アミノ酸にダイエット効果を期待できるか？

Proteins are constructed from about 20 amino acids. Apart from the role as building blocks for proteins, amino acids are an important fuel for several tissues and are the modulators of the intracellular signaling pathways. Although the chemical properties of amino acids have a number of common features, each amino acid do have a variety of unique functions. Amino acids are the precursor of various biologically active compounds, such as neurotransmitters, hormones, purines, pyrimidines, creatine, carnitine, taurine, and so on. Furthermore, some amino acids stimulates hormone secretion and promote protein synthesis. On the basis of their diverse functions, amino acids are used as dietary supplements for pharmacological as well as nutritional purposes. Some amino acids, notably lysine, proline, alanine and arginine purport to be the diet amino acids. Little scientific literature, however, was found on the effectiveness of those amino acids for reducing body fat. Amino acids interact with each other and may interact with other nutrients or drugs as well. These interactions may cause adverse effects on health when one or mixture of amino acids is given in large amounts for long time. Considering a variety of functions of amino acids they would be potentially effective for the diet. However, there is a need for carefully controlled, double-blind studies to observe potentially beneficial as well as harmful outcome.