Why might it be a bad idea to take large quantities of a single amino acid dietary supplement?

Question

Accepted Answer

All right. Hello everyone. So this statement is a true or false, correct the statement. If it is false, taking large quantities of a single amino acid dietary supplement doesn't affect the absorption of other amino acids even if the transport system is shared. So first and foremost, the question or excuse me, the statement is mentioning the concept of transport systems for amino acids. So what information do we know about this? That could help us decide whether or not the statement is true or not? Well, recall first and foremost, that amino acids rely on transporters and there are multiple different transporters that are shared by different amino acids. However, recall also that amino acids can be grouped depending on their chemical properties, right? So oftentimes multiple different amino acids that have the same chemical properties. In other words, for example, polarity would use the same transporter because they have similar chemical properties. So what does that mean? Well, when multiple different amino acids are competing for the same transporter, what that means is that the amino acid that is most present that is present in the highest concentration will be absorbed more readily just because there's more of it. So just to represent this fact, let's say that I have a transporter here and it's surrounded by multiple different amino acids here. I'll be using the letters A B and C not to label specific amino acids, but just for illustrative purposes. So if there's more of amino acid A around this transporter, then the transporter is going to focus on absorbing amino acid A. This means that amino acids B and C will be absorbed either less efficiently or not at all depending on the disparity in concentration. So let's replace these theoretical amino acids with a real example. But let's use the same drawing here of a transporter. So for example, leucine isoleucine and valine share a common transport system because they're all nonpolar amino acids. So let's say that there's an imbalance in the concentration of leucine relative to both isoleucine and valley. So if a person is taking excessive amounts of leucine by itself, then the transporter shown here in the center would focus on absorbing leucine, which means that the absorption of isoleucine and valine will be reduced. So the imbalance here of the three amino acids could actually impact the muscle recovery after exercise, for example. And the reason for this is because the amino acids listed leucine isoleucine and valine are essential for muscle protein synthesis. So what is the main point here? Well, the main point is that taking large quantities of a single amino acid as a dietary supplement can and will impact the absorption of other amino acids, especially if the transport system is shared because the transport system will disproportionately absorb the amino acid that is more present or present in a higher amount. So there you have it, it's important to maintain a balance of amino acids taken in. And with that being said, I can go ahead and reveal the final answer which I had prewritten but hidden. So here, the statement given is false. Taking large quantities of a single amino acid dietary supplement can affect the absorption of other amino acids, especially if the transport system is shared. And so with that being said, thank you so very much for watching and I hope we found this helpful.

Why might it be a bad idea to take large quantities of a single amino acid dietary supplement?

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Amino Acids

Nutrient Imbalance

Toxicity and Side Effects