AMINO ACIDS
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. In fact, the daily protein requirement is really the body's need for amino acids. Dietary amino acids are classified as essential and non-essential. Both are used to assemble hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters (chemical messengers), antibodies, and nutrient carriers.

Essential amino acids - such as histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine - cannot be manufactured by the body, so they must be obtained through diet and supplementation.

Non-essential amino acids are equally necessary to help maintain good health, but can be synthesized in the body from essential amino acids. Though classified as "non-essential", the consumption of amino acids such as arginine, ornithine, cysteine, methionine, taurine and tyrosine is beneficial for individuals with certain nutritional concerns.

BCCA (Branched Chain Amino Acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine), serve as building blocks for tissue proteins, play an important role in energy metabolism and are precursors of other amino acids.

L-Carnitine is actually a dipeptide, an amino acid made up of two other essential amino acids: methionine and lysine. L-Carnitine is important for fat metabolism in cells, including heart and muscle cells. It is necessary for transporting long-chain fatty acids into cell mitochondria where the acids are oxidized and burned for energy.

L-Glutamine is a major fuel source for intestinal, immune and brain cells. Glutamine comprises 60% of the body's total amino acid muscle pool and is the highest concentrated amino acid in the blood stream. It is responsible for helping to transport nitrogen to tissues and remove nitrogen from the body. It is also important in regulating amino acid balance.

L-Glutathione is a natural sulphur-containing peptide formed by linking three amino acids:glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine. It acts in antioxidant and detoxification systems and is also involved in helping amino acid transport across cell membranes.

L-Methionine is a sulfur-containing amino acid with antioxidant properties. Methionine is the precursor to cysteine. Methionine is essential to help support growth and development. It is required for protein synthesis and in liver detoxification pathways.

L-Phenylalanine helps produce neurotransmitters, the brain's chemical messengers. It is a precursor to tyrosine which is used to manufacture certain hormones, including adrenalin (epinephrine), noradrenalin (norapinephrine), L-dopa, and dopamine. It is also a precursor to tyrosine.

(DL-Phenylalanine) DLPA is a mixture of the natural form of phenylalanine (the L form) and its mirror image (the D form). DLPA may have the unique ability to block the enzyme (enkephalinase) in the central nervous system that is responsible for breaking down natural, morphine-like hormones called endorphins and enkephalins.