Amino acids are nitrogen bearing compounds that form the structural units of protein. There are nine indispensable amino acids that are needed in your diet and cannot be left out. The word indispensable means the body cannot manufacture them in sufficient quantity, or at all. The indispensable amino acid Lysine (C6H14N2O2) is essential for skeletal development in children and for production of hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and collagen.
Lysine has many uses. Collagen: When combining lysine with Vitamin C and arginine (a conditionally indispensable amino acid) the formation of collagen is enhanced, meaning the fibrous protein constituent of bone, cartilage, tendon, and other connective tissue is increased. Collagen is very important to formation of bone and tissue and repair. Herpes and Shingles: Lysine also can help prevent or reduce canker sores (and help speed up recovery with herpes virus outbreaks in general) when combined with vitamin C with bioflavonoids (Any of a group of biologically active substances found in plants and functioning in the maintenance of the walls of small blood vessels in mammals.) It also helps speed healing of shingles lesions. Lysine is essential in the production of carnitine (a nutrient responsible for converting fatty acids into energy and helping to lower cholesterol) Osteoporosis: Helps improve the absorption of calcium and prevents loss of calcium in urine. It also can help prevent as much bone loss associated with osteoporosis.
If there isn’t enough lysine in your diet you can get kidney stones, anemia, loss of appetite, weight loss, irritability, fatigue, hair loss, and blood shot eyes. It is hard though to have a deficiency of lysine. Those at risk are vegetarians who follow a macrobiotic diet (they can eat higher amounts of beans to help this), burn patients (the demand for amino acids is higher), and athletes involved in rigorous activity (they have an increased need for amino acids and therefore generally need more in their diet). Lysine is the most sensitive to heat and effects food processing of all the amino acids. The amount available is greatly reduced when roasted. In foods such as pastries, doughnuts, cereals, or cookies lysine and sugar become linked together during what is known as a “browning reaction”. This browning reaction also known as carmelization makes lysine difficult to absorb because of the way lysine and sugar get linked. A diet high in these “brown” foods or high in simple sugars can create a lysine deficiency.
On the other side, diets with high amounts of lysine have been linked to an increased risk of gallstones and elevated cholesterol. With normal intake generally no side effects occur but in high amounts cramps and diarrhea may occur.
The recommended dietary allowances are: birth to 4 months of age= 103-mg daily, 5 months to 2 years of age= 69-mg daily, 3 to 12 years of age= 44-mg daily, Teenagers and Adults= 12-mg daily. To get these recommended dietary allowance there are many food sources. Cheese, fish, milk, potatoes, yeast, red meat, spinach, common beans, whole wheat bread, and many soy-based products such as tofu, low-fat soybean flour, and soybean protein concentrate. Vegetables generally don’t provide a good source of lysine with the exception of legumes.
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