Amino Acid - Taurine

As noted in the Amino Acid blog post, Taurine does not have an "L" prefix as it only exists in one form. Furthermore, Taurine's unusual as it's not incorporated into proteins in the body (likewise, L-Ornithine). However, Taurine does play an important role in bile acid metabolism (as it's incorporated into one of the most abundant bile acids - Chenodeoxychloic Acid), where it serves to emulsify dietary lipids in the intestine, promoting digestion.

Taurine's most famous use is within "buzz/ energy" drinks, such as Red Bull (you know - gives you wings). You may find it as an active ingredient within your pet food or baby formula as well. As with most amino acids we've covered, their individual (& grouped) function/s has led to their analysis for different uses and their inclusion within many relating formula's. Although Taurine's inclusion within pet food and baby formula is more apparent (I'll cover this at the foot of the page), there's several reasons to argue it's inclusion within "energy" drinks, subsequently, it's become the norm as an ingredient. The quantitative "energy" (measured in calories) is less within so called "energy" drinks than a typical soft drink. The relating term "energy" (& the reason why I place it within annoying " " upon each mention) is borne from the basis that the ingredients (including Taurine) in these drinks contribute to mental alertness and physical performance, despite actually having less "energy" (again, when measuring calories). Personally, I prefer the term "buzz" drink. Anyway, I'll cover "energy" drinks in greater detail within the supplement section of Gym Professor website.

Before I forget, what else you might see Taurine in as an active ingredient - pet food and baby formula. Firstly, pet food. Working along with Zinc, Taurine is important for eye health and vision. Cat's cannot synthesize the compound and so it's an important dietary requirement. Don't worry, your cat's not about to go blind, as meat and fish are good sources of Taurine. But, if you see it as an added ingredient within a processed cat food formula, this is why. As regards baby formula, premature babies who lack the enzymes needed to convert cystathionine to L-Cysteine may become deficient in taurine. Thus, taurine is a dietary essential nutrient in these individuals and is often added to many baby formulas as a measure of prudence. Also of note, it has been found that high concentrations of Taurine are present in breast milk.

For more information on this and many other subjects, please visit the Gym Professor website.

Amino Acid - L-Serine

L-Serine is required for fat metabolism and tissue growth. L-Serine's relationship with tissue growth means that it's a common inclusion in skin moisturisers. Likewise, as L-Serine's required for fat metabolism, it's an ingredient in some "fat loss" supplements, although, more commonly sold in supplements advertising improved brain function, due to L-Serine helping to form components of Phospholipids in cell membranes and being a constituent of brain proteins. As mentioned many times, the supplement industry (& cosmetic industry come to that) are big business and a "healthy" lifestyle will always outweigh the benefits of individual products, unless of course there's an identified deficiency.

Contraindications: Cerebral allergies, immune suppression.

Food Sources: Dairy, Meat, Peanuts, Soy, Wheat.

To find out more about the following subjects, visit www.GymProfessor.com

Amino Acids
Dietary Protein
Nitrogen Balance
Protein Requirements
Protein Source Comparisons
Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER)
Biological Value (BV)
Net Protein Utilisation (NPU)
Protein Fractions
Protein Supplementation

Key Nutrients - Fat

Fat is our secondary energy source, the first being carbohydrates. Fats are our most concentrated form of energy - we derive 9 food calories (kcals) from a gram of fat, compared to 4 kcals per gram of protein or carbohydrates.

Fat acts as an energy reserve and is stored as fatty tissue (located subcutaneously & surrounding organs). An 'ideal' bodyfat percentage depends on your age and exercise regimen and there are obvious related health implications should you have too much, or too little, fat storage.

Saturated and unsaturated are the two fat classification within our foods. Foods high in saturated fat often recognised as being the 'unhealthy' option.

Visit GymProfessor.com to find out more about the following:

Saturated Fat
Unsaturated Fat
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's)
Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT's)
Trans Fats
Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Amino Acid - L-Histidine

Does the name (Histidine) sound vaguely familiar? The reason, L-Histidine's syntheses into the neurotransmitter Histamine. Histamine is released to fight against allergic reactions and causes our well known allergy symptoms - contraction of smooth muscle (the muscles surrounding the airways constrict causing shortness of breath or worse) and contributing to inflammation (increased blood flow transporting leukocytes - the immune systems mobile defense). Those of you (not me) who may suffer badly with allergic responses will commonly use an antihistamine (inhibiting the actions or release of Histamine) such as Benadryl or Claritin.

Interestingly, amongst its many functions, L-Histidine is required in the manufacture of red and white blood cells.

As mentioned on the Amino Acids page, L-Histidine is regarded as "semi-essential". The reason, L-Histidine can be made by the adult body, but babies and young children may not be able to manufacture enough for their needs.

Food Sources: Meat, Fish, Dairy, Rice, Rye and Wheat.

For more information on the following subjects, visit the Gym Professor website:
Amino Acids
Dietary Protein
Nitrogen Balance
Protein Requirements
Protein Source Comparisons
Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER)
Biological Value (BV)
Net Protein Utilisation (NPU)
Protein Fractions
Protein Supplementation

Amino Acid - L-Tryptophan

Marketed widely as a supplement for improved mood, relaxation, and fat loss. The reason, L-Tryptophan initiates the brain hormone Seratonin, which in turn can help regulate mood, sleep, appetite etcetera. L-Tryptophan also inititiates the production of niacin (vitamin B3).

Contraindications: Asthma, Anxiety, Headaches, Sleeplessness.

Food sources include: Meat, Dairy Products, Soy Protein, Peanuts.

To find out more about amino acids and anything else to do with diet or training, visit: www.GymProfessor.com

Vitamins

Vitamins help to regulate our metabolic processes. Vitamins were named by a Polish biochemist called Kazimierz Funk (that's a cool name!). Vitamins being the abbreviation of vita amines - 'vita' meaning life in Latin and 'amin' as he believed them to be amines (an organic compound that contains a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair), which unfortunately we now know to be untrue (perhaps a better name would've been Funksters). Anyway, as touched upon with minerals, a lack of vitamins through our dietary sources can result in related problems. An extreme example of the effects of a prolonged lack of certain vitamins within our diet, is the disease Scurvy, which is due to a deficiency of vitamin C. Scurvy was a common disease with seafarers of old with limited food sources.

Fat-soluble vitamins - A, D, E & K - are able to be stored in the body, whereas water-soluble vitamins - B & C - are not.

To find out more about the following, follow this blog or visit the Gym Professor website.

Vitamin A (Retinol)
Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
Vitamin D (Calciferol)
Vitamin E (Tocopherol)
Vitamin K
Choline & Inositol
PABA

Amino Acid L-Ornithine

L-Ornithine has similar properties to L-Arginine, and is used (sometimes in combination) for wound healing and "muscle tone". However, unlike most other amino acids (including L-Arginine), L-Ornithine is unusual in that it is not incorporated into proteins. Likewise with L-Arginine, L-Onithine has been used in extremely large dosages by intravenous administration to increase the release of growth hormone.

Contraindications: Schizophrenics.

To find out more about amino acids and proteins, please visit the Gym Professor web site.