On The Less Stressed Podcast, Dr. Nathan Bryan joins the show to explain why nitric oxide is one of the most important molecules for human health. He shares how his research career led him into nitric oxide science after its discovery in the 1980s and the Nobel Prize that followed in 1998. He explains that nitric oxide is a short-lived gas made in the body, but it controls major functions like blood vessel relaxation, circulation, oxygen delivery, immune defense, energy production, and tissue repair. When nitric oxide declines, risk rises for high blood pressure, insulin resistance, diabetes, fatigue, neuropathy, memory issues, and sexual dysfunction.
Dr. Bryan outlines the two nitric oxide pathways. The first pathway depends on the NOS enzyme converting L-arginine into nitric oxide. This reaction needs several cofactors, and it becomes weaker with age, inflammation, stress, and nutrient gaps. The second pathway comes from dietary nitrate found in leafy greens. That nitrate must be converted by healthy oral bacteria and finished in the gut with adequate stomach acid. He emphasizes that modern habits often block this pathway. Mouthwash and fluoride toothpaste damage oral bacteria, and PPIs reduce stomach acid. Together, these can shut down nitric oxide production and raise cardiovascular and cognitive risks.
The episode also explains why most nitric oxide supplements fail. Many products rely on arginine, citrulline, or beet powders. Dr. Bryan says these are only precursors, and nitric oxide-deficient people often can’t convert them. Many beet powders also lack usable nitrate because of farming variability and processing heat. His own lozenge technology is different because it generates nitric oxide gas directly in the mouth, works regardless of oral microbiome status, and helps restore the body’s natural nitric oxide system.
Dr. Bryan connects nitric oxide to athletic performance and altitude adaptation. Healthy people increase nitric oxide at altitude to improve oxygen delivery. People who are nitric oxide deficient often cannot adapt well, which explains altitude sickness risk in metabolically unhealthy individuals.
He closes with simple nitric oxide basics: stop what blocks it and start what supports it. His top actions include stopping mouthwash, avoiding fluoride when possible, limiting long-term PPIs, reducing sugar intake, exercising regularly (even short HIIT), getting sunlight or infrared exposure, and eating nitrate-rich vegetables like arugula, spinach, kale, and other leafy greens. He also explains why he is pursuing FDA drugs: to make nitric oxide therapy mainstream, medically understood, and widely prescribed without typical drug side effects.