L-Lysine: How Does It Help Your Body?

L-lysine is important as the muscles need it for growth and turnover.

l-lysine for females

With today’s hectic schedule and voluminous workloads, people are constantly looking for ways to improve their health and physical condition, including their overall wellness. Various food items and health products are now available to help individuals achieve their goal of losing weight and attaining enhanced health.

However, there are some health components that require a second glance especially since they can supposedly help an individual become more healthy and aid in promoting a better quality of life. One such healthy amino acid is L-Lysine which has a number of supposed health benefits. In this article, we will look at the health benefits of L-Lysine and how it can help our body.

 

What is L-Lysine?

As a building block for protein, L-lysine is a very important essential amino acid. It is an essential amino acid which means it needs to be taken from the food items we consume as the body can’t produce L-lysine on its own. L-lysine is important as the muscles need it for growth and turnover. It is also required in the production of carnitine, a critical substance required by the human body at the cellular level. In addition, L-lysine can help move fats from one cell to another to help the body burn the energy required for daily physical activities. While L-lysine is available some food items, L-Lysine supplements can also be taken to get the needed dose of this essential amino acid.

 

Benefits of L-Lysine and How It Helps Your Body

As stated earlier, L-lysine is a very important essential amino acid for the body to be able to function normally. It is used by the body to produced carnitine and help in the body’s production of energy by moving fats. Listed below are some of the health benefits that L-lysine can provide to the human body:

 

1. L-Lysine can help fight and even alleviate the symptoms of cold sores by limiting arginine activity

Infection can have a number of symptoms which include the development of cold sores and blisters. These fever blisters or cold sores usually appear on the corners of the mouth and the lips during an infection. They can be painful and may make individuals conscious of their physical or more specifically facial appearance since cold sores or fever blisters present as blisters filled with fluids that can cause a certain level of discomfort to individuals inflicted with them.

Fever blisters or cold sores are caused by a virus known as herpes simplex type 1 or HSV-1 which can usually be found hiding in an individual’s spine. During infections or times of high-level stress, the virus can override the body’s immune response resulting in the said skin condition. Taking lysine supplements may prevent the development and intensity of cold sore breakouts by limiting the production of arginine, another amino acid used by the herpes simplex type1 virus to reproduce.

Evidence suggests that taking a daily supplement of at least 1,000 milligrams (mg) of lysine can help reduce the number of cold sores experienced by individuals who have been identified as being prone to the said skin condition during instances of lowered immunity or stress. Other research also showed that individuals who were able to maintain lysine levels in the blood amounting to 165 nmol/l had fewer chances of having breakouts of cold sores compared to those individuals who dropped below the aforementioned level.

Other studies also showed that the application of lysine creams mixed with zinc, vitamins and other herbs can help clear cold sores from individuals by at least 40% within three (3) days and by 87% within six (6) days.

 

2. L-Lysine can help minimize anxiety by preventing the response receptors responsible for stress

Studies have shown that L-Lysine supplementation can help reduce feelings of anxiety. Research suggests that l-lysine can prevent the response receptors responsible for feelings stress from activating thereby minimizing feelings of anxiety as well. Laboratory tests on animals showed that giving lysine may minimize the symptoms of loose bowel movement caused by stress. Another experiment showed that giving individuals lysine amounting to around 2.64 grams lessened feelings of anxiety and the production of the stress-related hormone cortisol.

Lysine was also shown to be effective against other psychological and mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that adversely affects an individual’s perception of reality and his or her surroundings resulting in difficulties in relating to the world around him or her. Further research needs to be conducted to confirm this finding but the results are promising in terms of L-Lysine’s effect on patient’s with schizophrenia especially when given alongside other prescribed medications.

 

3. L-Lysine can help improve the absorption and retention of calcium

The body requires calcium to properly function and L-Lysine supplementation can help individuals hold on and absorb calcium better. Studies suggest that lysine can improve the absorption of calcium that happens in and an individual’s gut and also improves the kidney’s ability to hold on to and retain calcium. One study which was conducted on thirty (30) women, fifteen (15) of whom had osteoporosis, indicated that lysine supplementation can help improve the body’s retention of calcium as evidenced by the minimal levels of calcium excreted through urination.

L-Lysine can also help enhance bone health and contribute to heart and cardiovascular health. A study conducted on laboratory animals showed that introducing lysine supplementation can help the body more efficiently transport or move the calcium within it. This means that there is lesser or a minimal chance for the buildup of calcium in blood vessels. Preventing this calcium buildup in blood vessels and arteries is highly important as it can help prevent the development of various heart and cardiovascular diseases.

 

4. L-Lysine can help in the process of wound healing by aiding the body in the creation of collagen

Studies suggest that L-lysine can help enhance the healing of wounds by aiding the body in the creation of collagen. Collagen is responsible for the structure of the body’s skin and bones and the improved creation and development of collagen can increase the healing activities on the wounded or affected area.

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