Amino Acids; Urine 24-hour (Doctor's Data)
Performed by: Doctor's Data
Amino acid analysis is a powerful diagnostic tool that plays a critical role in evaluating the balance and adequacy of dietary proteins, gastrointestinal health, and various metabolic functions. This analysis is crucial for identifying conditions such as protein intolerance, deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, and disorders in liver and kidney functions. It also provides insights into psychiatric conditions, susceptibility to inflammation, oxidative stress, and issues with the body’s detoxification processes.
Key Applications of Amino Acid Testing:
- Mental Health Disorders: Useful in managing ADD/ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, depression, and anxiety.
- Chronic Conditions: Helps monitor cardiovascular diseases, epilepsy, fatigue, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Digestive Health: Essential for diagnosing digestive disorders and nutritional deficiencies.
- Reproductive Health: Can aid in addressing issues related to infertility and insomnia.
- Kidney and Liver Function: Critical for assessing kidney function and potential impairments in amino acid metabolism.
Many individuals exhibit subtle amino acid metabolism impairments that often remain unnoticed but can predispose them to chronic degenerative diseases. A comprehensive amino acid analysis is recommended as part of a detailed nutritional and metabolic assessment to uncover these hidden issues.
Benefits of Amino Acid Testing:
- Nutritional Adequacy: Provides essential data on the quality and quantity of dietary proteins.
- Diagnostic Capabilities: Offers insights into liver and kidney health, neurotransmitter precursors, and detoxification capabilities.
- Risk Assessment: Identifies risk factors for arterial occlusive diseases and profiles various inherited metabolic disorders.
Plasma vs. Urine Analysis for Amino Acids:
- Plasma Analysis: Traditionally used to assess essential amino acids. It is best conducted after an overnight fast to minimize dietary influences, providing a snapshot of amino acid transport at the time of sampling.
- Urine Analysis: Offers deeper insights into amino acid wasting and abnormal metabolism due to cofactor deficiencies. A 24-hour urine test is highly effective in detecting abnormalities, reflecting the amino acid levels over an entire day and providing an early indication of deficiencies.
For individuals unable to complete a 24-hour urine collection, a first morning void (FMV) test can be a practical alternative, especially useful for detecting significant abnormalities in gastrointestinal health, renal function, and inherited amino acid disorders.
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Biomarkers included in this panel:
1-Methylhistidine
1-methylhistidine is derived from the dipeptide anserine (which consists of the amino acids 1-methylhistidine and beta-alanine). Anserine and its derivatives are associated with the consumption of poultry and fish. Both 1-methylhistidine and 3-methyl
Learn more24 Hour Volume
The "24 Hour Volume" marker on a Urine 24-hour Amino Acids panel from Doctor's Data is a crucial measurement that indicates the total volume of urine collected over a 24-hour period. This measurement is essential because it helps ens
Learn more3-Methylhistidine
Both 1-methylhistidine and 3-methylhistidine are histidine metabolites which have been proposed as markers of meat intake. Note that some confusion exists in the literature regarding the numbering of atoms in the imidazole ring of histidine – 1
Learn moreAlanine
Ammonia (NH4)
Anserine
Anserine (beta-alanyl-3-methyl-histidine) is a urinary biomarker from the consumption of poultry and fish. It is a dipeptide consisting of the amino acids 1-methylhistidine and beta-alanine. The enzyme carnosineN-methyl transferase catalyzes the tran
Learn moreArginine
Asparagine
Aspartate
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid involved in various metabolic processes in the body. It's not typically required from the diet because the body can produce it. In medical testing, the levels of beta-alanine in urine are measured to ass
Learn moreCarnosine
Citrulline
Creatinine
Cystathionine
Cysteine
Cystine
Ethanolamine
Glutamate
Glutamate is an important marker included on the Amino Acids; Urine 24-hour panel provided by Doctor's Data. This amino acid plays a crucial role in the body, primarily as a neurotransmitter in the brain, where it helps in sending signals between
Learn moreGlutamine
Glycine
Histidine
Homocystine
Hydroxyproline
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Ornithine
Phenylalanine
Phosphoserine
Phosphoserine is the phosphorylated ester of the amino acid serine. The addition of a phosphoryl group to an amino acid, or its removal, plays a role in cell signaling and metabolism. Phosphoserine is a byproduct of glycolysis and subsequent intermed
Learn moreProline
Sarcosine
Sarcosine is an amino acid made within the methylation cycle when S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) is conjugated with glycine. It can also be made by catabolism of dimethylglycine (DMG). There are many dietary sources of sarcosine including eggs, legume
Learn moreSerine
Taurine
Taurine is a crucial amino acid that serves multiple roles in the body: (1) It acts as a powerful antioxidant, helping to protect cells from damage caused by harmful molecules known as free radicals. (2) Taurine also aids in the regulation of m
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