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Our selection of amino acids
Clicking on each blue link will open
the product's page with its price, information and shopping cart link.
Acetyl L-Carnitine
Acetyl L-Carnitine is an amino acid-like
compound that is related to choline and may assist in the conversion of
choline into acetylcholine.
120 tablets / $59.95
Amino Athlete
Amino Athlete is a balanced blend of 23 amino
acids and an excellent supplement for people who want to maximize the
benefits from exercise and competition.
100 tablets / $55.95
Amino Day
A total of 20 key amino acids are combined in
Amino Day to give you energy for the daytime. They maintain vital body functions
and support a healthy metabolism.
120 Tabletten / $58.95
Amino Mass
This amino acid helps to build muscles and
maximizes your workout. It maintains a healthy metabolism and strengthens your
immune system.
100 Tabletten / $52.95
Amino Night
This nighttime amino acid maintains a healthy sleep while growth hormones
production, fat burning, muscle bulding, and supply of vitamins and
minerals.
120 capsules / $52.95
Amino Strength
Amino Strength is composed of Arginine
Pyroglutamate + L-Ornithine, important factors for muscle metabolism. Amino
Strength is an outstanding complement to Amino Athlete.
100 tablets / $54.95
Arginine
Found abundantly in vegetables, arginine is involved in
creatine formation and the synthesis of creatine.
100 capsules 500 mg / $47.95
100 tablets 1000 mg / $68.95
Glutathione
◄◄◄
Glutathione is a potent antioxidant and works in
the liver to protect the body from harmful substances. Precursor to
glutathione peroxidase...
60 capsules / $59.95
Lysine
Lysine is an essential amino acid that can only
be ingested through food. It is concentrated in the muscles and contributes to
bone growth, the formation of collagen and antibodies, as well as the metabolism
of carbohydrates.
250 tablets / $49.95
100 tablets / $46.95
Phenylalanine
Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that can cross the blood-brain
barrier which means
it can have a direct effect
on brain chemistry.
100 tablets
/ $ 47.95
Super Amino Night
◄◄◄
Super Amino Night contains arginine and
lysine, which provides your body
with important components for muscle development and regeneration
during the night. The powerful amino acid compound also strengthens
your immune system produces growth hormones.
120 capsules / $62.95
Taurine
Taurine
functions in electrically active tissues such as the brain and heart to help
stabilize cell membranes.
120 tablets / $ 51.95
Tyrosine
L-Tyrosine is a free-form amino acid which
rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier. It is a precursor for many
neurotransmitters, including for the protective skin pigment melanin.
100 tablets / $47.95
Following themes
on this page are:
What are Amino Acids?
What is Bioavailability?
Applications to muscle mass
Directed Amino Acids
Amino Acids for Energy
Amino Acids & Fat Loss
Reducing Muscle Catabolism
Factors Affecting Amino Acid Bioavailability
The Amino Acid Guide
What are Amino Acids?
The 23 or
so amino acids are the molecular building blocks of proteins. According to
one accepted classification, 9 are termed indispensable amino acids (IAA,
sometimes called essential), meaning that they must be supplied from some
food or supplement source; the others, which used to be classified simply as
nonessential, are now more correctly termed dispensable amino acids (DAA) or
conditionally indispensable, based on the body's ability to synthesize them
from other amino acids.
You may not
give it much thought when you sink your teeth into a chicken breast (or
lentil stew), but the content and balance of amino acids, particularly the
ratio of IAA to DAA, is what determines the body and health building value
of a protein food or supplement. But that isn't all that matters.
In
addition to being influenced by the carbohydrates, fats and total calories
associated with it, protein quality is related to the amount of the specific
aminos within both the IAA and DAA categories (for example, the amount of
glutamine and branched chain amino acids, or BCAAs - leucine, isoleucine and
valine). While the amount of IAAs are generally of greater importance, the
DAAs are also significant because they're synthesized too slowly to support
maximum growth. Even if a source has a perfect amino acid profile for a
given individual and lifestyle, another important factor - to what extent
these acids are actually delivered to the tissues when needed - must be
considered. That, in turn, raises the issues of digestion, absorption,
actual bioavailability and the potential value of supplementation.
What is Bioavailability?
Eating
quality food is the most common way to get amino acids into the diet,
especially high protein foods like lean meats and nonfat dairy products.
Even some vegetables and legumes can offer high levels of most amino acids.
For serious athletes and those on the run, protein powders and pure free
form amino acids provide a convenient and effective means to supplement
dietary needs.
Why would
people pay relatively large sums of money for only a few grams of pure
cheaply? Because of bioavailability.
Bioavailability gauges the extent to which an administered substance reaches
its site of action or utilization in the body. Bioavailability is thus a
measure of the efficiency of delivery - how much of what is ingested is
actually used for its intended purpose.
Conceivably,
two diets could contain exactly the same amount of particular amino acids (the
same amino acid profile) but have significant differences in their
absorption. A number of factors affect amino acid bioavailability (see
Factors Affecting Amino Acid Bioavailability.
The most
reliable way to deliver specific amino acids is to administer the particular
amino acids themselves. The most bioavailable source for oral use is
powdered free form amino acids.
A singular
(unbonded) amino acids can specifically elevate its level in the general
circulation within 15 minutes, making it readily available for metabolism at
the site where it's needed. Hence, for example, the recommendation to use
BCAAs before, during and after training both to prevent central / mental
fatigue, as well as to provide a source of energy to help prevent muscle
protein catabolism and to speed recuperation.
Applications to muscle mass
Muscle
tissue will grow in the presence of a number of factors, including exercise,
hormones (growth hormone, insulin, testosterone and thyroid) and nutrients.
Nutrition science has advanced to the point where athletes who supplement
with free form amino acids can get IAAs, high in BCAA content,
to the muscles much more effectively.
The key is
the window of opportunity that occurs immediately after exercise, when the
muscle is especially receptive to nutrients and the blood flow to the
exercised muscles remains high. The solution to optimizing recovery and
growth in this case could include eating a small meal composed of protein
with both simple and complex carbohydrates.
This isn't
the current high tech approach, however. For one, if you trained hard,
chances are - even if a convenient and light, nutritious meal was readily
available - you wouldn't feel like eating. More important, a high protein
meal won't put significant levels of amino acids into your bloodstream until
a couple of hours after you eat it, especially if blood flow to the
gastrointestinal tract has been diminished by a hard training session. The
bottom line: Even if you eat the right foods soon after training, the
nutrients will arrive at the muscle too late to take full advantage of the
window of opportunity.
Directed Amino Acids
Supplement
manufacturers recognized the potential value of free-form amino use was
limited by their expense and a relative lack of convincing supportive
research for a number of years, their popularity has recently increased
dramatically. Prepackaged workout and recovery drinks containing hydrolyzed
(predigested) proteins and often some free-form amino acids now fill gym
refrigerators. Capsules and powdered free-form amino acids, although still
somewhat expensive, are likewise being used by increasing numbers of top
amateur and professional athletes.
The value
of free-form amino acids is first and foremost that they don't require
digestion. The term 'free-form' means exactly that: They are free of
chemical bonds to other molecules and so move quickly through the stomach
and into the small intestine, where they're rapidly absorbed into the
bloodstream.
Upon
absorption, amino acids are processed by the liver. When you eat a steak,
for example, only relatively few amino acids escape the metabolic actions of
the liver. Yet the liver can process only so many at one time, and taking a
dose of 3-4 grams of rapidly absorbed amino acids exceeds the liver's
capacity, resulting in the aminos being directed to the tissues that require
them, such as muscle in the case of bodybuilder recovering from training.
Thus, the concept of 'directed amino acids'.
While sound in theory, does it work in practice? As early as 1990, the
Bulgarian national weightlifting team began trials
to determine if free-form amino acids were a boost to muscular growth. The
work was so successful that part of the study was replicated on the Colorado
Springs Olympic Training Center. Since then, top bodybuilders and athletes
around the world today have benefited from this new research.
Amino Acids for Energy
Many
misconceptions exist about the muscle contraction and the use of energy
substrates during heavy during heavy, high-intensity weight training. When
you're engaged in a repetitive power workout, a substantial portion of your
energy comes from noncarbohydrate sources. When muscle contracts, it uses
its stores of adenosine triphosphate (ATP, a substance vital to the energy
processes of all living cells) for the first few seconds. The compound used
to immediately replenish these stores is creatine phosphate (CP). The recent
explosion of creatine supplements in the market attests to its value to hard
training bodybuilders and other strength / power athletes.
CP
is made from three amino acids: arginine, methionine and glycine. To keep CP
and ATP levels high, these amino acids must be elevated in the bloodstream.
Traditionally, these proteins have been supplied by foods in the diet.
Elevating levels of these amino acids or of CP with conventional foods takes
a great deal of time (for digestion) and isn't specific, typically providing
levels of fats and carbohydrates that may or may not be desired. The use of
free-form amino acids, alone and in combination with creatine supplements,
can provide directed source of energy for power and growth.
Amino Acids & Fat Loss
In fat loss,
two major processes must occur: 1) the mobilization and circulation of
stored fats in the body must increase; and 2) fats must be transported and
converted to energy at the powerhouse site of cells, the mitochondria.
Several nutrients can assist in the conversion of fat to energy, including
lipotropic agents such as choline, inositol and
the IAA methionine which, in sufficient quantities, can help improve the
transport and metabolism of fat.
Supplementation with complete IAA mixtures, BCAAs and glutamine can also
help keep calorie and food volume down while providing targeted support
directly to the muscles, liver and immune systems so critical to optimizing
body composition.
Reducing Muscle Catabolism
The human
body has the innate ability to break down muscle tissue for use as an energy
source during heavy exercise. This muscle catabolism can cause muscle
soreness, shrinkage of muscle tissue and may even lead to injury.
This enemy
to bodybuilders is part of a process known as gluconeogenosis, which means
producing or generating glucose from noncarbohydrate sources. The part of
this reaction that of importance to bodybuilders is known as the glucose -
alanine cycle, in which BCAAs are stripped from the muscle tissue and parts
of them are converted to the amino acid alanine, which is transported to the
liver and converted into glucose.
If you
consume supplemental BCAA's. the body does not have to break down muscle
tissue to derive extra energy.
A study conducted recently at the School of Human Biology, University of
Guelph, Onterio, Canada, confirmed that the use of BCAA's (up to 4 grams)
during and after exercise can result in a significant reduction of muscle
breakdown
during exercise.
In
addition to BCAAs, arginine is another amino acid that may benefit
bodybuilders. New data indicates that arginine -
in large but safe and affordable doses - may be able to raise GH levels by
up to 1,000%.
Factors Affecting
Amino Acid Bioavailability
How fat you
eat a protein source and the length of time it takes for the digested amino
acids to be available for use by
the body are determined by a number of factors, which include:
-
Cooking - Amino acids are more or less sensitive to heat. For example,
arginine is extremely stable and will decompose only if exposed to sustained
temperatures about 470 degrees F. Carnitine decomposes at temperatures of
284 F. Cooking, in addition to killing micro-organisms, makes the long
spiral polypeptide chains unwind, causing the amino acid to become more
exposed when it reaches the digestive system.
-
Physical nature of the food, whether solid, liquid, powder or tablet;
whether and to what extent chemically predigested and the type and amounts
of binders, fillers and other nutritive and non-nutritive materials.
-
Status of the digestive system - Genetics, age, overall health and
specific diseases and illnesses.
-
Metabolism or utilization by the intestine before absorption - such
as occurs with glutamine.
-
Metabolism or utilization in the liver before transfer to the general
circulation - For maximal directed effects, amino acids should be taken on
an empty stomach and in a dosage that enables significant quantities to
reach the target tissues.
The Amino Acid Guide
There are
three types of amino acids; the indispensable amino acids, the conditionally
dispensable amino acids, and the dispensable amino acids. Indispensable
amino acids, also called essential amino acids, must be supplied to the body
from food or supplements. Conditionally dispensable amino acids are based on
the body's ability to actually synthesize them from other amino acids.
Dispensable amino acids, also called nonessential amino acids, can be
synthesized by
the body from other amino acids. Here is the amino acid guide and their
benefits.
The Indispensable Amino acids
Histadine
-
One of the major ultraviolet absorbing compounds in the skin
-
Important in the production of red and white blood cells; used in
the treatment of anemia
-
Used in the treatment of allergic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and
digestive ulcers.
Isoleucine
-
A branched chain amino acid readily taken up and used for energy by
muscle tissue.
-
Used to prevent muscle wasting in debilitated individuals
-
Essential in the formation of hemoglobin
Leucine
-
A branched chain amino acid used as a source of energy
-
Helps reduce muscle protein breakdown
-
Modulates uptake of neurotransmitter precursors by the brain as
well as the release of enkephalins, which inhibit the passage of pain
signals into the nervous system.
-
Promotes healing of skin and broken bones.
Lysine
-
Low levels can slow protein synthesis, affecting muscle and
connective tissue
-
Inhibits viruses; used in the treatment of herpes simplex
-
Lysine and Vitamin C together form L-carnitine, a biochemical that
enables muscle tissue to use oxygen more efficiently, delaying fatigue
-
Aids bone growth by helping form collagen, the fibrous protein that makes
up bone, cartilage and other connective tissue.
Methionine
-
Precursor of cystine and creatine
-
May increase antioxidant levels (glutathione) and reduce blood
cholesterol levels.
-
Helps remove toxic wastes from the liver and assists in the regeneration
of liver and kidney tissue
Phenylalanine
-
The major precursor of tyrosine
-
Enhances learning, memory, mood and alertness
-
Used in the treatment of some types of depression
-
Is a major element in the production of collagen
-
Suppresses appetite
Threonine
-
One of the amino detoxifers
-
Helps prevent fatty buildup in the liver
-
Important component of collagen
-
Generally low in vegetarians
Tryptophan
-
Precursor of key neurotransmitter serotonin, which exerts a calming
effect
-
Stimulates the release of growth hormones
-
Free form of this amino acid is unavailable in the U.S.
-
It is only available in natural food sources
Valine
-
A branched chain amino acid
-
Not processed by the liver; rather actively taken up by muscle
-
Influences brain uptake of other neurotransmitter precursors (trptophan,
phenylalanine and tryosine).
Conditionally Dispensable Amino Acids
Arginine
-
Can increase secretion of insulin, glucagon, growth hormones
-
Aids in injury rehabilitation, formation of collagen and immune
system stimulation.
-
Precursor of creatine, gamma amino butric acid (GABA, a
neurotransmitter in the brain)
-
May increase sperm count and T-lymphocyte response
Cysteine
-
Detoxifies harmful chemicals in combination with L-aspartic acid
and L-citruline
-
Helps prevent damage from alcohol and tobacco use
-
Stimulates white blood cell activity
Tyrosine
Dispensable Amino
Acids
Alanine
-
Major component of connective tissue
-
Key intermediate in the glucose alanine cycle, which allows muscles
and other tissues to derive energy from amino acids
-
Helps build up the immune system
Aspartic Acid
-
Helps convert carbohydrates into muscle energy
-
Builds immune system immunoglobulins and antibodies
-
Reduces ammonia levels after exercises
Cystine
-
Contributes to strong connective4e tissue and tissue antioxidant
actions
-
Aids in healing processes, stimulates white blood cell activity and
helps diminish pain from inflammation
-
Essential for the formation of skin and hair
Glutamic Acid
-
A major precursor of glutamine, proline, ornothine, arginine,
glutathione, and GABA
-
A potential source of energy
-
Important in brain metabolism and metabolism of other amino acids.
Glutamine
-
Most abundant amino acid
-
Plays a key role in immune system functions
-
An important source of energy, especially for kidneys and
intestines during caloric restrictions.
-
A brain fuel that is an aid to memory and a stimulant to intelligence and
concentration
Glycine
-
Aids in the manufacture of other amino acids and is a part of the
structure of hemoglobin and cytochromes (enzymes involved in energy
production)
-
Has a calming effect and is sometimes used to treat manic
depressive and aggressive individuals
-
Produces glucagon, which mobilizes glycogen
-
Can inhibit sugar cravings
Ornithine
Proline
-
A major component in the formation of connective tissue and heart
muscle
-
Readily mobilized for muscular energy
-
Major constituent of collagen
Serine
-
Important in cells' energy production
-
Aids memory and nervous system function
-
Helps build up immune system by producing immuno-globulins and antibodies
Taurine
Ref: “Amino Acids &
Bodybuilding” by Barry Finnin,
PhD, and Samuel Peters from Muscle &
Fitness Magazine, April 1996 |
