Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. But they do a lot of other things as well, such as synthesizing other molecules; for instance, tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin and carnitine is used in lipid transportation. There are 20 essential amino acids. I think all of these are worth more research and I will post more specific information about these soon, but here are some of my upcoming trials:

• Tryptophan makes serotonin (which in turn converts to melatonin) and niacin
• L-Lysine plays a major role in calcium absorption; building muscle protein; recovering from surgery or sports injuries; and the body's production of hormones, enzymes, and antibodies
• Leucine helps produce things like cholesterol
• Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones
• Glutamate is a key molecule in cellular metabolism