JULY 24, 2011 FIVE IMPORTANT AMINO ACIDS

"Spiritual awakening means we have zest for life and accept our imperfections"

Do you have a zest for life? I certainly do. It didn't come naturally. Or maybe it did and I ignored it. Maybe I let 'life' get in the way. Maybe I let my addictions get in the way. The latter seems more probable. I have no perfection. Sure I strived for perfection, but I have to come to realize-- or actually was taught by 12 step elders that there is no such thing as perfection. There is only progress. I am aware and acknowledge my imperfections. But that is not enough. I have come to ACCEPT my imperfections. It makes life easier. I can now breathe since I realize I am not perfect. No one is perfect. Not even YOU!

Do you want to stay young, healthy, virile and beautiful? Well who doesn't. There is this new over the counter (OTC) product....Well actually that is what most OTC products claim when discussing youth, beauty and aging. There are many products that are supposedly reported to stimulate the production of Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Go to any vitamin and/or supplement store and count the number of products that claim to stimulate HGH. There are too many to count. The product may contain multiple amino acids such as arginine, glutamine, isoleucine, leucine, glycine, lysine, ornithine and even valine. There are about five amino acids that have some relevance to healthy aging and sexual expression as well as assistance in maintaining sex hormone levels. I am not going to discuss testosterone and DHEA at this time.

I want to focus on amino acids. There are 20 twenty essential amino acids. I remember their structures from Biochemistry. I used to have a mnemonic for the twenty. I am sure there are new ones for today's pre-med or medical students.

Arginine is a useful amino acid. It acts as a vasodilator thus opening blood vessels. It has been considered the natural 'viagra' (or levitra or cialis) because like these pharmaceuticals, it increases the production of nitric oxide. Arginine is found in greens, beets, carrots, leeks and alfalfa. If you have an old exposure to Herpes I or II, these foods can aggravate outbreaks. Arginine is also found in chocolate and nuts, so both should be contraindicated if you have herpes. Not to digress but use 2,000mg/day of lysine if you have herpes lesions.

Glutamine is an essential amino acid I use often to rebuild and restore the small intestine villi. You can take powdered glutamine in higher than usual doses for IBS (irritable bowel) symptoms. I usually prescribe 5-10 grams/day. You can find glutamine in fruits and vegetables such as paw paw fruit, Brussels sprouts, dandelion greens, and other leafy greens including beet greens. All of these are so healthy. Besides rebuilding and restoring the 'gut', glutamine is essential for insulin balance, maintaining HGH levels, and anemia prevention.

Another amino acid essential for muscle and cartilage as well as sex hormone balance is Glycine.

Glycine is found in fruits, vegetables and herbs. I love all of the following sources of glycine: figs, pomegranate, garlic and raspberries.

As men, our production of semen gets less and less as we age. I have found that the amino acid, Histidine is great for semen production and well as inner membrane lubrication. Not only is histidine great for semen production, but for release at orgasm. There is less semen at orgasm or ejaculation as we age. Not good for your partner. Histidine is highest in raw sunflower seeds. This is a great snack, but make sure you do not have diverticulosis (out pocketing of the large intestine) as these seeds can lead to diverticulitis (inflammation of the large colon pockets). This disease entity can lead to abdominal pain, colon perforation and severe infection requiring hospitalization and antibiotics. In addition to the sunflower seeds, you can also get histidine from all Allium species (onion, garlic and relatives), endive, cucumber, pomegranate, apple, pineapple, beets and celery. It is also present in horseradish (which I do not like).

We all need the amino acid, Isoleucine for the master gland of the body, the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland produces HGH (from the anterior lobe of the pituitary). The anterior lobe also produces prolactin. You can get your natural sources of isoleucine if you are ingesting nuts, coconut, olives and the delicious avocados. You can also get it from paw paw fruit.

So good natural sources of these amino acids are available. You must eat well in order to have a healthy HGH level.

The roles of human growth hormone...

Until tomorrow...