Essential Amino Acids

• Which Foods Are OK To Consume With Aminos?

  EAA - Protein Support can be taken with any type of food, or on an empty stomach. The only type of food you should be mindful of taking EAA with is a complete protein. This is because EAAs already contain the active components of protein (essential amino acids) and you would not get much-added benefit from taking EAAs if your protein intake for a particular meal is adequate.

• How Is Aminos Different From Whey Protein?

  Essential amino acids are the active components of protein. The reason we eat protein is to supply our body with the amino acids it needs to create its own proteins, repair damaged proteins, and build and repair muscle. When assessing the quality of a particular protein source, it’s helpful to consider three questions: 1) How digestible is the protein? 2) How many total EAAs does it have?, and 3) What are the proportions of those EAAS? Aminos is extremely digestible because it is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, whereas protein from food needs to be broken down and digested much more slowly. Aminos contains 100% EAAs, whereas even high-quality proteins contain only about 45% EAAs. (Most lower quality and plant proteins contain significantly fewer EAAs.) Finally, the proportions of EAAs in Aminos were meticulously calculated using over 20 years of the best clinical research on amino acids. It is for all these reasons that Aminos triggers MPS to an even greater degree (at least 3x more) than whole food proteins. However, Aminos is not meant to replace whole food protein sources altogether, but to supplement the body’s need for EAAs.

• Can I Take Aminos When I’m Not Working Out?

  Yes. EAAs can be taken at any time and are especially important to take when your body’s demand for essential amino acids (EAAs) has increased. This can include periods of fasting or times when you aren’t getting enough EAAs from your diet, such as with a low-protein meal or in between meals.

• Is EAA Hard On The Kidneys?

  There is no evidence to suggest that taking Aminos would have a negative effect on one’s kidneys. In fact, because taking Aminos allows your body to reuse NEAAs (rather than digest new NEAAs from whole food protein sources) urea production by the liver is reduced, thus easing the burden on the kidneys to excrete additional urea and ammonia.

• Is It OK To Take EAAs In Hot Water?

  While it is true that exposure to heat can potentially "denature" a protein, this is often in reference to an "intact" protein wherein multiple chains of amino acids are bonded by peptides to form the final protein. However, this does not necessarily apply to isolated amino acids, as being isolated they are not necessarily bonded together in the same manner as they would be in an actual protein. If this your preferred method of taking iThrive Essential Aminos, we say go ahead, as the amino acids themselves will still be absorbed.

• Will EAA Help With Sleep?

  Aminos doesn’t contain ingredients that should interfere with sleep, but it was formulated to support fitness—specifically energy, muscle, and recovery. EAA contains only 100 mg of tryptophan per serving, an amount unlikely to have an effect on sleep. For sleep support, we recommend iThrive Essentials Sleep Support, which contains a clinically proven dose of Valerian, Hops & black cumin seed extract, along with many others. If your goal is to use Aminos before bed for muscle maintenance while you sleep, it can be used before bedtime, but should not be taken within 3 hours of taking Kion Sleep. This is because Aminos contains a high level of leucine, which has the potential to compete with tryptophan for the same pathways.

• How Do Aminos Give You Energy Without Caffeine?

  Essential amino acids naturally boost energy, without caffeine or other stimulants, in five very important ways: By supporting the development of new mitochondria and the quality of existing mitochondria for improved overall energy production. Similar to fasting, caloric restriction, and exercise, EAAs stimulate the eNOS-PGC-1a-mediated mitochondrial renewal mechanisms. By assuring efficient energy production by supporting mitochondrial biogenesis, dynamics, and clearance of damaged mitochondria by mitophagy. By providing direct sources of energy in the form of fatty acids or ketone bodies. Specific amino acids can be catabolized to acetyl-CoA or acetoacetate and lead to the production of fatty acids or ketone bodies. By preventing muscle fatigue by reducing the amount of muscle breakdown. When we have all 9 EAAs circulating in our bloodstream, there is no need for EAAs to be pulled from our muscle. By reducing mental fatigue based on the central fatigue hypothesis. Three of the EAAs, leucine, isoleucine, and valine, are thought to counteract the increase of 5-HTP in the brain and its subsequent increased production of serotonin. It is also postulated that these three EAAs in particular may increase the amounts of other novel excitatory neurotransmitters.

• Can Kids Take Aminos?

  Essential amino acids, from whole food protein sources or EAA supplements, are necessary for healthy growth and development. Aminos may be an option for supplementing meals low in protein and may be helpful for diets lacking sufficient EAAs for kids above 5 years. However, you should consult a health care practitioner prior to use of the product when supplementing to kids.