Posted by Larry Hoover on December 5, 2002, at 8:29:54
In reply to Re: Supplement plan - d-,l-phenylalanine?? » Larry Hoover, posted by bluedog on December 4, 2002, at 22:36:26
> > Seems to be a rather comprehensive supplement plan. Some comments:
> >
> > 1. DLPA (d-,l-phenylalanine) may be more beneficial than l-tyrosine. A substantial portion of phenylalanine is converted to tyrosine, but some is also available as a precursor to PEA, a feel-good chemical. You could probably go to 2g/day.
> >
>
> Hi Larry
>
> You recommend (d-,l-phenylalanine). I have looked in my supermarket and can find l-phenylalanine tablets.
>
> Could you clarify whether you mean I can take EITHER the d form (does this mean the natural form?) or the l form (does this mean the synthetic form?) OR do you mean a combination d,l form of phenylalanine? Or have I misunderstood your advice? I hope I don't sound ignorant asking this question?
>
> Thanks for your comments
> bluedogI don't expect everyone to have a degree in biochem. No worries.
Natural phenylalanine is all l-. When you come across the d-,l- designation, that means it's man-made. Nature makes her biochemicals with enzymes, where the three-dimensional structure is always pre-determined. We make our chemicals in open vats, where three-dimensional structures are not controllable. Even if we wanted all l-phenylalanine, our product will always be a mixture of d- and l-, termed a racemic mixture. You can separate them out by physical means, if necessary.
For a lot of nutrients, taking a racemate (i.e. d-,l-)provides only about 50% of the desired substance, because half won't be able to fit into our enzymes to be converted to other uses. This is one of the rare cases where that's a good thing, because the unnatural isomer can still be put to good use in the synthesis of PEA.
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:129993
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021203/msgs/130617.html