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Leucine
Leucine
Leucine
What is it:
Leucine (L-leucine) is an essential amino acid, crucial for protein synthesis and muscle growth within the human body. As one of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine plays a key role in regulating blood sugar levels, promoting wound healing, and supporting the production of growth hormones. It is naturally found in animal and dairy products. As a food additive, leucine can be derived through various methods, such as microbial fermentation, enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins, or chemical synthesis. Leucine is typically found in sports nutrition and dietary supplements to fortify protein content.
Rating:
Leucine (L-leucine) is an essential amino acid, crucial for protein synthesis and muscle growth within the human body. As one of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine plays a key role in regulating blood sugar levels, promoting wound healing, and supporting the production of growth hormones. It is naturally found in animal and dairy products. As a food additive, leucine can be derived through various methods, such as microbial fermentation, enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins, or chemical synthesis. Leucine is typically found in sports nutrition and dietary supplements to fortify protein content.
Resources:
- Leucine in combination with other BCAAs may improve exercise performance and outcomes (review)
- The role of leucine in protein and energy metabolism (review)
- Leucine alone may not improve body composition, yet leucine mixed with other amino acids may (review)
- Chronic leucine supplementation may improve muscle protein synthesis in older adults in low-protein meals (non-randomized clinical trial)
- Metabolic engineering of L-leucine with bacterial strains (review)
- Metabolic engineering of leucine from E. coli
How we rate ingredients
Health is like a bank account, certain ingredients make a deposit into your health bank, meaning they add to
your health. Certain ingredients withdraw from your health bank. We want health promoting ingredients in our diet. To keep things simple, we rate ingredients on a green, yellow, red scale:
Clean
It is naturally occurring in food and has no harmful effects on the body. It is real food. It is health promoting.
Caution
It goes into one or more of the below categories
- It is not naturally occurring in food but doesn’t have data showing it has a harmful effect on the body (additives like Gellan Gum)
- It is naturally occurring but can have some harmful effects on the body (added sugars, oils, gums etc.)
We Avoid
It is known to have a harmful effect on the body (ex. All food colorings, Natural Flavors, MSG, Potassium bromate, aspartame, artificial flavors)
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