LYSINE - BUILDING BLOCK OF COLLAGEN

LYSINE is one of the most abundant amino acids in the body, with anywhere from a pound to a pound and a half in the average person. This amount is huge in terms of the body considering most nutrient requirements are miniscule by comparison. The reason for this is we need a lot of collagen.

Lysine is the building block of collagen and along with the amino acid PROLINE, makes up eighty percent of the body's connective tissue (ligaments & tendons)  forty percent of skin and forty percent of the sixty thousand miles of vascularity which is also collagen. Proline is not an essential amino acid, meaning the body can produce it on its own, but typically not in sufficient quantities to meet the body's needs.

VITAMIN C is the other big player in the production of collagen and works in concert with lysine and proline as the glue or matrix on which collagen strands build. This process to which vitamin C contributes is known as hydroxylation. 

Remember,  collagen is the glue that holds everything together from our gums to our bones. As we age we lose on average 1.5% of our body's collagen every year after the age of 30. Collagen is such an easy cell for the body to build, but without getting significant amounts of lysine into the body daily and it's supporting cast, proline and vitamin C, these cells literally begin to starve to death as our skin, vascular system and tendons lose their elasticity and integrity. 

LYSINE

Lysine is not only the building block of collagen which is once again eighty percent of our connective tissue, it also helps protect this same soft tissue from the body's own immune response in the case of chronic inflammation. Sometimes the body's own defense system works too well. Chronic inflammation triggers an immune response, whereby, specific immune cells (macrophages) are released to suppress the inflammatory response when it has gone on too long.

Athletes, job related repetitive stress injuries or, anything that causes daily inflammation, cause the body to recognize this as something attacking it; then it attacks back. This causes the macrophages to release collagen-dissolving enzymes (collagenase) to address the inflammation and in the process consume collagen rich connective tissue, ultimately reducing the joint to bone on bone which is the genesis of arthritis. 

CARDIOVASCULAR

Cardiovascular disease is a good example of a different type of response to inflammation. Low density lipoproteins (LDL), when elevated in the blood stream cause lesions or cuts in the vascular wall. The vascular wall becomes inflamed in this process triggering the production of smooth muscle cells that produce collagen dissolving enzymes (collagenase).

At the same time fibrogen, the clotting factor in blood, tries to repair the lesions by sealing tears from inside the vascular wall, much like it stops a cut from bleeding. The environment is now created for arterial plaque to begin forming. Fibrogen attracts anything that is floating in the bloodstream like calcium or fatsand begins forming atherosclerotic (calcified) or thrombotic (fatty) plaque. 

Lysine with proline acts to inhibit collagen-dissolving enzymes and maintain the integrity of the vascular wall., while vitamin C acts to lower blood levels of LDL.

COLLAGEN-DISSOLVING ENZYMES & CANCER/VIRUSES

The uncontrolled replication or metastasis of cancer cells is made possible in the same way viruses proliferate by using a collagen-dissolving enzyme called collagenase.  Collagenase provides a docking mechanism for cancer and viruses to penetrate healthy cells.  In this manner cancer cells from the primary cancer site or tumor can spread throughout the body. 

The way to stop collagenase is with an enzyme blocking agent, the most effective being Lysine. Supplementing with therapeutic amounts of lysine prevents collagenase from providing an entry point into healthy cells.

Embrace Lysine, Proline and Vitamin C as an integral part of your daily protocol. The benefits cross over into so many areas from anti-aging to preventing cancer and viruses from proliferating to heart and cardiovascular disease.

Remember that these are the building blocks of collagen. Eighty percent of the body's connective tissue, forty percent of skin and vascularity.. This is what degrades significantly as we age and why our skin, vascular system and tendons lose elasticity and integrity.

Sincerely,

Richard Helfrich  
Health Spectrum at The River

71-800 Hwy.111, A149
Rancho Mirage , California 92270

(760) 340-5935, http://www.richardhelfrich.com/ or http://www.healthspectrumpalmdesert.com/