Welcome to this on-air with Ella minisode, a little bite-sized boost to your day, always quick,

always thought-provoking, and always under 10 minutes. Let's go. And then does nitrous oxide,

does our natural production decline as we age? Do I have that right? That's correct. On average,

if you look at like population-based studies,

we lose about 10 to 12 percent of our nitric oxide production. We lose about 10 percent of that function per decade. So by the time we're 40 or 50, we only have about 50 percent of the nitric oxide we had in the way. But that doesn't have to be the case. We can actually prevent this age-related decline. We know how to recouple the Moss enzyme,

maintain its normal function. But if you look at population-based studies, the trend is very clear.

The older we get, the less we make. Okay, I want to talk specifically about what types of foods help,

but let's not get there yet. I'm going to stay in science class for just another moment.

Let's say I'm your average 44-year-old. I'm not

super athletic. I'm just kind of living my life. What are some ways I might observe a decline in

nitric oxide, whether I'm male or female? Sure. Well, first thing that happens is you're going to

develop some type of sexual dysfunction, and it's both erectile dysfunction in men and women. So if you think about this, when we're stimulated, that tells our sex organs to make

nitric oxide, which dilates the blood vessels, and then increases blood flow, and that's engorging.

It's clitoral engorgingment or it's penile engorging. And that's responsible for normal sexual function.

So if you can't make nitric oxide, then you don't get dilation of the blood vessels of the sex organs and you develop erectile dysfunction. It occurs in both men and women. That's typically the first sign and symptom. In fact, we call that the canary in the coma. Secondly, you get an elevation in blood pressure. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, so it keeps the blood vessels soft and compliant in your blood pressure normal. If you lose the ability to make nitric oxide, your blood vessels don't dilate and you become stiff and you start to develop high blood pressure. The other things is if you, you know, climb up a flight of steps and you become short of breath or your exercise intolerant. You can't do the things you did when you were younger without tiring and chronic fatigue and, you know, just lack of energy.

The other is you start to lose your memory, you know, mild cognitive disorders, forget where you leave your keys.

And all of these are blood flow problems that are secondary to the loss of nitric oxide production.

You know what's so interesting about that, and I'm sure you see this all the time, Nathan, but a lot of

people experience what you're describing and they attribute it to this thing called aging.

It's almost like, that's what's supposed to happen.

And it's not happy news, but it is accepted news.

And what I love about what you're saying is, no, not normal, not necessary, entirely preventable and

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