Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which means they make up practically everything in our bodies. While it is common for people to take vitamins, minerals, enzymes, herbs, glandulars, and homeopathic supplements, relatively few take specific amino acids to balance their bodies. Nevertheless, amino acid supplementation can profoundly affect health. Amino acid deficiency can produce a wide range of symptoms, though we probably most often think of them in connection with affecting brain neurotransmitters.
Some amino acids are somewhat familiar, such as tryptophan and lysine, but what in the world do cystine or proline or citrulline or asparagine do exactly? Because I didn’t know the function of a lot of the amino acids, I decided to study the subject more thoroughly and write this update, as well as add a more specific testing procedure at our clinics. Though we don’t know a lot about the function of some of the amino acids, enough information is available to use them profitably.
A word of caution though: I do not recommend taking individual amino acids without some kind of a deficiency test to determine exactly which ones you’re lacking. From the more conventional medicine perspective there are urine and blood tests which do that, albeit very expensively. At Pacific Health Center we do a galvanic skin resistance measurement with the Limbic Stress Assessment (LSA) to determine both likely deficiencies producing stress on the body as well as balancing amino acid remedies. Though amino acid combination supplements and protein powders can be taken safely without individual testing (though we recommend the testing anyway), taking the wrong individual amino acid can create a body chemistry imbalance due to antagonistic relationships one amino may have with another. Test, don’t guess.
AMINO ACIDS & DIGESTION
When I see amino acid deficiency show up on a client’s health screening, I first hypothesize that it is a protein digestion issue. Depending on the amino acid, different enzymes are required for digestion. Since we’re typically better endowed with certain enzymes and less endowed with others, it’s logical that we would be deficient in some amino acids while lacking others. Unfortunately, few digestive enzyme products contain all the enzymes needed for digesting all of the amino acids. I feel the best therapeutic approach is probably a combination of using the right digestive enzymes (sometimes more than one digestive enzyme product may be necessary) as well as specific amino acid supplements.
ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS (EAA)
This Better Health Update will cover the ten amino acids that are considered “essential,” meaning you have to get them from your diet since your body is unable to synthesize adequate amounts. Better Health Update #78 discusses the “non-essential” amino acids — those that, at least theoretically for most people, can be synthesized from the essential amino acids. Remember that “essential” and “non-essential” don’t refer to their nutritional importance, but simply to whether or not they have to come from the dietary intake.
Arginine — This EAA can be synthesized in adulthood, though it is required in the diet during the growth period. Arginine helps us heal, strengthens the immune system, releases insulin, helps produce growth hormone and the neurotransmitter, GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid). The male seminal fluid is 80% arginine, making arginine deficiency a possible cause in low sperm count.
Arginine is competitive with lysine, meaning that too much arginine essentially may create a lysine deficiency. Given lysine is often used for various herpes simplex infection, high arginine foods should be avoided in such instances. High arginine foods include peanuts, nuts, soybeans, wheat, oats, chocolate, garlic, and ginseng.
Other conditions that may be helped by arginine supplementation include weight reduction, muscle building, and liver regeneration. High doses are contraindicated in cases of schizophrenia. It is also contraindicated in cases of liver or kidney disease. Enzymes digesting arginine include trypsin and papain.
Histidine — Like arginine, histidine is considered “essential” during the growth period only, though various conditions may require supplementation during adulthood. Histidine is a precursor to histamine, the chemical released in allergic reactions and with burns. It helps maintain the acid/alkaline balance in the blood and is also found in high amounts in hemoglobin. It may be helpful with particularly rheumatoid arthritis through its chelating and removal effect on copper, iron or other heavy metals. Histidine helps maintain the myelin sheath around the nerves and thus may be useful with MS. It may also help ulcers. Histidine deficiency may result in hearing problems. It should be taken with vitamin C and may be contraindicated with manic depression.
Isoleucine — Like histidine, isoleucine is important for hemoglobin formation, as well as muscle strength and stamina. Though not a lot is known about the therapeutic characteristics of isoleucine, deficiency does appear to correlate with mental and physical illness. Food sources include meat, poultry, eggs, nuts and seeds, garbanzo beans, lentils, rye and dairy products.
Leucine — As is the case with isoleucine, we don’t know a lot about the usage of leucine in the body, though it is reported to stimulate bone and skin healing, and the release of insulin. The right-handed d-form of leucine shows similar actions as d-phenylalanine in regard to preventing breakdown of the natural pain killers in the body — endorphins and enkephalins.
Lysine — Due to its role in collagen formation and the resulting protection against viral and other infections, lysine is the most used amino acid at my clinics. It can also lower triglycerides, help calcium absorption, and produce hormones. It is essential for bone formation in children. As noted earlier, it is competitive suppressed by too much arginine. Foods with the highest lysine:arginine ratio include: meats, fish, poultry, cheese, brewer’s yeast and mung bean sprouts. Lysine also forms the amino acid, carnitine. Enzymes that digest lysine include bromelain, papain, and trypsin.
Methionine — This sulfur-containing amino acid is especially known as an antioxidant and detoxifier particularly of heavy metals like lead. It can also protect against free radical damage and the effects of radiation. Deficiency may produce fatty build-up in the liver. Methionine makes selenium bioavailable, assisting in its absorption and transport. It should be taken with vitamin B-6 to avoid buildup of homocysteine levels in the body, which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Food sources again include fish, poultry, eggs, beef, soybeans, cottage cheese, yogurt, lentils, sesame seeds and pumpkins seeds.
Phenylalanine — A precursor to tyrosine and thyroid hormones, phenylalanine has numerous health properties: anti-depressant, pain reliever, appetite suppressant, collagen support, and helps memory and cognitive abilities. Several neurotransmitters are synthesized from phenylalanine. It is converted into tyrosine, which in turn is converted into dopamine, then norepinephrine and then epinephrine (adrenalin). Phenylalanine has particularly been used with controlling arthritic pain by extending the life of endorphins. Food sources include: fish, poultry, meats, nuts, sesame and pumpkin seeds, soybeans, cottage cheese, lentils, garbanzos, and lima beans. When used for weight control, it is recommended that phenylalanine be taken on an empty stomach at bedtime. Phenylalanine should not be used by people taking MAO inhibitor drugs. Papain and chymotrypsin enzymes digest phenylalanine.
Threonine — Attributes of this amino acid include assisting with collagen formation, antibody production, support of the thymus gland, and detoxification. Threonine helps prevent fatty deposits in the liver and may improve digestion and absorption of nutrients. Emmanuel Cheraskin, MD in Psychodietetics stated that threonine deficiency produced difficult, irritable personalities. Threonine may be converted to glycine.
Tryptophan — Tryptophan, as a precursor to the serotonin neurotransmitter, is well known for helping depression, anxiety, relaxation and sleep. It also may convert to niacin, lower cholesterol, help migraines, and stimulate growth hormone production. Serotonin levels in turn influence whether people choose to eat more or less carbohydrate, thus linking with obesity issues. Tryptophan is best taken away from a protein meal and preferably with a carbohydrate meal for optimum serotonin production. People using MAO inhibitor drugs and women who may become pregnant should not use tryptophan.
Valine — As one of the lesser known essential amino acids, valine’s properties include assisting with muscle function and energy, combating physical stress, and aiding assimilation of other amino acids by the small intestine. Valine may also help emotional stress, nervousness, and insomnia.
AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTATION
Once you actually find out which amino acids you are deficient in, what is the best supplementation method? Theoretically, if you are not deficient in the ten essential amino acids, your body should be able to make all the non-essential ones. In actuality, however, that may not be the case. Genetic differences or particular health issues may make for a greater requirement of a given non-essential amino acid than your body is able to synthesize.
What about timing of taking amino acid supplements? There are different schools of thought on this. While some suggest taking amino acids on an empty stomach, others suggest combining them with food. Unless otherwise noted, it does probably make the most sense to take amino acids at the end of a meal, just as protein foods would be part of a meal. However, they may be better absorbed with a carbohydrate meal rather than a protein-containing meal due to the competition created by the different protein sources.
It may be best to take individual amino acids along with a protein powder or combination amino acid supplement as greater insurance against creating an imbalance.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.