4 Amino Acids to Boost Your Energy

I'm on a kick to increase my energy.  As I discussed a couple of weeks ago, chronic pain and illness has a nasty side effect, fatigue or as I like to call it IUEV.

Last week I focused on three supplements to increase your energy.  This week I'm focusing on amino acids.

Amino acids are the basic building blocks of the body. They are also sources of energy, like fats and carbohydrates.

The importance of amino acids as the precursors of enzymes and neurotransmitters is often underestimated. As such, amino acids regulate almost all of the metabolic processes in the human body, and they are essential for a healthy body.

Supplementing with the right amino acids can boost deficient brain chemicals and make transitioning to a healthy lifestyle more achievable.  In chronic pain and illness terms, it can help lead you back to a more balanced life.


4 Amino Acids to Boost Your Energy





Tyrosine

This amino acid is a precursor of adrenaline, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which are important for maintaining a sense of well-being and energy and also promote a healthy metabolism and nervous system.

Tyrosine also works with iodine to promote thyroid health. Supplemental L-tyrosine is excellent for treating fatigue, low moods, depression, and anxiety.

Dosage begins at 500 mg, one to three times daily. Increase dosage as needed, up to 2,000 mg three times daily.


Ornithine

Your kidneys convert ornithine into arginine. Arginine is a precursor for a compound called nitric oxide, which helps dilate your blood vessels when you require extra blood to your tissues. Arginine also helps your muscle cells produce creatine, a compound they need to contract.

Research suggests that consuming extra ornithine can help promote physical strength and endurance. For example, a study published in the November 2008 issue of "Nutrition Research" found that healthy subjects who took extra ornithine experienced less exercise-induced fatigue than a placebo group.

The authors concluded that ornithine promotes more efficient energy usage by cells, and they recommend it as a nutritional supplement to prevent fatigue.

L-ornithine supplements are generally considered safe, although no minimum effective dose has been established.


Arginine

As discussed above, L-arginine has multiple benefits, including improving immune function, fertility, detoxification and brain power.

Another important aspect of L-arginine is that it stimulates the production of certain hormones, especially beneficial growth hormones and insulin that help usher glucose into cells to be used for growth and energy output. This is one of the reasons it’s believed to enhance physical performance, stamina and strength.

Dosage begins at 500 mg, one time daily. Increase dosage as needed, up to 1,000 mg three times daily.


Carnitine

Carnitine is good for a number of conditions, it is a good energy booster, antioxidant and a mood and cognitive enhancer.

Since younger healthy people have a sufficient amount of carnitine in the body it does not have as great of results as in older people. In older people or people with chronic conditions, carnitine improves body composition. However, it may improve exercise endurance in all ages by increasing muscle carnitine levels.

Initial studies have found that dietary carnitine stimulates the break down of fats into energy, reduces the amount of lactic acid produced during exercise, speeds up recovery from exercise stress, prevents cell damage, and prevents cell death. This may contribute to weight loss.Just as carnitine’s ability to produce energy from fats can help boost your endurance to exercise and lose weight, it can also fight fatigue.

Dosage suggestion 1,000 mg daily.



Glutamine

Glutamic acid, which is derived from glutamine, is essential for ideal brain function.

During times of stress, your body uses up mass amounts of glutamine that can easily be replaced with a supplement of L-glutamine to keep you functioning at your best. Glutamine is also highly effective at fighting sugar and starch cravings. In addition, glutamine is also used to aid muscle recovery when taken before or after exercise.

Suggested dosage is between 500-1,500 mg up to three times daily.