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Phenylalanine. |
| (L-Phenylalanine, DL-Phenylalanine, Phenylalanine, or L-Phenylalanine in its natural form, is an essential amino acid of tremendous nutritional importance, although often found low in the blood serum levels of vegetarians. It is a known nutritional precursor or forerunner of the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) which latter substances control or affect heart rate and output, blood pressure, oxygen consumption, blood sugar levels, fat metabolism and other brain functions.Interestingly, "Phenylpropanolamine" (a substance which attempts to mirror some of the activities of phenylalanine) is a synthetic substance used to promote the release of CCK (cholescystokinin) in the stomach, a "satiation" hormone which naturally induces satiety, transmitting its chemical message to the brain, signaling the body that it should stop eating. Phenylalanine is reported to have similar attributes that may nutritionally decrease one's appetite naturally, having the same causes of the synthetic substance above.DL-Phenylalanine is also involved in the release of PEA, phenylethylamine, a neurotransmitter closely related to norepinephrine, and which can sensitize endorphin receptors to endorphins, and aids in the relief of depression and the regulation of mood. PEA, by itself, can increase the manufacturing of norepinephrine in the brain, a natural pick-me-up. Research has shown that most deprressed individuals have low levels of PEA, and that most antidepressant drugs raise PEA levels.The "D-" form of phenylalanine nutritionally inhibits the production of enzymes which defeat the naturally occurring "opiates" of the body, the endorphins and enkephalins, those naturally occurring "pain-relievers" that the body produces when faced with neurochemical messages of discomfort.More specifically, supplementation of the "D-" form of phenylalanine appears to lengthen the biochemical life of these naturally occurring substances by inhibiting enkephalinase, and endorphinases, the enzymes that breaks down our naturally occurring pain relievers, allowing the body to naturally "remove" itself from pain for longer periods of time. Interestingly, the body's natural pain relievers, the endorphins and enkephalins, are known to be some 400 times more powerful than morphine in their concentrated strength.The combined D- and L- forms of phenylalanine, known as DL-Phenylalanine, are used supplementally to simply complement the body's natural ability to relieve discomfort, while also ensuring that enough of the "L-" form has been supplied. Both D- and L- forms are naturally occurring in nature. |