Practices & Lifestyle
BCAAs: Isoleucine & Valine (and the BCAA Context)
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Muscle Protein Synthesis, Sports Nutrition, Recovery, Leucine Key Takeaways - BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, valine) acutely
Beta-Alanine
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Sports Performance, Carnosine, Muscle Endurance Key Takeaways - Beta-alanine is the rate-limiting substrate
L-Arginine
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Nitric Oxide, Cardiovascular, Blood Pressure, Erectile Function Key Takeaways - Arginine is the primary substrate for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and a key driver of nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilation — but citrulline achieves superior…
L-Glutamine
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Gut Health, Immune Support, Critical Care, Intestinal Permeability Key Takeaways - Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in plasma and the primary oxidative fuel for enterocytes and rapidly dividing immune cells — demand exceeds synthesis…
L-Histidine
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Carnosine, Buffering, Histamine, Anti-inflammatory Key Takeaways - Histidine is a conditionally essential amino acid and the primary amino acid contributor to physiological buffering near neutral pH via its imidazole side chain — the biochemical basis…
L-Ornithine
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Urea Cycle, Sleep, Ammonia Clearance, GH Support Key Takeaways - Ornithine is a non-proteinogenic urea cycle intermediate that facilitates ammonia detoxification; it is conditionally essential during liver stress or high protein catabolism. - Sleep…
L-Phenylalanine & DL-Phenylalanine (DLPA)
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Mood, Analgesia, Catecholamines Key Takeaways - Phenylalanine is the dietary precursor to tyrosine and, downstream, to dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and the skin pigment melanin. - DLPA (the racemic D+L mixture) is used clinically for chronic…
L-Proline
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Collagen, Connective Tissue, Wound Healing, Joint Health Key Takeaways - Proline is the structural amino acid essential to collagen triple-helix stability; without adequate vitamin C, both proline and lysine hydroxylation fail — producing defective…
L-Tryptophan
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Sleep, Mood, Neurotransmitter Precursor Key Takeaways - Tryptophan is the sole dietary precursor to serotonin and melatonin, making it central to mood regulation and sleep architecture. - Most antidepressant evidence is from small, older trials — it is…
L-Tyrosine
Category: Amino Acids Tags: Amino Acids, Cognitive Performance, Catecholamines, Stress Resilience Key Takeaways - Tyrosine is the precursor to dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and thyroid hormones — making it the hub of catecholamine and thyroidal biosynthesis. - Best evidence is for…