L-Tyrosine 500mg | 120 Capsules | NOW Foods

L-Tyrosine 500mg by NOW Foods

This bottle contains 120 capsules, each with 500mg of free-form l-tyrosine. An amino acid that your body produces itself, but which is also found in high-protein foods. Interesting for people who are consciously managing their amino acids and are looking for a small, flexible dose.

What l-tyrosine is and where it comes from

L-tyrosine is a so-called conditionally essential amino acid. That sounds complicated, but it simply means that your body can produce it itself, as long as there is enough of another amino acid: phenylalanine. Your liver converts phenylalanine into tyrosine. In addition, you get tyrosine directly from food, such as cheese, fish, chicken, eggs, almonds, bananas, and pumpkin seeds. By the way, the name comes from tyros, the Greek word for cheese. In 1846, the German chemist Justus von Liebig first extracted it from casein, the protein in cheese. A high-protein meal easily provides a few grams of tyrosine. Those white crystals you sometimes taste in aged Parmesan cheese? Those are often simply tyrosine crystals, formed during the long ripening process.

What your body uses tyrosine for

In your body, tyrosine is the raw material for a number of signaling substances. Your thyroid also uses tyrosine as the backbone for the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. And in your skin, tyrosine is at the beginning of the production of melanin, the pigment that gives your skin and hair their color.

500mg per capsule, flexible dosing

With 500mg per capsule, according to the label, you take 1 to a maximum of 3 capsules per day. This means you are taking between 500 and 1500mg. If you want to split your daily dose, that is perfectly fine: for example, one capsule in the morning and one in the middle of the afternoon. A bottle of 120 capsules will therefore last 40 to 120 days. It is the free form of l-tyrosine, so it is not bound in a protein chain. NOW tests every batch in its own laboratories for identity and purity, so you know that it really contains tyrosine.

What else is in the capsule

The composition is short. In addition to l-tyrosine, each capsule contains only some magnesium stearate and stearic acid from a plant source, two excipients that allow the powder to flow smoothly through the filling machine. The capsule itself is made of gelatin. Good to know if you eat vegetarian or vegan: then the Extra Strength variant of 750mg with a cellulose capsule will suit you better. NOW makes the capsules without wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, or nuts, in a GMP-certified factory.

So, a small, straightforward amino acid supplement, with a dose that you choose yourself per day. For those who want to gradually get to know tyrosine first, these 500mg capsules provide a logical starting point.