I've been doing a combination of amino acids that Haidut recommended (filtered through Zachariah Salazar's computations) which includes BCAAs, glycine, lysine, phenylalanine, taurine, threonine, as well as beta-alanine. For 2 months I've done great on it without beta-alanine, which I forgot I had purchased. Last night I added 1/8 tsp beta-alanine and have been feeling miserable since: first diarrhea, then sudden onset of mucous in head, then too many dreams, and today fatigue. After researching beta-alanine a bit, I'm curious about:
[1] why it's considered important enough to be part of this rather selective mix of aminos
In my reading, it is reported that beta-alanine is typically high in people with ME-CFS. I looked over my old Serum and Urinary Amino Acid functional medicine tests, and indeed, I was sometimes but not always high. According to the authors of Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine, Richard Lord and J. Bralley:
"Beta alanine can become elevated in plasma due to enzyme deficiency, dietary intake, intestinal microbial overgrowth, or high turnover of muscle tissue....it has been used as an index of carnosine catabolism."
Reading ahead and summarizing: deficient activity of the enzyme beta-alanyl-alpha-ketoglutarate transaminase (often a result of inadequate b-6 activity) led to intermittent seizures and lethargy. .... High beta-alanine associated with beta-aminoaciduria and concomitant loss of taurine due to impairment of renal tubular resorption. It competes with taurine for uptake into cells. High levels are frequently accompanied by increases in 1- and 3-methyl-histidine, carnosine, and anserine. All this makes me wonder:
[2] Why would anyone want to take beta-alanine unless they have overly high taurine?
[1] why it's considered important enough to be part of this rather selective mix of aminos
In my reading, it is reported that beta-alanine is typically high in people with ME-CFS. I looked over my old Serum and Urinary Amino Acid functional medicine tests, and indeed, I was sometimes but not always high. According to the authors of Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine, Richard Lord and J. Bralley:
"Beta alanine can become elevated in plasma due to enzyme deficiency, dietary intake, intestinal microbial overgrowth, or high turnover of muscle tissue....it has been used as an index of carnosine catabolism."
Reading ahead and summarizing: deficient activity of the enzyme beta-alanyl-alpha-ketoglutarate transaminase (often a result of inadequate b-6 activity) led to intermittent seizures and lethargy. .... High beta-alanine associated with beta-aminoaciduria and concomitant loss of taurine due to impairment of renal tubular resorption. It competes with taurine for uptake into cells. High levels are frequently accompanied by increases in 1- and 3-methyl-histidine, carnosine, and anserine. All this makes me wonder:
[2] Why would anyone want to take beta-alanine unless they have overly high taurine?
