I’m always intrigued when an “old school” treatment gets press and gains popularity.
It’s kind of like high waisted jeans and belly shirts.
You can store them in the back of your closet and wait for them to come back into style…
…that is if your belly behaves.
Back to treatments for fatigue…
I was recently interviewed by Elwin Robinson from Genetic Insights on his podcast Rejuvenate (you can listen in👂 HERE).
He and I talked all about amino acid therapy and how he discovered his deficiencies using genetic testing + nutrient testing (Genova NutrEval).
His chronic fatigue was eliminated by supplementing with amino acids and a few key vitamins.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
When you eat protein your body breaks it down into amino acids for the body to use.
I could spend days telling you about all the uses of the various amino acids in the body but for today I’m going to highlight the ones most helpful for recovery and fatigue.
Elwin’s story of rejuvenation isn’t uncommon – many of my clients have amino acid deficiencies discovered when we do nutrient testing (Genova Metabolomix or NutrEval).
What’s cool is now you can compare your current deficiencies with your genetic predispositions like Elwin.
By the way he offers genetic testing + reports in his membership and you can have his system create more detailed reports based off of genetic testing you’ve had previously.
Because of his experience, Elwin has a robust system to help you hone in on where to focus compared to other DNA testing companies on the market. (If you’re interested you can get 25% off with code “healthfix” for knowing me – I don’t make $ off this I just like his cost effective options).
Elwin and I bonded over the amino acid tyrosine when I interviewed him for my podcast.
Tyrosine is the precursor to dopamine.
Dopamine is the feel good hormone often deficient in folks over 40.
Signs of dopamine deficiency…
- lack of motivation
- depression
- back pain
- constipation
- fatigue
- sadness
- mood swings
- difficulty swallowing
- difficulty thinking
Sounds like a lot of conditions right?
This was one of the major deficiencies my father was experiencing when he battled issues with swallowing, fatigue and balance issues.
How do you dose it?
I recommend on average 1000-1200 mg a day in the form of L-tyrosine.
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Interestingly enough it’s commonly used in hypothyroidism formulas as well as in blends with B Vitamins.
One of my go-to’s is Apex Energetics – Dopatone Active.
How does a dopamine deficiency show up in genetic testing?
The most common is via a mutation in something called COMT – catechol-o-methyltransferase – it’s an enzyme that helps metabolize the neurotransmitters dopamine and epinephrine.
Glitches in the COMT enzyme genetically can lead to chronic depression, fatigue and mood disorders as well.
Instead of using pharmaceuticals to counter mental health issues – often caused by genetic mutations NOT chemical imbalances you could consider using amino aids like tyrosine.
Like tyrosine, tryptophan is a precursor to a neuro-chemical too.
Tryptophan is the precursor to Serotonin.
Elwin isn’t a fan of tryptophan but I find using it’s intermediate form – 5-HTP (5 Hydroxy-Tryptophan) works wonders for some clients to help boost mood and aid with sleep.
Interesting side note tryptophan is metabolized into melatonin – but only when there’s sufficient estradiol.
So…sometimes 5-HTP stops working if estradiol levels drop around perimenopause and menopause.
I tend not to use tryptophan on it’s own much but 5-HTP 50-100 mg is a common recommendation (yes that’s a lower dosage – max is 300 mg – serotonin syndrome can happen above 300 mg and if you pair 5HTP with an SSRI med – gotta be careful).
How does 5-HTP help with fatigue and recovery?
From what I’ve seen it helps most with mood and sleep.
If sleep is an issue – you’re going to struggle to recover from your day.
Speaking of recovery – my favorite recovery amino acid is glycine.
When taken in dosages around 4 grams at night – you may find your best sleep ever.
I often use this with my athletic patients or my folks with chronic muscle cramps, aches and pains.
Glycine has a ton of research on it’s ability to help increase muscle mass, boost serotonin production, improve gut and skin health as well as decrease the size of fat cells (what?!).
Some clients have a high need for glycine based on genetic mutations and the based dose of 4 grams may need to be doubled and spread out through the day.
I recommend testing not guessing so you don’t “break” other pathways in the body by overloading it with excess aminos.
Last but not least my most favorite amino acid of all time for repair and rejuvenation is glutamine.
It’s been used forever for repair of the gut lining, especially when one has leaky gut and diarrhea plus it also supports the kidneys.
How does this relate to chronic fatigue and recovery?
If your gut is healthy – you’ll have more energy and can get the nutrients into the body to recover from life’s stress.
Ever heard of a phenomenon called the “runner’s trots”?
Glutamine has been helpful for many marathoners to prevent accidents while running because of it’s ability to soothe the gut lining that is jostled around a bit when running often.
Dosages of glutamine range from 1 gram to 15 grams a day for the average person.
If you go too high you’ll get constipated for a day so you can figure out your sweet spot on it by ramping up slowly.
It has a sweet flavor so you can add the powder to water easily.
Speaking of powder – glycine and glutamine are sweet in flavor and lovely to take… the rest of the aminos…I’d get capsules as they can be bitter in taste.
Now if you’re going to mix into a smoothie you may be able to hide the flavor.
My go-to for bulk amino acid powder is Bulk Supplements – powders are more cost effective than capsules by far.
To recap – here’s the scoop on the aminos…
- Tyrosine – helps with mood, swallowing, motivation, energy
- Tryptophan (5-HTP form) – mood, sleep, stress recovery
- Glycine – muscle building, gut/skin health and recovery from life/workouts
- Glutamine – gut/kidney health, mood improvement, energy
There are way more aminos than what I’ve noted here.
In the podcast I talk about lysine and I forgot to mention serine too.
Lysine is great for warding off virus effects like herpes and cold sores.
At 3 grams a day it can compete with the effects of acyclovir.
Serine in the form of phosphatidyl serine is amazing for helping support cognition and brain health in general 150-300 mg a day.
While I could geek out for days I’m going to leave you with those to ponder and perhaps a little amino acids could help combat fatigue and any mood issues that pop up over time!
I’m glad amino acids are coming back in style – they are worth a look.
Don’t forget genetic testing with nutrient testing will help you dial in exactly what you need but I won’t turn you away from a little test with the dosages I’ve provided here.
Got questions? Hit reply. Geeking out on aminos is fun!
I’ll have an amino acids expert on the podcast next month so I can dive in deeper as I by no means went into all of them in this email!
Here’s to amino acids coming back in style,
Dr. J
PS: Geek out with me tonight on peptides to age well (peptides are chains of amino acids – by the way) 5:30p PST – RSVP HERE – even if you can’t make it to get the replay – I’ll be giving insider info you won’t get anywhere else
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