Protein - General Guidelines

Question 1

Safety in pregnancy / breastfeeding

Answer 1

• The safety of most isolated amino acids has not been evaluated in pregnancy and breastfeeding so should be avoided.

Question 2

Absorption

Answer 2

• Amino acids compete with each other at the cell surface for transportation through the membrane.
• Using just one amino acid (or a small number of amino acids) gives that amino acid an advantage in terms of absorption.
• This may serve therapeutic purpose in the short term, but in the long term it can lead to imbalance!

Question 3

Restoration of functions

Answer 3

Many functions can be restored by providing amino acids:
* To assist neurotransmitter and hormone synthesis.
* The physical and immunologic barriers in the gut can be restored.
* Blood glucose can be stabilised through better gluconeogenesis (e.g. glutamine).
* Utilisation of fatty acids for energy is enhanced by better mitochondrial performance (e.g. carnitine).
* Hepatic and gastrointestinal detoxification reactions are improved when amino acids required for conjugation reactions are available.
* Oxidative damage is reduced when sulphur amino acid supply is adequate to maintain glutathione.

Question 4

Impaired utilisation and free-form supplementation

Answer 4

• A major reason for impaired utilisation of amino acids is dietary lack of micronutrients used in amino acid interconversions like zinc, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 –always try to address the diet first.
• Free-form amino acid formulas can be a useful interim way to supplement-because of their free (non-peptide linked) form, the amino acids are very efficiently absorbed, even in the absence of stomach acid and pancreatic secretions. The idea is that they provide you with the balance of amino acids needed, in a pre-digested form and hence efficiently absorbed. So, these are good in cases where extra protein is needed / absorption is compromised.
• These supplements have little flavour though in most cases mixing with fresh juices or food is sufficient to improve palatability.