Are you stressed out? Or want to stay calm, and more sharp mentally, especially in challenging situations?  Then Tyrosine may help you.

This nootropic supplement is also called L-Tyrosine, and is used to enhance mood, stress, and brain responses. Tyrosine is a producer of three vital neurotransmitters: adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine. In stressful conditions, the stores of neurotransmitters in the brain deplete — tyrosine aids in replenishing them, keeping people relaxed and mentally sharp, for long periods of time.

There is a lot of evidence that shows Tyrosine is great for alleviating mood and depression symptoms. Although Tyrosine is a common nutrient found in many foods, you can benefit from its stress-relieving, and brain-boosting qualities, by adding a purified Tyrosine supplement to your diet. As it is a nootropic supplement, it has plenty of benefits for cognitive functions, particularly when it comes to improving creativity, memory, and motivation.

Here is all the information you need to know about Tyrosine, including its structure, benefits, Tyrosine rich foods, and side-effects.

What is Tyrosine?

Tyrosine is an amino acid that naturally occurs in the body. Amino acids are protein’s building blocks and are found in a wide variety of foods, especially in eggs, meat, oats, nuts, and dairy products.

Tyrosine is commonly labeled as L. Tyrosine, which is an optically active type of Tyrosine with L. configuration. It plays the role of fundamental metabolite and micronutrient.

Tyrosine is often used as an alternative medicine to aid in enhancing memory, alertness, and performance. Tyrosine also helps treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to many pieces of research. The amino acid may help reinforce the treatment of several other medical conditions, which include; narcolepsy, weight loss, Parkinson’s disease, cocaine addiction, schizophrenia, and premenstrual syndrome.

It is worth noting that L. Tyrosine is stimulatory and may, theoretically, interact with other supplements and pharmaceuticals. That is why consulting your medical professional is mandatory before you start using Tyrosine supplements.

What Does Tyrosine Do?

As mentioned earlier, Tyrosine contains some potential benefits for stress recovery, mood, and the brain. When you take an adequate quantity of L. Tyrosine, either through food, or supplements, it makes a huge difference in brain functions. It is because this type of amino acid is a precursor to three important neurotransmitters that help improve the production of:

• Dopamine- for motivation and mood
• Adrenaline- for improved drive and focus
• Norepinephrine- for better blood flow and muscle recovery

Many behavioral and cognitive studies on Tyrosine elucidate when the supplementation can be useful for performance. Although the potential of Tyrosine supplementation for clinical disorders needs more studies and researchers, its benefits are often determined by the extent of neurotransmitter synthesis and functions.

When a person is under any mental or physical stress, the speed of his/her neurotransmitter automatically declines. This is when the body needs plenty of L. Tyrosine in the bloodstream to replenish them before they are completely depleted. Administrating a sufficient amount of Tyrosine can help balance neurotransmitters without getting the person burned out. That is why Tyrosine is known for enhancing cognitive performance in short-term demanding, and stressful situations.

Simply put, Tyrosine assists and supports neurotransmitters in your brain.  That is what makes it particularly significant for individuals experiencing tiredness, age effects, and stress, as tyrosine availability in these people is depleted.  A lot of people obtain this amino acid to suppress appetite.

Tyrosine is considered essential for producing important hormones such as thyroxin. The hormone plays a vital role in speeding up metabolism, regulating skin health, human growth, and mental health. Besides this, Tyrosine can help reduce fat content in the body that stimulates the production of skin and hair pigment. Some studies mentioned that Tyrosine could positively influence the thyroid and adrenal gland.

Chemical Structure of Tyrosine

A levorotatory isomer of aromatic amino acid, tyrosine chemical composition, is very simple. L. Tyrosine is the natural form of Tyrosine, which is synthesized from L. phenylalanine. Although scientists consider L. Tyrosine a non-essential amino-acid, patients experiencing phenylketonuria disorder may lack phenylalanine hydroxylase. Their blood does not convert phenylalanine into L. Tyrosine. That means the conversion of phenylalanine to Tyrosine is important to start the healthy amino acid production in the body. Both Tyrosine and phenylalanine serve as a vital precursor for catecholamine, melanin, and thyroxine synthesis.

Benefits of L-Tyrosine

As Tyrosine is one of the major building blocks of major chemicals of the brain, it can benefit people in many ways. Look at some of the key benefits of this amino acid to make sure you get plenty of it.

Alleviates Stress and Retains Focus

A major reason why doctors ask you to avoid stress is that it can deplete norepinephrine stores of your brain.  When norepinephrine declines in number, it affects your cognition, including focus and memory. This is when your brain requires tyrosine norepinephrine to keep up the normal functions. Tyrosine, in this regard, helps your cognitive processes keep running and supports the brain to perform at its best during nerve-racking situations.

In addition to keeping brain active, Tyrosine improves focus on the tasks and challenges that require mental endurance.  Because of this function, Tyrosine is considered a nootropic. It strengthens your brain’s ability to tackle taxing and demanding challenges, without causing any strain.

In other words, proper tyrosine supplementation is a great way to ease stress if you are under pressure, or overwhelmed. It helps you become resilient to tension, trauma, or stress.

Eases Depression and Improves Mood

Dopamine is one of the most important hormones for alleviating stress. Both Tyrosine and dopamine help brain control motivation and pleasure impulses. Tyrosine, when taken in sufficient quantity, turns into the “feel good” hormone dopamine. Taking adequate Tyrosine dosage to increase dopamine can influence other pleasure hormones such as serotonin. When combined with dopamine, serotonin regulates mood and reduces stress.

Moreover, if you are suffering from symptoms associated with depressive disorder, and feeling blue, Tyrosine can help you overcome the symptoms. Recent studies have shown that the collective function of tyrosine hydroxylase dopamine can improve mood in depressed people. The studies on depressive disorders support the mood-lifting benefits of Tyrosine. Medical professionals recommend Tyrosine to reduce stress-induced depression symptoms in individuals struggling with severe and chronic stressors.

However, it is worth noting that depression is a complicated mental disorder. It depends on various factors, so Tyrosine might not help reduce all types of depression.

With that being said, Tyrosine does not cause any notable side-effects. That means lifting your mood with tyrosine supplementation is worth a try.

Improved Brain Function

The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition published a study in 2010 that showed how tyrosine supplementation significantly improved alertness, and focus of athletes, after some exhaustive exercises.

The study was conducted on nineteen athletes who were given a placebo, and tyrosine supplements, for four weeks. The results of the study were positive, and highlighted the benefits of Tyrosine for improving brain activity.

In addition to that, another study published in the Journal of Physiology & Behavior suggested that supplementing Tyrosine can help people prevent the detrimental effects of cold exposure on their memory, and cognitive performance.

Phenylketonuria

A 2013 report, published by the Cochran Database, included a meta-analysis of clinical trials on tyrosine supplementation in individuals suffering from Phenylketonuria.

Looking at the report’s data of six clinical trials of 56 patients having Phenylketonuria, scientists found that the tyrosine level was higher in the blood of participants who received tyrosine supplements, as compared to those who were given the placebo.  Besides this, reports suggested that Phenylketonuria patients have improved amino acid metabolism, that could keep symptoms of behavioral problems and seizures at bay.

Exercise Performance

So far, researches examining the effects of Tyrosine on physical performance have given mixed results.

A 2011 study published by the European Journal of Applied Physiology conducted several tests on eight healthy volunteers who consumed a Tyrosine rich drink. The results of the study showed increased endurance in volunteers during exercise.

Another study conducted in 2016 found that high supplementation of Tyrosine increases stamina needed for exercise performance, and improved energy levels.

Excessive Sleepiness

Some early research suggests that tyrosine consumption, by mouth, may help reduce some narcolepsy symptoms, including fatigue and tiredness.

L-Tyrosine for Weight Loss

Taking Tyrosine with caffeine, calcium, green, and cayenne for 8 to 9 weeks may help reduce fat mass in obese people. However, the overdose of this combination may not improve heart rate, blood pressure, and fat excretion through feces.

L-Tyrosine Negative Effects

Tyrosine does not have any severe side effects, if you take a recommended dosage.  However, first time users of Tyrosine may experience mild side effects such as:

• Headache
• Nausea
• Joint pain
• Fatigue and tiredness

If you have medical conditions, some rare allergies may occur, that include face swelling, tingling, throat infection, hives, breathing problems, and lip swelling. That is why doctors do not prescribe Tyrosine to people experiencing grave diseases or hyperthyroidism symptoms. It is because the human body uses L. tyrosine for making thyroxine, which is a thyroid hormone.

Tyrosine Interactions

Tyrosine can interact with these medications.  That makes speaking to a medical professional extremely important, before supplementing the dosage.

• MAOI inhibitors are depression medications including  rasagiline (Azilect),), isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Zelapar, and tranylcypromine (Parnate
• Levodopa is a drug taken for Parkinson’s disorder
• Thyroid replacements that include Synthroid, Levothroid, or any other thyroid hormones

When to Take L-Tyrosine

Tyrosine supplementation does not have a recommended daily dosage. In research, the given dosages have been studied:

• Phenylketonuria: 4 to 6g a day in medical food, or normal food, or 6 to 7.6 g, is beneficial during pregnancy or lactation period. However, take tyrosine dosages under doctor’s supervision.
• Alertness: Take 150 mg and split it into two doses, according to your body weight.
• Memory: 150 to 300 mg taken before any memory task.
• Mental Performance: 100 to 300 mg to be taken before any mental task.

Tyrosine Rich Foods

Although your body normally makes Tyrosine from the essential amino acid, the following foods are the best natural sources of Tyrosine, and can help you proportionate a balanced quantity of amino acids required by the body.

Soy Foods and Soybeans

Soybeans are some of the best foods high in Tyrosine. Organic soybean, particularly soy milk, soy protein, and various other soy derivatives, are rich in Tyrosine. These foods contain 1900 to 2000 mg of naturally occurring Tyrosine. Soy comes with low cholesterol and sodium, making it an excellent source of phosphorus, manganese, copper, folate, and potassium.

Eggs

Another way to take Tyrosine in food is to increase your consumption of eggs. White eggs, particularly, are the natural sources of Tyrosine. It contains 1904mg tyrosine per serving.

Salmon

With 1774 milligrams of Tyrosine per serving, this all-time favorite seafood is among some of the tyrosine-rich foods.

Tyrosine Deficiency

Tyrosine deficiency refers to the insufficiency of tyrosine hydroxylase in the body. In the medical domain, it is considered a disorder that mainly affects the movement of a person with numerous other symptoms. Dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD) is a mild type of this disorder that generally appears during childhood. DRD patients may exhibit symptoms like abnormal limb positioning and poor coordination while walking and running.  In severe cases, people with tyrosine deficiency suffer from some additional movement issues, such as postural tremor and involuntary rolling movement of eyeballs.

Taking tyrosine-rich foods, or the best tyrosine supplements, is of paramount importance to prevent tyrosine deficiency.

Bottom Line

In a nutshell, Tyrosine plays a key role in initiating the functions of neurotransmitters. The amino-acid plays an important role in increasing the levels of plasma neurotransmitters, particularly noradrenaline and dopamine.  Plus, Tyrosine participates in enkephalins synthesis and provides several pain-relieving effects, making it a nutrient that is extremely important for bodily functions, especially brain health. It transmits impulses and prevents conditions like anxiety, depression, narcolepsy, and stress. Therefore, Tyrosine is used to overcome mild depression.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.