Information on Amino Acid Supplements

Amino acid supplements are one of several performance-enhancing supplements used by athletes to assist in muscle development and strength training. Amino acids are a protein supplement and are believed by some to be useful for athletes who engage in sports that require strength and strong muscle mass. Weightlifters, wrestlers, football players and track-and-field athletes may favor amino acid supplements to assist in building the requisite muscle mass.

What is Amino Acid

• Amino acids are part of a group of 20 organic acids with nitrogen and hydrogen atoms as their core compound. Some describe amino acids as a building block of human life because they are the most prevalent chemical within the body. Amino acids are found in proteins used by the body to maintain skin, muscle, organ and bone health. The role of amino acids in forming collagen, which helps tendons, ligaments and muscles to function, is of special interest to athletes.

Levels of Amino Acid

• Medical professionals and sports professionals have done considerable studies to determine the protein needs of athletes. While there is no conclusive data, Sports Science suggests that most studies have indicated that athletes require between 1.3 and 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass per day in order to maintain the appropriate protein mass during periods of intense resistance, strength and endurance training. Some studies have suggested that as much as 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram per day is recommended. These dosages are approximately 1.5 to two times the normal recommended daily allowance for non-athlete adults.

Why Take Them

• The normal balanced diet consists of approximately 12 to 15 percent protein. Athletes who wish to increase strength typically increase protein levels. Amino acid supplements provide not only a higher quantity of protein, but also a higher quality of protein because the supplements supply only the most useful amino acids for strength building (such as histidine, lysine, arginine, orithine, phenylalanine and methionine). Some supporters of amino acid supplements also claim that ingesting these essential amino acids stimulates the release of insulin, growth hormones and glucocorticoids. However, these claims and their affect on athletic performance are not substantiated.

Do They Work

• World of Sports states that as a general rule, nutrients from food are absorbed better by the body than nutrients from supplements. Thus, amino acid supplements are an inferior source of protein, as compared with standard proteins in foods. In addition, sports science may now suggest that significantly increased amino acid consumption is unnecessary and that only a 5 percent increase in the normal protein intake is necessary to achieve maximum strength training. Finally, World of Sports suggests that excess amino acids, such as additional amino acids from supplements, may not be stored in the body but instead are disposed of as waste, potentially causing stress on the renal system (the kidneys).

Risks

• Like any supplement, amino acid supplements carry risks. The purity of supplements is not overseen or guaranteed by the FDA or any other government body, so the purity of any supplement is not guaranteed. Furthermore, World of Sports suggests that there may be a history within the athletic industry of adding undisclosed substances to amino acids and that as many as 25 percent of amino acid supplements may contain some type of anabolic steroid, which may be dangerous or illegal within the field of professional sports.