Benefits of L-Tyrosine: Usage, Side Effects
L-tyrosine is an amino acid that is produced in our body naturally. They are found in diets that break down to produce catecholamines like adrenaline and dopamine.
Some people use l-tyrosine to produce thyroid hormones, which is why it is included in supplements for weight loss and pre-workouts.
They are most commonly found in meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, oats, and wheat. They are generally used in protein supplements for a hereditary disorder known as phenylketonuria or PKU. People with PKU cannot process phenylalanine amino acid, which is needed to produce l-tyrosine.
Other health conditions that need tyrosine supplements include depression, ADD (attention deficit disorder), and narcolepsy.
Even people with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease take l-tyrosine in their dietary supplements. Among many other uses of l-tyrosine, you can even apply it externally on the skin to reduce wrinkles caused by aging.
L-tyrosine is used to produce some essential substances like:
- Dopamine
- Adrenaline and Noradrenaline
- Thyroid Hormones
- Melanin
How Does It Work?
Our body uses tyrosine to send chemical messages to the brain in the form of mental alertness.
Things to Consider Before Taking L-Tyrosine
Any health supplement has the capacity to give side effects when not taken in the right dosage. Consult your physician before you take L-tyrosine because some conditions may not produce desirable results.
If you have an overactive thyroid or Graves disease, it will be wise not to include l-tyrosine in your dietary supplement.
There are no confirmed studies as to whether l-tyrosine will affect an unborn baby or not. However, it is strongly advised to pregnant mothers not to take this supplement in any form. Likewise, lactating mothers are also suggested not to use l-tyrosine products.
What are The Benefits of Taking L-Tyrosine?
L-tyrosine is effective for:
Phenylketonuria or PKU: People with PKU cannot synthesize tyrosine from phenylalanine due to deficiency of the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase.
Although l-tyrosine is non-essential in nature, in cases of people with PKU, they are essential amino acids, which is why they need the external supplementation of tyrosine in their daily diet.
A daily dosage of 6 grams of tyrosine in proportion to 100 grams of protein is effective enough to improve the tyrosine level in the body.
L-tyrosine is possibly effective for:
Improvement of mental performance: When you take tyrosine under stressful circumstances, your cognitive performance improves with great height. Most of this improvement happens during military training and cold or noise-induced stress.
Enhancement of memory: Taking tyrosine has the possibility to improve our memory under stressful circumstances like multi-tasking or cold-stress.
Improves alertness: When you have lost sleep the previous night, you need something to keep you awake during the day.
Sometimes coffee doesn’t cut it; this is where tyrosine comes into the picture. L-tyrosine helps you stay awake and alert, and not only that, but it also has possible effectiveness in improving the reasoning power of those who are sleep-deprived.
Helps in weight loss: Tyrosine is known to supply catecholamines and thyroid hormones, which are responsible for energy production and enhancing metabolism. This is an important reason to believe that tyrosine has the ability to support weight loss.
Helps in narcolepsy: People with narcolepsy struggle to stay alert making them feel sleepy the whole day. This is a disorder causing overwhelming drowsiness when you are supposed to be awake.
Besides daytime sleepiness, they also suffer from sleep paralysis and cataplexy. L-tyrosine is known to supply noradrenaline and dopamine that promotes alertness and prevents cataplexy.
How to Take L-Tyrosine
Tyrosine supplements are best taken 30 minutes before any meal that are divided into three doses daily.
When you combine tyrosine with vitamin B6 and B9, your body is able to convert tyrosine compounds to essential brain chemicals.
While adults are advised to take about 150mg per day, children need to consult a doctor before taking tyrosine in any form.
Before you take any herbal supplement, it is wise to consult your primary health provider. The dosage of l-tyrosine you take will also depend on the dose of protein you consume.
The intake of l-tyrosine includes a diet plan that is a part of a complete treatment program. As long as you have tyrosine in your dietary plan, there might be a list of food you have to eat and avoid as well. You will need to follow a diet plan as counseled by your doctor.
Safety Concerns and Side Effects
The good news is that tyrosine is generally a safe amino acid that produces proteins in the human body.
Adults can take tyrosine orally in safe doses of about 150 mg/kg daily as a short-term medication. Some common side effects which aren’t severe include fatigue, heartburn, headache, and nausea.
When you take tyrosine in the form of external application on the skin, there are visibly no side effects.
Pregnant women and lactating mothers are strongly advised not to include l-tyrosine in their dietary plans.
People who frequently suffer from migraines should avoid the intake of l-tyrosine because it may trigger more severe migraine headaches and upset the stomach.
Patients with hyperthyroidism or Graves disease needs to avoid l-tyrosine supplements as it may increase thyroid hormone levels.
Possible Interactions
If you are already under certain medications, the combination of tyrosine with your current medicines might cause harmful health problems.
If your treatment includes the following medications, you need to consult your health provider before you start supplementing on l-tyrosine.
L-Dopa or Levodopa: Tyrosine should not be combined with levodopa, which is often used to treat Parkinson’s disease.
The presence of tyrosine may decrease the amount of levodopa that our body absorbs during the treatment. This will reduce the effectiveness that levodopa is supposed to give to treat the disease.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors or MAOIs: MAOIs are used to treat people with depression. Tyrosine may increase the blood pressure in those people who are undergoing treatment involving this medication. This drastic increase in blood pressure can lead to stroke or heart attack.
MAOIs is a class of medication that includes Marplan (Isocarboxazid), Nardil (Phenelzine), Parnate (Tranylcypromine), and Selegiline.
Thyroid hormones: As our body naturally produces thyroid hormones, tyrosine intake might further raise its production.
When you combine the intake of l-tyrosine with thyroid hormones, it will lead to excessive production of thyroid hormones.
This means you will experience acceleration in your metabolism, causing uncontrolled weight loss and heart palpitations as well.
