Thorne Amino Complex

Evidence

From the sources we read every week for our concierge recommendations.

• Josh Axe

  “Amino Acids: Benefits, Foods, Essential vs. Non-Essential - Dr. Axe”

  Impressively enough, a study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition showed that consuming a supplement with branched-chain amino acids ( BCAAs) while following an eight-week resistance training program led to significant increases in lean body mass and strength gains, plus greater decreases in percent body fat than consuming a whey protein supplement or sports drink. However, other research has turned up mixed results, indicating a need for additional studies in the future. 2. Preserve Muscle Mass As the primary building blocks of muscle tissue, amino acids are absolutely essential to muscle maintenance and muscle growth. Plus, some studies have found that supplementing with essential amino acids can help prevent muscle loss, which is a common side effect that occurs with both aging and weight loss. For instance, a 2010 study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition found that supplementation with essential amino acids helped improve muscle function for older adults on bed rest. Similarly, a study out of South Carolina found that supplementing with essential amino acids was effective at preserving lean body mass while promoting fat loss in athletes. Essential amino acids - Dr. Axe 3. Improve Exercise Performance Whether you’re a casual gym-goer or a competitive athlete, essential amino acids are definitely necessary if you’re looking to bring your workout to the next level. In fact, essential amino acids like leucine, valine and isoleucine are commonly used to help promote muscle recovery, prevent soreness and fight fatigue as part of a healthy, post-workout meal. One large review of eight studies found that supplementation with BCAAs was able to reduce muscle soreness and improve muscle function following intense workouts. Another study conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University found that taking four grams of leucine daily helped enhance strength in men during a 12-week resistance training program. Additionally, a 2020 study published in Clinical Nutrition concluded that 15 grams of essential amino acid supplementation was metabolically safe for healthy older adults with moderate protein intake and did not decrease insulin sensitivity when used in combination with aerobic exercise. 4. Boost Mood Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that plays a key role in regulating mood and maintaining mental health. It’s used by the body to synthesize serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is believed to influence mood. Research indicates that an imbalance in this important neurotransmitter can also contribute to serious problems like depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even epilepsy.

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• Examine.com

  “Research Breakdown on Glutamine - Examine”

  Glutamine is known to be the main energy substrate used by the immune cells called leukocytes and contributes to the proliferation of these cells,[[26]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-26) the reason for glutamine being the fuel substrate for leukocytes is the need for a quicker energy source than glucose (similar to intestinal mucosa and bone marrow).[[26]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-26) Leukocytes cannot synthesize glutamine on their own, and thus are reliant on glutamine provided from other tissues that possess the glutamine synthetase enzyme, or from dietary intake. Leukocyte growth rates are highest at a concentration of approximately 600 umol/L, a concentration well within normal human physiology.[[27]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-27) For this reason glutamine and it's supplemental usage tends to be practically limited to times where synthesis or intake is suppressed or redirected, such as critical illness or prolonged cardiovascular exercise.[[28]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-28) 6. Exercise and Skeletal Muscle 6.1 Muscle Protein Synthesis Glutamine is an amino acid intimately linked in vitro with muscle homeostasis and muscle protein synthesis, in which a surplus causes anabolism and prevents breakdown while a deficit causes catabolism.[[29]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-29)[[30]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-30)[[31]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-31) This correlation has been seen in vivo when glutamine is infused[[30]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-30)[[32]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-32) (some counter evidence[[33]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-33)[[34]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-34)) and appears to be specific for glutamine.[[30]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-30)[[35]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-35) In vitro, glutamine is known to reduce the rates of leucine oxidation and increase the deposition of leucine, which increases the effects of leucine in a skeletal muscle cell.[[14]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-14) When looking at cellular cultures and isolated cells, glutamine appears to dose-dependently increase muscle protein synthesis. When glutamine is increased in the blood via injections, this relationship is still observed Studies using glutamine in otherwise healthy persons and investigating either muscle protein synthesis or lean mass gains have noted a failure with 900 mg/kg lean mass (placbo being 900mg/kg maltodextrin) in youth paired with resistance training.[[36]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-36) The addition of glutamine to creatine[[37]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-37) or extra glutamine (300 mg/kg bodyweight) to a protein and carbohydrate shake[[38]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-38) or amino acid and carbohydrate shake[[38]](https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/research/#ref-38) have also failed to outperform the supplements ingested without glutamine, suggesting no role as a synergistic.

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• Rhonda Patrick

  “Mitochondria — Articles, Videos, & Studies | FoundMyFitness”

  Mitochondria Protein Mitochondria are often called the "powerhouses" of cells, and their proper function is essential for sustaining energy balance and health. In a new study, researchers at the University of Cologne investigated whether the amino acid leucine can directly influence their activity. Using the roundworm C. elegans and cultured human cells, the scientists tested whether adding leucine could stabilize proteins on the outer mitochondrial membrane—the boundary that interacts with the rest of the cell—and how this affects mitochondrial metabolism. In some experiments, leucine was compared with the related branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) isoleucine and valine, or with a broader panel of essential amino acids. Leucine produced rapid, specific changes in mitochondrial function: Within three hours, leucine increased maximal oxygen consumption in worms, indicating enhanced energy production; in human cells, both basal and maximal oxygen consumption rose, whereas other essential amino acids caused only slight respiration increases. In human cells and worms, leucine reduced the tagging of outer-mitochondrial-membrane proteins for degradation, without changing overall protein tagging elsewhere. In worms, the related BCAAs were also tested and did not have this effect on protein degradation. The effect depended on GCN2, a nutrient-sensing enzyme, and likely worked by lowering the amount of mitochondrial-associated SEL-1 in worms and SEL1L in human cells, quality-control proteins that normally team up with another enzyme to tag outer-mitochondrial proteins for removal. Leucine increased levels of several mitochondrial proteins such as TOMM40, which are part of the machinery that imports proteins into mitochondria and link energy production to the cell's overall metabolism. Blocking mitochondrial protein import prevented leucine from boosting energy production, indicating that the increase in protein import is essential for the effect. Together, the findings describe a new pathway that links diet-derived amino acids to mitochondrial maintenance and energy output. Rather than broadly slowing protein recycling and causing a chronic buildup of damaged proteins, leucine seems to temporarily preserve "gateway" proteins, enabling mitochondria to import more enzymes and rapidly raise their energy output. Further experiments revealed that this "leucine pathway" may influence health more broadly. Worms carrying a mutation that disrupts leucine metabolism had fertility problems when this pathway was further disturbed, and human lung cancer cells with higher BCAA levels resisted drugs that block mitochondrial protein import. These results come from short exposures in cultured human cells and worms, so it remains to be shown whether this pathway functions the same way in mammalian tissues at typical dietary leucine levels and what role it plays in health and disease. In Aliquot #114, I discuss supplements and dietary strategies to support mitochondrial function, and in Aliquot #115, I outline a lifestyle guide for mitochondrial optimization.

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