L-Lysine - Amino Acid

Name: L-Lysine - Amino Acid

Scientific Name:

Intro: Lysine is an essential amino acid, which means that it is essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the body. For this reason, lysine must be obtained from food. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Lysine is important for proper growth and it plays an essential role in the production of carnitine, a nutrient responsible for converting fatty acids into energy and helping to lower cholesterol. Lysine appears to help the body absorb and conserve calcium and it plays an important role in the formation of collagen, a substance important for bones and connective tissues including skin, tendon, and cartilage.

If there is too little lysine in the diet, kidney stones and other health related problems may develop including fatigue, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite, agitation, bloodshot eyes, slow growth, anemia, and reproductive disorders. It is extremely rare, however, to obtain insufficient amounts of lysine through the diet. Lysine is involved in the browning reaction, or carmelization, in foods such as pastries, doughnuts, cookies and cereals. In this process, lysine and sugar become linked together in a way that makes lysine difficult for the body to absorb. As a result, a diet high in cereals and baked goods, especially those that contain a lot of simple sugars, can result in low lysine intake.

Lysine is also involved in the body’s absorption of calcium, making it crucial for the health of bones and teeth.
Because it is so important for development, children require three to four times more lysine than adults. Infants in the first three to six months require even more.

Nutrient Content:

Benefits:

Ability to treat symptoms of angina when taken together with vitamin C
Can be used to treat mouth and genital lesions caused by herpes simplex virus as well as shingles caused by herpes zoster viruses
May control genital herpes and cold sores by reducing the number of outbreaks, reducing symptoms and speeding healing time
L-lysine may help prevent bone loss associated with osteoporosis

Comments: The Dietary Supplements Information Bureau recommends a daily dosage of approximately 500 mg of Lysine twice a day for optimal results.
Lysine supplements are considered safe and nontoxic at their recommended dosage. There are no reports in the scientific literature to suggest that lysine interacts with any conventional medications

Caution: Individuals with cardiovascular disease and those with elevated cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels should consult a healthcare practitioner before taking lysine supplements.