Most people are intrigued by the thought processes of the opposite sex. Despite rumors to the contrary, men and women are from the same planet. However, there are many differences between the brains of men and women. I have listed nine of them below. There is bound to be some respectful discourse about this topic, […]
Author Archives: Nathan
Acetyl-L-Carnitine is one of the body’s basic building blocks, an amino acid that is involved in the production of energy, healthy heart and brain function, muscle movement, the metabolism of cells and many other functions. The body is capable of converting Acetyl-L-Carnitine into the closely related L-Carnitine compound, which turns body fat into energy. It’s […]
Feel like your workouts aren’t going so well? Perhaps carnitine supplements may be of use to reach your fitness goals. The compound carnitine is synthesized from amino acids lysine and methionine. Its role is to transport fatty acids from the cytosol to the mitochondria to help break down lipids and fats in order to create […]
Lysine is an amino acid of which vegetarians, and especially vegans, often do not get enough. Lysine is found in abundance within meats and other protein foods, such as beef, turkey, pork, lamb, chicken, as well as fish and eggs. Since vegans and vegetarians do not typically consume animals or their products, how can they […]
Egg protein powder has been on the market for years and although not as popular as whey protein, it should be a consideration for those who wish to get a near perfect protein with all the essential amino acids. Even without the egg yolk to supplement the body with cholesterol and fats, the protein of […]
It is well established that vegetarians and vegans are often deficient in the amino acid lysine, which can lead to diminished health. Lysine typically comes from protein foods like meats (beef, pork, turkey, chicken, etc.), eggs, fish, and even dairy. Making sure you have adequate protein intake is the key to getting enough lysine, but are nuts […]
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. When we eat protein foods our bodies break down the proteins into their respective amino acids, and then builds them back up into new proteins that help build muscle and organs and help run other functions in the body. The amino acids cysteine and methionine are needed […]
1… 2… 3… 4… How many of us have tried counting sheep, or other things that never seem to work, just to get some sleep at night? Sleeplessness can strike a person for a good many reasons, including: worry or fretting, stress or anxiety, racing thoughts, sleep cycles being off kilter, and even due to […]
There are two amino acids that often get mixed up: carnitine and carnosine. What are they and how do they differ? Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Normally, when you eat proteins your body breaks them down into their basic units, called amino acids. Then your body puts them back together in a […]
What are proteins? If you are a kid or just want to learn all about protein in a simple way, then below is a simple explanation of what proteins are and why you need to eat them. Proteins help your body stay strong and builds muscle and other tissues (like organs and immune system) in […]
An interesting study from Europe has found that depletion of the amino acid L-tryptophan affects emotional processing, specifically how we recognize fear. But are women affected more than men? L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which means we must obtain it from our diet, or in supplements. L-tryptophan is found in many animal and plant […]
Two of the healthy aging amino acids are arginine (also called L-arginine) and methionine. Aging causes the breakdown of your body’s cells, and the reduction of regeneration of those cells as we did in our younger days. Cells die and do not renew the way they used to, which we need to produce overall healing […]
Students and teachers come together with terms like “Amino acid abbreviations” – but scientists use these abbreviated forms to refer to the 20+ names of amino acids as well. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and they can be gotten from food. Before we get into the amino acid abbreviations you may want […]
Many people know that you can get all 22 amino acids from protein foods such as meats (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, etc.), fish, and even eggs, but some people do not know how many plant-based amino acids in food there are, let alone which ones for which kinds of foods; we will cover some of them here […]
The two main sulfur-containing amino acids are cysteine and methionine; however, there are other sulfur-containing amino acids as well. Both cysteine and methionine are nonpolar as well as hydrophobic, with methionine being extremely hydrophobic as far as amino acids go. Methionine is also found inside proteins, and cysteine is often found there too. There are […]
Selenium is a nonmetal element on the periodic table (between sulfur and tellurium), while Cysteine is a semi-essential amino acid. But when Selenium performs its biological functions, it does so through selenoproteins. Selenoproteins have selenium in them as the form of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine (also called Sec), which is a cysteine analog. Selenocysteine […]
When it comes to women, amino acids definitely have their place as far as supplements go. Amino acids play a crucial role in women’s health because they are the building blocks of proteins, and affect hair, bone, skin, and even hormones and exercise, plus muscles, tissues and organs. There are some amino acid supplements for […]
Could watermelon juice help you with sore muscles? Could it help improve athletic performance by enabling muscles repair faster? Scientists Tarazona, Alacid, Carrasco, Martinez and Aguayo studied this topic in Murcia, Spain, and came to this conclusion. The key ingredient that does the job is the amino acid L-Citrulline. It has been used as a […]
It is funny how you remember certain smells and tastes and associate them with a particular time and place in your life. I remember about two decades ago visiting some vegetarian friends of a friend in Silver City, New Mexico and eating dinner with them; it was the first time I was introduced to the […]
Our brains use on average only 20% of our total energy. But how do they use it? Studying neurotransmitters like the amino acid GABA can lead to a greater understanding of our brain chemistry. Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid, or GABA, is a non-essential amino acid, which is created in our bodies from glutamic acid. It’s a neurotransmitter in […]