It is no secret that regular exercise is an important strategy to help prevent obesity. So much so that the diet industry is reported to be a 70.3 Billion dollar industry as people continue to search for that magic elixir or pill year in and year out. The promising news is that several studies reported blood levels of several hormones including catecholamines, glucagon, growth hormone, and cortisol are increased during exercise compared with levels in rest periods to continue to support exercise as an effective means to fat loss. When combined with exercise, dietary amino acid (AA) supplementation is an effective method for accelerating fat mobilization. Previous studies have reported that pre-ingestion of a single dose of a mixture of specific amino acids (AAs) enhanced lipolysis and hepatic ketogenesis during and after exercise by stimulating glucagon secretion.
In a study conducted at the Food Science Research Labs in Japan by Keisuke Ueda it was concluded that pre-exercise ingestion of the specific amino acid, L-phenylalanine, significantly accelerated secretion of glucagon during both rest and exercise and serum glycerol levels increased significantly during exercise, indicating a shift towards fat oxidation. The main mechanism for the stimulation of fat oxidation following Phe administration may be via glucagon secretion. These results suggest that pre-exercise supplementation of phenylalanine may stimulate whole body fat oxidation and therefore be advantageous for bodyfat reduction.
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2017 14:34
