Get an Idea of What Citrulline Malate Does For Your Body
Even though I’m a firm believer that you should always try to reach your macro and micro goals through proper nutrition alone, it’s hard to deny that supplements make this task less taxing and more convenient. However, with so many supplements available nowadays, it’s hard to separate the ones that don’t work from the ones that do. There’s no denying that protein, creatine, and BCAAs can work wonders, and there’s one awesome less-known supplement that I personally use that seems to be having a genuine effect on my workouts – citrulline malate.
Citrulline malate is a pre workout supplement, which is basically an amino acid first found in watermelon. It’s a non-essential amino acid, meaning the body can naturally produce a small portion of it. However, by taking pre workout citrulline malate or by eating foods that contain it, you’ll notice beneficial effects on your exercise performance and overall health. Citrulline plays an important role in the body, but unlike most amino acids, it doesn’t assist in building proteins. Instead, it plays a crucial role in the urea cycle, which helps rid your body of harmful compounds, such as ammonia. It also plays a role in muscle building by widening your blood vessels, thus allowing for more oxygen and blood to go to your muscles during exercise.
Furthermore, consuming pre workout citrulline malate increases vasodilation, which as aforementioned, increases blood flow and reduces blood pressure. Some of it is converted into arginine, which is another amino acid that’s then converted into nitric oxide – a molecule that relaxes the smooth muscle cells which constrict them. Consuming citrulline malate is actually considered to increase arginine more than consuming arginine, due to the fact that the body processes and absorbs citrulline easier than arginine.
And even though citrulline isn’t directly involved in the creating of proteins inside the body, it’s shown to promote protein synthesis by stimulating important signaling pathways which are involved in the building of muscles. It’s through these dual effects on amino acid breakdown and protein synthesis that citrulline malate is considered to contribute towards increasing and maintaining muscle mass.
It’s important to differ citrulline malate from L-citrulline. L-citrulline supplements contain only citrulline, while citrulline malate supplements contain malate, which is a compound that promotes energy production. Citrulline in its natural form can be found in watermelons, cucumbers, pumpkins, gourds, and bitter melons. You need about 8 grams of citrulline malate per day, and unlike other amino acids, you won’t get an upset stomach if you consume more than the recommended dosage.
