When should I take my amino acid products?
The general recommendation for most of the amino acid products we recommend is to take them away from food, ideally 30-60 minutes prior to a meal. The reason has to do with absorption and utilization of the amino acids.
It is well documented that amino acids compete not only for access into the bloodstream, but also for access into the brain. Taking the supplements away from food improves the gastrointestinal absorption of the specific amino acids in the formula(s), since the amino acids in the supplements do not have to compete with amino acids from foods.
Furthermore, once amino acids get into the bloodstream, they must then compete for transport across the blood brain barrier (BBB) in order to get into the brain. There are special transporters in the BBB that specifically bind to several amino acids in order to shuttle them into the brain where they can be made into their respective neurotransmitters. The trick is, the transporters are not specific to just the amino acids we are trying to increase, such as tryptophan and tyrosine.
The transporters that carrier these amino acids into the brain also carry all large neutral amino acids (LNAA) across the BBB. These include phenylalanine, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, methionine and histadine in addition to tryptophan and tyrosine. Therefore, these amino acids compete with one another for access into the brain. By taking your amino acid supplements away from food, especially protein (because proteins are rich in amino acids), you can substantially reduce the competition between the LNAAs and substantially increase the impact the supplements will have on brain chemistry.
So the ideal time to take most amino acid supplements is away from food. However, it is much more important to take the recommended doses of the amino acid products than to not take them, regardless of whether they be with food or not. If circumstances arise when you cannot comply with the recommended dosing guidelines (such as sensitivity to the product, inconvenient timing, etc.) then the products can be taken with food. The most important thing is to get in all the recommended doses as close to the recommended dosing times throughout the day.
