Explore the benefits of L-Tyrosine: A non-essential amino acid that can boost mood, improve cognitive performance, and manage stress. Learn how supplements and foods rich in L-tyrosine can support your health.
L-tyrosine is one amino acid (AK protein building block) that supports your body from your muscles to your noggin.
It’s a non-essential amino acid, which means your body can make it on its own, so you don’t need to get it from food.
That said, eating L-tyrosine-rich foods or taking supplements may have additional cognitive and physical benefits—here’s what you need to know.
L-tyrosine is an amino acid that the body produces naturally. Although your body can make enough of the stuff on its own, some studies show that supplementing it can boost your mood and help regulate your stress response.
- dopamine, “feel good” chemical associated with pleasure, motivation and reward
- adrenalineyour “fight or flight” hormone that causes you to act quickly under it stress
- norepinephrinea hormone that helps with attention and alertness
- thyroid hormonesthat regulate metabolism and energy
- melaninthat gives your skin hairand its pigmented eyes
Some believe that supplementing with L-tyrosine increases levels of dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine.
Foods that naturally contain tyrosine include:
L-tyrosine can make you better memory and mental alertness. Because L-tyrosine increases the availability of dopamine in your body, experts think it can boost your cognitive ability. In addition to reward centers, dopamine is associated with working memory processes and a the main role in the aging process of the brain.
In a Review of 2019 From several studies, researchers have found that higher consumption of L-tyrosine is associated with improved cognition. It also improved executive functions such as brain flexibility, convergent thinking and reasoning.
However, researchers have noted that L-tyrosine is most effective when dopamine and norepinephrine levels are low (which means you’re experiencing AF stress).
Some L-tyrosine supplement companies claim that their products are both stimulants and antidepressants, however results are mixed.
L-tyrosine increases dopamine, the feel-good hormone associated with reward processing as well as addiction. In general, is shown is an important regulator of mood, behavior, and brain power—so it makes sense that getting enough of it can benefit your mood, too.
However, research on tyrosine supplementation for depression is super datetherefore it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions RN. (In addition, depression is also a very complex condition that involves more than just dopamine depletion.)
And although there are some people who dub L-Tyrosine the “Natural Adderall” for its beneficial effects on ADHD, there is still no research to support these claims. (Although this *is* true as it seems link between ADHD and changes in dopamine levels.)
Phenylketonuria is a rare genetic disorder in which the body cannot process another essential amino acid, phenylalanine.
Because those with the disease may also be deficient in L-tyrosine, some experts believe that supplementing with it may relieve some symptoms. like seizures or skin rashes.
However, according to A Review of 2021 from several studies, there is not enough evidence to say.
