Pre-Workout Supplements

Originally Posted by AlexRogers

What's NTG paste?

As Vap said, it's nitroglycerin (or nitroglycerine) paste. It is used to treat angina, very high blood pressure, etc. NTG is a vasodilator by direct nitric oxide release, and preferentially in venous vascular beds. You get a headache from it because of the cerebral vasodilation it causes. Nitroprusside (NTP) is even stronger than NTG, but it is given only IV and can have some toxicity issues. NTG is also available in sublingual tablets for use if a patient is having angina.

One "rite of passage" in medical school/residency is the "NTG game." NTG ointment comes in a tube that looks like toothpaste, and also included in the box are these small pads of coated paper with a ruler printed on them. You measure out how much paste you want in inches onto the paper, then slap the paper with the dose of ointment onto the patient's chest or arm and rub it in. Anyway, the game involves a bunch of people taking 1" of NTG paste and putting it on themselves, waiting a few minutes, and then putting another 1" of NTG paste on, and another, and another... and the last person standing (literally) wins.

In any event, when guys talk about "powerful" nitric oxide releasers in terms of supplements, they have absolutely no idea what a real one does.

- Dan