Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I know a lot of people on these boards display somewhat anti-supplement sentiments, but I thought I had to ask anyways. I'm looking for a better pump while working out, and I'm considering taking a Nitric Oxide supplement...yes I know it's not essential...but I was wondering two things:

1. Are most Nitric Oxide supplements vegan? (here's a sample of whats in NO Explode http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/xplode.html)

2. Do any of you take an NO supplement? If you do, does it live up to its claim of increased blood flow and better pumps?

-PRESKO

At a quick glance, this particular one looks ok (there are things like Coconut, Bark, Leaves, and Stem in parentheses which is a good thing; the only grey area may be the natural flavors which could be animal or plant-based). To be sure, I'd email them. In the past bodybuilding.com have been very helpful when I've enquired the vegan status of product. It's not than uncommon or unusual a request because, as we can see with a forum like this, there are more than a handful of vegans that are into bodybuilding and fitness.

Personally, I have never taken a NO supplement (although I have taken Nitrous Oxide when I was younger and when in the dentist chair); I did take Creatine when I was lifting heavy and bigger and that was good.

Good luck, lettuce know how it go.

I got a few single serving packets of NO-XPLOD free for running a race so i tried it out. According to the directions i took it 1/2 hr or so before lifting. Got a noticeable surge in energy, felt alert and sharp. Was more pumped during the workout as well. overall it was a good feeling. however im not planning on continuing using it. im also cutting out creatine and protein supps and going RAW. today is my 5th day RAW and it feels great. no energy drops in lifts either. my final verdict would be that you dont need all this stuff, its a waste of money and it takes its toll on your body.

Alright, I see this is old, but I too am on the quest for an animal freeand soy free NO product. NO explode has milk, black powder has milk, & Assault has milk too I'd appreciate any advice on this too. For me it's bout the energy more than the pump, but.... Let me know if anyone knows!!

I have started my gym session to reduce some extra pounds from my belly, my coach suggest me to take some nitric oxide supplement but after 2 month,. I was just curious to know if you guys have used it earlier than please share your reviews about it.

read the ingredients listed, where does it list milk products?

I can't find one that DOESN'T contain milk.... Have you found one??

I haven't checked much into Nitric Oxide products, but to ask, does it specifically list milk/lactose/etc. for ingredients, OR, does it say something on the labeling like "May contain traces of dairy"? There's a HUGE difference between the two, unfortunately, sometimes people get mixed up and think that the "May contain" means there's dairy in the item, when it's simply an allergen notice that's a legal butt-cover in case of anyone who may have a reaction from a trace particle that could potentially cross-contaminate. Since most companies can't afford to spend millions of dolllars to set up dedicated allergen-free production facilites (or, allergen-free wings to their existing facilities), most supplement companies will manufacture different items, vegan and non-vegan, on the same equipment, or that they'll have to do it in the same facility. This doesn't mean that the item made on the equipment contains dairy, but like anything else, there's always risk of a trace particle, either airborne or missed during cleaning between production runs, could get into a normally dairy-free product and be life-threatening to someone with severe allergies. You'd get FAR more cross-contamination of non-vegan particles if you eat out at restaurants that serve meat/dairy in other items they prepare on site. In this era of "I don't like what happened to me, I'm going to sue!", companies will list this on ANYTHING made in facilities where common allergens are handled, even if it's nowhere near the area where they're making the dairy-free items, just to be safe. I've spoken with many companies who contract their manufacturing out to others to produce their products, and even if there's dairy being used in making something on the other side of the processing plant, they'll still list "May contain traces of dairy" on the packaging as self-protection from lawsuits. Some companies stupidly shoot themselves in the foot by having terrible wording such as "Contains Milk" even when it should be the "May contain traces of" statement, I've seen that over the years on supplements that were actually vegan, but were worded in ways that made people think otherwise.

Here's one thing to always consider - IF there's actual dairy as an ingredient, by law it MUST be listed in the formulation on ingredients. That's not to say that it will note if something unusual was extracted from dairy, but it isn't that a company could legally put a few drops of pure milk into a product and not list it for ingredients. The exception to this is that companies can be sneaky and use dairy flavor extracts when they state "Natural flavors", as this can contain just about anything, and needs to be verified prior to purchase to be safe. This is why it's important to contact companies directly and ALWAYS ask to speak with a chemist or product specialist, NOT a general customer service agent (as they tend to often be less than helpful and have canned replies to get you off the phone as quickly as possible, doing research for you is not something they look forward to). Sometimes, you might find that something you thought wasn't vegan actually is, just that the terribly ambiguous wording on the packaging made it look like it contained dairy when it was just that dairy is used in other products made under the same roof.

I haven't used NO Explode since I went vegan so I'm unsure of whether or not it is vegan, but I was definitely impressed with it. I got a great pump and felt very energized throughout the workout. I also didn't crash but honestly I generally never crash after a PWO so I'm unsure if anyone else may on NO supplements.

This was a while ago and I don't have the bottle anymore, but I remember with NO Xplode the flavorings for certain flavors are not vegan. It will not list them in the ingredients on bodybuilding.com but on the actual bottle it says there are milk ingredients.

also http://www.bsnonline.net/details/noxplode.html

on their page they list it as having milk ingredients (and this section is separate from their "this product is processed in a facility that... etc")

I take purple wraath right now, which from my understanding is vegan, but I just take it for the BCAAs in it, it was the cheapest at the time of buying it, I don't think the NO stuff does anything but make your skin tingle.

Hi Presko

I am sure some of you here would have heard of Dr Esselstyn and the book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease...Bill Clinton is now a Vegan having taken Dr Esslestyn and Dr Ornish's advice on diet...

...Anyway in summary, there is a natural way to increase the Nitric Oxide in the body and it is based on 'no added oil' in your diet which in turn lets the 'endothelium' lining of your arterties work better and produce nitric oxide that aids artery dilation...

Well, you can do a search on You Tube on Dr Esselstyn see what you think... I pretty much follow this diet...as it has other benefits too...

From my experience I probably spend a good part of 7 year stint using no type products. I can remember when mri's NO2 came out (the first no product) and I ate it up. It's now been years not using an NO product and personally I don't think it does anything better than following a healthy vegan diet. If you need a supplement to get energy and get a pump, you've got other issues that need to be dealt with.

I do not really get a "pump" from taking this supplement: http://www.worldabs.com/products/bulgar ... terrestris, and I alternate it with this one: http://www.worldabs.com/products/number-one-pro-stack, in which it stimulates mostly the pituitary gland, and makes the body produce its own NO to optimal levels.