This popped up on Facebook this morning. I know it's an ad but a lack of amino acids affecting the liver's processing ability makes sense to me.
Has anybody tried amino acid supplements? I'd be grateful for any views on this.
naturalmedicine.blog/blogs/...
Many thanks 😊
[ Link edited by admin to remove excess possibly personally identifiable information. ]
This website might be helpful :
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I tried one or two amino acids quite a few years ago for specific problems. One of them was Lysine. I remember trying it in an attempt to reduce or cure my severe problem with mouth ulcers, but it had no effect. I have since found something that helps but it isn't an amino acid.
There are essential amino acids which the body can't synthesise so they must be eaten as part of a healthy human diet.
There are conditionally essential amino acids which the body might be able to synthesise but under certain circumstances this won't happen, so they might have to be eaten as part of a healthy human diet.
There are non-essential amino acids which humans can make out of other amino acids and substances within the body.
When people refer to Thyroxine/Levothyroxine as T4, the T refers to Tyrosine which is a conditionally essential amino acid. The 4 in T4 refers to 4 Iodine atoms which are attached to Tyrosine. When T4 is converted to T3 one of the iodine atoms is knocked off and recycled for use in making more thyroid hormones.
The T in Thyroxine/Levothyroxine stands for thyronine!
Thyronine consists of two molecules of Tyrosine stuck together. (Count the hexagons which represent benzene rings.) Plus a few other adjustments. So your message is spot on.
Sorry, but I've just realised, I don't understand! How can my message be spot on if I said the T was Tyrosine, not Thyronine?
😕
Because tyrosine goes to make thyroid hormone. So the actual underlying meaning of your post was right. It was ONLY tyrosine/thyronine issue - and that actually doesn't make any real difference - only which word appeared.
I think your logic is a bit strange in this instance, but I'll go with it. 
I’m curious helvella too
How would taking additional Tyrosine affect the thyroid then?
I wouldn't use that form of words.
If you do not have sufficient tyrosine, then one of the results would be that your thyroid would not be able to make sufficient thyroid hormone.
But tyrosine is required by numerous pathways.
I'm not at all convinced that increasing tyrosine intake would be specifically beneficial to thyroid hormone production. The whole subject of amino acids, what is essential, what is desirable, is complex. But I think some supplement manufacturers exploit ignorance in order to sell their products. While, at the same time, some of us might need our amino acid intake to be adjusted.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrosine
Thank you! That’s good to know.
I tried tyrosine supplements several years ago (possibly 10 years ago). The only effect I remember is it gave me horrendous headaches.
Thanks for the replies, Humanbean and Helvella. Very useful information.
I've just been told by an NHS endo that I should reduce my Levo from 100mcg a day to 100mcg and 75mcg on alternate days. It's the first time I've seen an NHS endo since I had 7/8ths of my thyroid removed in 1985 because of Graves.
My conversion is abysmal - FT4 is at the top or slightly above range and FT3 skulks at the very bottom. TSH is of course below range, but measurable.
I'm a vegetarian and take Omeprazole so doubt I'm absorbing sufficient essential amino acids. According to the woman on the blog, essential amino acids aid T4 to T3 conversion, among other good thing, and enabled her to reduce her Levo.
Her story was quite compelling and I just wondered if there was a downside, as there sometimes is with supplements.
I've been taking an amino acid complex for the last 18 months as I'm not much of a meat eater and struggle to eat enough protein so it seemed a sensible option... amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GV3XMWT
I've not changed my dose of T3 & 4 but I do also take glutathione which has improved my liver results which were on the unhappy side
I don't take them as you are supplementing a wide spectrum of amino acids, some of which you could possibly be over producing or unable to process properly . Whilst you may improve those which may normally be too low or deficient, you might also increase some that are best not increased. TiggerMe takes them , but she did an OATS test beforehand, so was and is, aware of what her levels were , and took this into account. She made an informed choice to supplement based on testing them to see what her levels were.
What's a OATS test?
Organic Acid Test
Organic Acid Test (OAT): Nutrient Deficiencies & Methylation
labs.selfdecode.com/blog/oa...
helvella - Abbreviations, Acronyms, Latin
A document containing a list of many of the abbreviations, acronyms and Latin terms you are likely to find when reading documents about thyroid. This is very frequently updated. Don't assume an old copy is up to date!
Direct link to document:
dropbox.com/scl/fi/jks8k4c3...
Last updated 10/02/2025
Link to blog:
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
Thank you, I was researching about Amino acids to see if they would help.
If you tend to get a good amount of protein in your diet then possibly not
ThanksAre the OAT test reliable?
I'm curious about doing one just to see what results come back, they are expensive though.
It is a dear one and quite hard to understand/ interpret results without either having a therapist or doing an awful lot of reading as highs can me low and vice versa 🙃
I found it useful as it highlighted the need to avoid B6 in the form of pyridoxine, also I was interested to see if I had any mould or bacterial issues (nothing terrible) it also showed a woeful lack of amino acids 🫤so these were things I could tackle
As for how good tests are 🤷♀️ they offer a snap shot, how different my results might have been an hour or a day later I've no idea, they do offer a different view from blood tests
Thank youHow did you tackle a lack.of amino acids, do you take a supplement or increase your protein?
Bit of both, I struggle as I can't tolerate legumes, dairy or red meat, so plenty of eggs, peanut butter and houmous and I take amazon.co.uk/Total-Amino-Bo... which has the right form of B6
'Her story was quite compelling and I just wondered if there was a downside,'
The down side is perhaps that she is essentially advertising a product, which she may be getting paid/commission for. That means it's difficult to be sure how genuinely useful/helpful the product really is. There are so many supplements aimed at people with thyroid issues. The supplement market has cottoned on to it as a very lucrative source.
Yes, no doubt she is being paid so I thought I'd ask on here if anyone else had tried something similar and found them helpful.
I guess I'm always looking for the magic bullet that will reverse all the ill effects of thyroid disease 😊
I’m taking 1 amino acid capsule per day with breakfast. The bottle says 3 per day but I am always cautious. I would say that I can go a bit longer if need be till I have lunch, but I definitely wouldn’t be lowering my Levo. My level was only about 30% through the ref range to start with.
I’m also on some T3, so maybe they are on levo only and it may or may not have been the reason that they could reduce their dose.
My sister tried the capsules too. She took the full 3 per day. At first she said it helped her go to the loo more regularly (she’s never been good) but after a month she said she felt bloated and has stopped taking them.
I’m not sure if I’ll stay on the capsule. I suppose the only way to see if it is helping is to stop. I have the Greenleaf blends version
Amino acid complex, is it worth trying?
Not sleeping...
Just diagnosed - Help!
1 gram of soy per day = danger?
