What Free Amino Acids Should I Buy To Use As Main Protein?

[nostalgic]

I'm suffering from an insane tryptophan sensitivity, we're talking 200g rice a day bringing me to serotonin toxicity. Unfortunately I can't tolerate hydrolysed due to the awful headaches it gives me, and currently I'm relying on the small protein intake from the rice and BCAA + homemade bone broth only cooked for 2h (which doesn't bring me a headache). Tyrosine gives me a headache as well.

Should I only focus on free essential amino acids or get some non essential as well?

I'll stay away from tryptophan obviously, as well as histidine (due to histamine sensitivity), and tyrosine. Very thankful for advice.

 

[jitsmonkey]

Based upon what you've said this is your very best option
Shop
I've used them
I know the owners
Totally Legit

There's a thread where Haidut addresses this I forget what its title is
and Impower created their formulation based on that concept MINUS the crap that was in the product discussed in the original thread.
Impower carefully sourced all their AAs and will provide COA on request if its not already posted on the site.
can't recommend more highly

 

[nostalgic]

Based upon what you've said this is your very best option
Shop
I've used them
I know the owners
Totally Legit

There's a thread where Haidut addresses this I forget what its title is
and Impower created their formulation based on that concept MINUS the crap that was in the product discussed in the original thread.
Impower carefully sourced all their AAs and will provide COA on request if its not already posted on the site.
can't recommend more highly

Thanks, but each pill only contains about 0.5g protein, so I'd have to eat a ton of them to cover my daily protein needs. If only it was a powder instead.

 

[jitsmonkey]

Thanks, but each pill only contains about 0.5g protein, so I'd have to eat a ton of them to cover my daily protein needs. If only it was a powder instead.

aminos are not 1:1 ratio to protein
you need far less AA thn raw protein

 

[nostalgic]

aminos are not 1:1 ratio to protein
you need far less AA thn raw protein

Oh, I had no idea, thanks a lot for telling me. If I were to only use the pills you linked to, how many would I need to cover 60g protein/day?

 

[BigYellowLemon]

you'd still need at least 25 pills a day.

 

[jitsmonkey]

Oh, I had no idea, thanks a lot for telling me. If I were to only use the pills you linked to, how many would I need to cover 60g protein/day?

20caps = is the equivalent of 32grams of protein and 55cals

so roughly 40 caps = 64g protein and 110 cals

If you have a serious illness, your gut is in enough distress that its hard to get enough protein in your mouth everyday, your protein metabolism is severely impaired, you want to do a novel experiment on yourself
10 caps spread over 4x each day is super easy and considering you're not buying any other protein sources its cheap as well.
I've done this for short periods in the past to lower ammonia levels and a few other things. The work well and are everything they claim
and no I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on tv nor did I stay in a holiday inn express nor am I an affiliate or paid agent of said company ;-)

 

[nostalgic]

you'd still need at least 25 pills a day.

Wow, that's it? So 12.5g amino acids equals 60g protein?

 

[jitsmonkey]

Wow, that's it? So 12.5g amino acids equals 60g protein?

no that's not correct

 

[BigYellowLemon]

The original MAPS study said 25g of amino acids was sufficient for nitrogen balance. If you used only the capsules, you'd thus need 50 capsules a day. If you mixed it with other protein sources, and got like 50g of protein from food, you could do 25 capsules a day to finish off the rest. It depends on your protein goals though.

 

[jitsmonkey]

The original MAPS study said 25g of amino acids was sufficient for nitrogen balance. If you used only the capsules, you'd thus need 50 capsules a day. If you mixed it with other protein sources, you could do 25 capsules a day.

This product is modified from the MAPS study as there were undesirable aminos in their mixture.
the recommended dose for a full day's aminos/protein from the mfg is what I listed and what I can personally attest to that worked.
I don't know anyone who's successfully used the MAPS mixture as is.

 

[nostalgic]

20caps = is the equivalent of 32grams of protein and 55cals

so roughly 40 caps = 64g protein and 110 cals

If you have a serious illness, your gut is in enough distress that its hard to get enough protein in your mouth everyday, your protein metabolism is severely impaired, you want to do a novel experiment on yourself
10 caps spread over 4x each day is super easy and considering you're not buying any other protein sources its cheap as well.
I've done this for short periods in the past to lower ammonia levels and a few other things. The work well and are everything they claim
and no I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on tv nor did I stay in a holiday inn express nor am I an affiliate or paid agent of said company ;-)

You and the poster above have very different thoughts on the amount needed.

So 40×540mg (21.6g) amino acids = 64g protein? That's about a third, great stuff. Until I receive the pills I'll continue ingesting 10g BCAA/day, can I count that as 30g protein?

 

[jitsmonkey]

Wow, that's it? So 12.5g amino acids equals 60g protein?

also for what its worth 60g of protein daily isn't much unless you are very very tiny and not active

 

[nostalgic]

also for what its worth 60g of protein daily isn't much unless you are very very tiny and not active

I have CFS and lost a ton of weight due to being inactive so it'd be enough for my low weight of only 60g.

 

[jitsmonkey]

You and the poster above have very different thoughts on the amount needed.

So 40×540mg (21.6g) amino acids = 64g protein? That's about a third, great stuff. Until I receive the pills I'll continue ingesting 10g BCAA/day, can I count that as 30g protein?

BigYellowLemon is referencing the original study on this type of supplementation and is correct with the reference from the study
The AA acid mix they used had aminos Ray recommends avoiding
So IMpower modified the formulation accordingly. I'm giving you IMpowers data and recommendations for their product.
Also what I followed when I've used them.

 

[nostalgic]

BigYellowLemon is referencing the original study on this type of supplementation and is correct with the reference from the study
The AA acid mix they used had aminos Ray recommends avoiding
So IMpower modified the formulation accordingly. I'm giving you IMpowers data and recommendations for their product.
Also what I followed when I've used them.

I'd rather be safe than sorry and use 40 pills just to be sure I get adequate protein. Do you know if for example 10g BCAA equals 30g protein as well then? Or does it work differently depending on the setup of amino acids?

 

[jitsmonkey]

I'd rather be safe than sorry and use 40 pills just to be sure I get adequate protein. Do you know if for example 10g BCAA equals 30g protein as well then? Or does it work differently depending on the setup of amino acids?

I don't know how to answer your question
Its obviously not something you've studied thoroughly. You should track down the MAPS information that Haidut posted and read the thread
and I think you'll be able to comfortably answer your own question.
imho the "safe" option is what I posted that is in agreement with the mfg recommendation.
if you want to do something different I can't comment because its not what I have any experience with.
Frankly I don't think there's a "safety" issue either way.
I do think that if you use the IMpower product with the dosage you want to use it won't harm you but
you will be getting less overall protein than your should.

 

[Art Vandelay]

tryptophan sensitivity, we're talking 200g rice a day bringing me to serotonin toxicity

How do you know this? I assume you're eating white rice which according to Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, unenriched Nutrition Facts & Calories contains 166mg of tryptophan per 200g...a rather small amount.

I had a quick look through your post history -- you seem to be fixated on serotonin. Perhaps it isn't the cause of your problems?

 

[nostalgic]

I don't know how to answer your question
Its obviously not something you've studied thoroughly. You should track down the MAPS information that Haidut posted and read the thread
and I think you'll be able to comfortably answer your own question.
imho the "safe" option is what I posted that is in agreement with the mfg recommendation.
if you want to do something different I can't comment because its not what I have any experience with.
Frankly I don't think there's a "safety" issue either way.
I do think that if you use the IMpower product with the dosage you want to use it won't harm you but
you will be getting less overall protein than your should.

I'm probably slow but I don't understand how that could be less protein than I should get. You said that 21.6g amino acids equals 64g protein, shouldn't that be enough? I'm mostly bed ridden or sitting up in a chair and I only weigh about 61kg. Too sick to work atm, but I'm hoping I get to try some meds soon to help me get a bit better at least.

I appreciate you taking your time to answer all of my stupid questions, and I'll go with 40 pills a day as you recommended. I'll read the thread you mentioned as well and hopefully that'll make me a bit wiser.

 

[nostalgic]

How do you know this? I assume you're eating white rice which according to Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, unenriched Nutrition Facts & Calories contains 166mg of tryptophan per 200g...a rather small amount.

I had a quick look through your post history -- you seem to be fixated on serotonin. Perhaps it isn't the cause of your problems?

Well, it all started with serotonin syndrome and both my doctor and relatives have witnessed my extreme sensitivity to tryptophan with severe sweating and muscle twitching when I ingest too much of it. My doctor can't explain why I react the way I do, it's apparently unheard of, but I guess someone's gotta be the first. Tryptophan free foods don't give me those symptoms. Love your name btw :).

e: if I eat less tryptophan than 200mg each day, I can eat more after a few days. When I was very sick with food allergies I didn't eat for almost a week, and after that I could eat normal food for a couple of days before I started to get serotonin toxicity again.