L-Tyrosine Supplement: Benefits, Side Effects, and More
Tyrosine is an essential amino acid that helps to make the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, epinephrine (adrenalin), dopamine, and thyroid hormones (triiodothyronine). It's produced in the body from phenylalanine and can be found naturally in foods such as bananas, avocados, almonds, cottage cheese, and yogurt.
What is L-tyrosine?
L-tyrosine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which are, in turn, the building blocks of your body.
When you get a cold or fever, your body produces more neurotransmitters to help fight off infection. However, if you have a deficient diet or insufficient levels of L-tyrosine in your system, your brain may not be able to produce enough neurotransmitters on its own.
L-tyrosine is an amino acid.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The body can't make these compounds independently, so they must be obtained through diet or supplementation. There are a variety of amino acids, but only 20 are essential to human life. Essential amino acids are those our bodies cannot produce in sufficient quantities, while our bodies can make nonessential ones with adequate nutrition.
L-tyrosine is an essential amino acid that creates neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine.* It's found naturally in foods like fish, meat, dairy, and soybeans (tofu). In supplement form, it may also be produced synthetically because of its importance to cognitive function; however, some studies suggest that natural L-tyrosine supplements might be more effective at boosting mood than synthetic versions due to differences in absorption rates between them.
You may know the other names for tyrosine: 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and 4-(2-aminoethyl)-phenol.
You may know the other names for tyrosine: 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and 4-(2-aminoethyl)-phenol. It's an amino acid found in food and is also produced by your body.
Tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning your body produces it naturally.
The human body uses tyrosine to make important neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine.
Scientists first identified tyrosine in 1846, but it's still not fully understood.
You might have heard of L-tyrosine before, but you may not know what it is or why you should take it.
L-tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid that can be made in the body through phenylalanine hydroxylation (1). Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid found in food and produced naturally by the body.
L-tyrosine serves several roles in the brain and body:
It helps make neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine. These chemicals are essential for regulating moods and attention span. They also play a role in regulating blood pressure and temperature regulation (2).
It acts as an antioxidant to protect against free radical damage (3). Free radicals can cause premature aging or disease if left unchecked by antioxidants like L-tyrosine.
People think of tyrosine as an energizing supplement because it's used to make the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine.
Tyrosine is an amino acid that's important for the production of neurotransmitters, including dopamine and norepinephrine.
People think of tyrosine as an energizing supplement because it's used to make the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that's involved in regulating mood, motivation, learning, and memory. Epinephrine (adrenaline) is a hormone released by your adrenal glands when you experience stress or excitement — it speeds up your heart rate. It gets the blood flowing to muscles so you can quickly run away from something (or someone) scary if necessary. Norepinephrine regulates attention span and focus; low levels of this chemical may contribute to problems with concentration or memory loss, such as age-related decline or Alzheimer's disease.
Tyrosine is considered a nonessential amino acid, meaning your body can make it from phenylalanine, another amino acid.
L-tyrosine is considered a nonessential amino acid, meaning your body can make it from phenylalanine, another amino acid. In fact, most of the tyrosine in your body is made by your liver and kidneys.
What Are Amino Acids?
Amino acids are organic compounds used to build proteins in the body. They're necessary for tissue growth and repair, muscle function, digestion, metabolism, immune function, and more!
You can find tyrosine in both plant and animal proteins.
You can find tyrosine in both plant and animal proteins. Foods high in tyrosine include:
Seafood, including tuna, salmon, sardines, and mackerel
Meat products such as beef, chicken, and lamb
Dairy products like cheese (cheddar), cottage cheese*, egg whites*, nonfat milk*, low-fat milk*, and yogurt (regular)*.
Nuts like almonds**(walnuts*)
Some foods that contain high levels of tyrosine are turkey, chicken, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, bananas, milk, cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese.
Some of the best sources of tyrosine are turkey, chicken, fish, and peanuts. Avocados, bananas, and milk also contain a significant amount of this amino acid.
The amount of tyrosine found in each food varies widely depending on the type of food and how it was prepared or processed. In general, however, one serving (3 oz) of meat provides around 100 mg of L-Tyrosine per serving; most nuts contain around 150mg per 1/4 cup; for cheese, that's about 7 grams for every ounce eaten; for yogurt, it's about 15 grams per 8 oz container, and cottage cheese is approximately 20 grams per 8 ounces serving.
How much do you need? It depends on your age, but here are some guidelines:
For adults 19-50 years old: 350 milligrams daily
For adults 51-70 years old: 300 milligrams daily
Your body makes tyrosine from phenylalanine.
L-Tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid that your body can make from phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, meaning you must get it from the foods you eat or supplements. Phenylalanine has many dietary sources, including meats, fish, and dairy products. Most L-tyrosine in the body comes from the breakdown of other amino acids; for example, when your body metabolizes tyrosine, it becomes DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine).
Your body needs several other nutrients to use tyrosine properly, including Vitamin B6, copper, and folic acid.
L-tyrosine is an amino acid that plays a role in producing neurotransmitters. It's needed for the body to make dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). These are all chemicals that help regulate mood and affect how you feel.
But your body needs several other nutrients to use tyrosine properly, including Vitamin B6, copper, and folic acid.
Vitamin B6 is essential for the body to produce serotonin, which is vital for mood and sleep. Copper is needed to produce dopamine—a chemical that helps control perspectives, memory, and movement, and is involved in various processes throughout your body, such as blood clotting or tissue repair during exercise [source: National Institutes of Health]. Folic acid helps form red blood cells while also playing a role in cell division which means it can prevent birth defects if taken before pregnancy begins [source: Mayo Clinic].
Tyrosine easily crosses the blood-brain barrier allowing for an increase in the neurotransmitters norepinephrine (noradrenaline), epinephrine (adrenalin), dopamine, and thyroid hormones (triiodothyronine).
Tyrosine is an essential amino acid, meaning that your body cannot make it. Tyrosine is used to make neurotransmitters that help regulate your emotions and moods.
Tyrosine easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and can be used by the body to produce L-dopa, a precursor for dopamine and norepinephrine. Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) is one of the neurotransmitters involved in regulating your stress response system and being responsible for learning how to deal with stressors. Dopamine is also involved in motivation, learning new skills and behaviors, and reward responses such as addiction or cravings related to food addiction. All three of these neurotransmitters have been shown to play a role in anxiety disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder/agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobias including avoidant personality disorder (AvPD), social anxiety disorder(SAD) along with other psychiatric conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder among others.
Conclusion
This is a great supplement to use if you suffer from depression or anxiety. It's also good to use when you have low testosterone levels or if you're an athlete who trains hard and needs more energy during workouts. There are many benefits of taking L-tyrosine daily, but some side effects can occur when using this product too much or too often.