Crushed NO. Was Ray Peat wrong here?
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I have been doing tons of research on the MC receptors including MC4R and it appears as though they trigger production of NO. Of course, NO production is not their only function, as MC1R is the trigger for melanin production, the main purpose of peptides like melanotan II. However, it's due to agonism of these receptors that melanotan II also triggers effects downstream of increased of NO production similarly to how sildenafil and tadalafil do. There are lots of reports of MT2 users getting massive libido increases, likely due to an increase of this NO, albeit in specific locations and not systemically.
This brings us to the crux of the NO issue at hand. Ray Peat was anything but a fan of NO because it's a marker of stress and harbinger of oxidative destruction. The common Peaty supplements like progesterone and niacinamide are great at suppressing NO. However, I would like to posit that it's possible that it's possible to crush NO too low similarly to how crushing estrogen too low causes problems despite being a hormonal toxin.
As someone who is scorched earth Peating due to a chronic metabolic disorder (diagnosis unknown, but basically cured now) I'm wondering if my NO levels could be too low meanwhile CO2 can't keep up to fill in the same roles. For example, I'm not sure if my blood vessels open up as much as they should when I'm training judo. Erections don't happen unless I'm actively participating, and this includes at night (zero morning wood since starting scorched earth Peating), although this could be from suppressed estrogen. These factors suggest that maybe I'm suppressing NO. What makes it harder is how Peat bit the dust years ago so we can't ask him questions any longer.
So, the question for you is, is it actually possible to have "crushed NO" and how can you fix it without removing the otherwise beneficial suppressors? I've used l-citrulline in the past and have already ordered melanotan II as an experiment so it's definitely possible to boost it, but the question is whether you should.
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@engineer There is no such thing as "crushed NO." You have NO types, as the inducible form causes inflammation and is a hallmark of disease, it is the one Peat was addressing. eNOS will sort itself out properly when in good health status. Nobody makes these distinctions in the "guru health sphere." They just push NO products which will feed into iNos when already in an inflamed or diseased state. Progesterone and B3 inhibit iNos.
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@bio3nergetic I didn't know this. So it turns out that MT2 targets eNOS and nNOS specifically due to MCR agonism, and l-citrulline is a broad spectrum booster like would be push by health gurus. If this is indeed the case then it would make the NO risks of MT2 moot.
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@engineer Yes citrulline and arginine are the popular ones and are indiscriminate when there is inflammation and iNos present. As Peat advised, not wise to mess around with. MT2 indeed is not related to the inflammatory NO pathways which is good. But always good to be cautious still.
