oxide</a>?” and discover the power of NNOXX’s innovative wearable and mobile app that allows anyone to measure and monitor their body's production of active nitric oxide.

<h2>Active nitric oxide provides nourishment for internal organs through the vascular system</h2>Perhaps the most well-known function of active nitric oxide is its <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2785508/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ability to dilate blood vessels.</a> Through this, active NO stimulates the regular flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. Thanks to this "therapeutic" relaxation of the vascular system, internal organs—including the heart, brain, and musculature—are delivered a steady supply of blood, which in turn <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554457/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">provides nutrients, hormones, and cells</a>, improving our health and physical fitness. Active NO also carries out tissue oxygenation, which helps strengthen and repair the body's internal organs.

Active Vs. Ordinary Nitric Oxide: Where each exists in the body and how they impact your health

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<h3>What Is Active Nitric Oxide?</h3><a href="https://www.nnoxx.com/science-of-active-nitric-oxide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Active nitric oxide</a>&nbsp;is a crucially important molecule for helping to promote health, fitness, and exercise performance. Additionally, improving active nitric oxide production through regular exercise and diet can have many health and metabolic benefits for aging adults and help slow down age-related decline.Remarkably, few people are aware of active nitric oxide and its roles in the body because our traditional understanding of the respiratory cycle is incomplete. We've all been taught the traditional view of the respiratory cycle, depicted in the image below, where we breathe oxygen in and breath carbon dioxide out.&nbsp;

Our traditional understanding of the respiratory cycle depicts blood as a simple fluid that passively transports oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from tissues. At the same time, the heart acts as the master controller, regulating systemic blood flow throughout our bodies. In reality, this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, there's much more happening underneath the surface.As you read this article, blood is being pumped from your heart into large arteries that fan out into progressively smaller arteries, called arterioles, which eventually reach individual organs and tissues, like exercising muscles.Our blood is packed with hemoglobin-containing red blood cells, and as the red blood cells travel through the body, hemoglobin flips back and forth between two distinct shapes. When hemoglobin is loaded with oxygen, it takes on one shape, and after it releases oxygen, it changes to another shape, then picks up carbon dioxide. Simply put, hemoglobin changes change depending on its oxygen supply.The previously mentioned traditional view of respiration accounts for oxygen and carbon dioxide, but a third lesser-known gas completes the respiratory cycle. You guessed it - active nitric oxide.

<h3>Active Nitric Oxide Vs. Ordinary Nitric Oxide</h3>Many forms of nitric oxide exist in the body, and not all forms are equal. Ordinary nitric oxide is produced by nitric oxide synthase enzymes, which convert the amino acid l-arginine into the amino l-citrulline, producing nitric oxide in the process. After ordinary nitric oxide is produced, it is released from the endothelial cells in the inner lining of blood vessels.Regular exercise has been shown to increase ordinary nitric oxide, which has several health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and supporting endothelial function. However, ordinary nitric oxide does not oxygenate tissue or directly enhance exercise performance. Additionally, ordinary nitric oxide is both short lasting and inactive in blood. However, the body converts ordinary nitric oxide into active nitric oxide under special conditions.Active nitric oxide is released from red blood cells and is both long-lasting and active in the blood. Whereas ordinary nitric oxide helps lower blood pressure by dilating large blood vessels, active nitric oxide is responsible for oxygenating tissues, including the brain, heart, and exercising muscles.

<h3>The Role of Active Nitric Oxide In Respiration</h3>After ordinary nitric oxide is released from endothelial cells in the inner lining of blood vessels, it rapidly dissolves in the bloodstream. When red blood cells travel through a tissue's bloodstream, hemoglobin scavenges the nitric oxide from the blood, and the ordinary nitric oxide binds to the hemoglobin molecule's iron center.After red blood cells deliver oxygen to tissues, they travel back to the lungs, loaded with carbon dioxide and ordinary nitric oxide. Once the red blood cells enter the lungs, they release carbon dioxide, which is expelled as a waste product. Then hemoglobin picks up oxygen in the pulmonary capillaries, and the ordinary nitric oxide molecules move from hemoglobin's iron center to a specific cysteine amino acid, forming s-nitrosohemoglobin (SNO-Hb), which is the active form of nitric oxide. In other words, the body converts ordinary nitric oxide to active nitric oxide, as demonstrated in the image below:

Importantly, it is active nitric oxide that controls blood flow to tissues. After the red blood cells leave the lungs, there are packed with oxygen and active nitric oxide. Then the red blood cells travel to the heart and are pumped out to the rest of the body to nourish tissues, including the brain, heart, and exercising muscles.

<h3>Active Nitric Oxide Controls Blood Flow To Tissues</h3>When red blood cells, packed with oxygen and active nitric oxide, travel through a tissue's micro-vasculature, the hemoglobin molecule inside red blood cells senses how much oxygen is present. If the oxygen level in a tissue is low, hemoglobin responds by changing its shape, causing oxygen and active nitric to be released into the surrounding blood. Oxygen nourishes the surrounding tissues, whereas active nitric oxide signals for the blood vessels to widen, resulting in even greater blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissues as depicted below:

Alternatively, hemoglobin doesn't change shape when the oxygen levels in tissues are high and oxygen and active nitric oxide are not released. This system makes sense when you consider the need to regulate blood flow at the level of individual tissues. For example, when you exercise, you must deliver more blood and oxygen to working muscles to provide energy. But when you stop exercising, you want to slow blood flow back down. Each tissue has its own blood flow requirements, and hemoglobin regulates blood flow to individual tissues as needed.

<h3>The Role Of Active Nitric Oxide In Health And Performance</h3>Doctors have long known that there is a significant disconnect between the amount of oxygen carried in the blood and the amount of oxygen delivered to the tissues, such as exercising muscles. Therefore, the current generation of wearables that measure blood oxygenation levels lacks an essential ingredient for giving you a better biomarker of health or fitness. While the aforementioned devices tell you how much oxygen is carried in the blood, they still leave you wondering how much oxygen is delivered to tissues.&nbsp;Active nitric oxide increases blood flow to tissues, and without active nitric oxide, the ability to increase blood flow and provide tissues with oxygen is significantly impaired. Thus, by measuring both active nitric oxide levels and the amount of oxygen in muscles,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nnoxx.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NNOXX</a>&nbsp;provides a powerful first-of-its-kind index of health and fitness.&nbsp;In fact, NNOXX is the first and only wearable device to measure muscle oxygenation (SmO2) and active nitric oxide release from red blood cells (PNO) in real-time. In the image below you'll find an exercising muscle oxygenation (SmO2) and personal nitric oxide (PNO), recorded during a bike sprint with the NNOXX wearable device, displayed in NNOXX's High Performance Platform:

<h3>Increasing Active Nitric Oxide Naturally</h3>Regular exercise can increase nitric oxide production, improve performance, and help people stay healthy for longer as they age. Additionally, it's well known that routine exercise can elevate active nitric oxide levels over time. However, the type, intensity, and duration of exercise that best increases active nitric oxide levels varies from person to person.Unfortunately, traditional measurements of active nitric oxide require a blood sample and complex laboratory procedures, and cannot directly predict oxygen delivery to tissues. As a result, scientists have previously been incapable of discovering optimal and individualized exercise protocols to increase an individual's active nitric oxide levels in real-time. That is, until now!NNOXX is changing the game with the first real-time non-invasive measurement of active nitric oxide and other biomarkers of tissue metabolism. NNOXX combines advanced wearable technology with an AI-powered mobile insight dashboard to guide exercisers outputs in real time, allowing for maximally efficient and effective workouts.For the first time, you can use measurements of active nitric oxide as a training tool to monitor your progress and adjust your training program over time. Additionally, with NNOXX training can measure if their clients' bodies are producing enough active nitric oxide to improve blood flow and deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. If active nitric oxide levels are low, the trainer may consider adjustments to their workouts. Until now, these adjustments were elusive at best.Only NNOXX helps trainers track and advise during workouts, to help clients achieve peak performance.

Exploring the Science Behind Active Nitric Oxide

Exploring Active NO

We at NNOXX welcome you to the first step on your next journey to better health, fitness, and performance. Most people understand that oxygen is a critical component of life, but some may not know how important nitric oxide is for delivering oxygen into your muscles, organs, and brain.﻿Nitric oxide is produced naturally by the body and causes blood vessels to relax and dilate, which increases blood flow and oxygen delivery. Additionally, nitric oxide is a reliable indicator of your fitness, performance, and well-being. Thus, increasing nitric oxide levels is of the utmost importance, whether you're a competitive athlete, weekend warrior, or simply interested in healthy aging.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That is why the NNOXX team created the NNOXX wearable. The NNOXX wearable is a first-of-its-kind device that combines state-of-the-art biosensors and AI-powered analytics to measure nitric oxide and guide exercisers to peak fitness and performance. In fact, NNOXX provides the first and only non-invasive nitric oxide (NO) measurement in the blood.&nbsp;&nbsp;

It's well known that routine exercise can improve nitric oxide levels over time. But the type, intensity, and duration of exercise that best increase those levels will vary from person to person. In addition, traditional nitric oxide measurements are invasive, require a blood draw, and cannot predict oxygen delivery to tissues. As a result, scientists have previously been unable to discover optimal methods to increase an individual's nitric oxide levels. NNOXX's wearable and AI coach solved this problem by providing exercisers with personalized workouts so they can boost their own nitric oxide levels naturally.&nbsp;The NNOXX team is excited to share what we've developed with you. Our goal is to transform personalized health and fitness by measuring nitric oxide and providing you with insights to increase it. In doing so, we can empower you to achieve optimal wellness, fitness, and performance. We can't wait to show you what's coming next.&nbsp;

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