L-Alanine is an amino acid that helps the body coverting to glucose into energy, regulating blood sugar, increasing endurance and improving the absorption of other nutrients. L-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid, meaning that the body is capable of generating it. However, studies have shown that alanine supplements can have a variety of benefits for certain people.
L-Alanine is of great benefit in body building, because it protects muscles from being damaged or consumed during vigorous activity. It will improve endurance and muscle strength as well as energy. Moreover, because alanine cycles glucose through the body, enabling the body to use it as an energy source, it can also reduce fat stores. Excess sugar in the system will get used up as energy more efficiently rather than being stored as fat.
Sufficient levels of alanine are necessary to metabolize other nutrients and vitamins, particularly B-vitamins. In fact, this is true of all amino acids, and it is important not to let any of them get out of balance in the system. L-Alanine has another benefit – in clinical studies, it has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of an enlarged prostate caused by benign prostate hyperplasia.
L-Alanine is found in most foods containing protein, particularly animal protein. It is abundant in meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products. It is also found in certain high protein vegetable sources, such as avocado. L-Alanine is also generated in the body; however, a person has to be healthy and well nourished in the first place in order to produce enough alanine. People who are malnourished or have a deficiency of protein are lacking L-Alanine in their diets, and may also not be able to produce it in sufficient quantities.
References 1. Molecular Biology LabFax, Brown, T. A., ed., BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd. (Oxford, UK: 1991), p. 29.
2. The Merck Index, 12th ed., Entry# 205.
