What Are the Benefits of L-Lysine & L-Tyrosine?

L-lysine and L-tyrosine provide beneficial effects for your ability to handle stress and manage conditions like herpes and multiple sclerosis. Foods rich in L-lysine include eggs, cheese, red meat, soy products, yeast and potatoes. Foods rich in L-tyrosine include bananas, avocados, pumpkin and sesame seeds, according to the Nutritional Supplement Education Center 23. Taking single amino acids for long periods isn't recommended. Talk to your health-care provider before starting a new supplement regimen.

L-Lysine

The most noted benefit of L-Lysine is lessening herpes simplex outbreaks, including cold sores and genital lesions, states the Nutritional Supplement Education Center 23. Dosages recommended for cold sores and genital lesions range from 3 to 6 grams of L-lysine daily.

L-Tyrosine

L-tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning your body doesn’t require a specific amount daily to function properly. Phenylalanine helps your body make L-tyrosine.

L-tyrosine is involved in helping your body produce adrenaline in response to daily stress. Exercise enthusiasts may take L-tyrosine supplements to help reduce body fat stores, because it can mildly suppress your appetite, notes the Nutritional Supplement Education Center 23.

Combinations

However, the scientific community doesn’t back these claims of over-the-counter products increasing your growth hormone levels, states Ira Wolinsky in “Nutrition in Exercise and Sport. 5”

L-lysine and L-tyrosine in combination with L-alanine and L-glutamic acid are beneficial for multiple sclerosis, or MS. The combination of these amino acids downplays immune responses that promote inflammation. L-tyrosine and L-lysine together with L-alanine and L-glutamic acid help to regulate your immune system and increase your antibody production when exposed to viruses, bacteria and other foreign matter. Oliver Neuhaus and colleagues tested the use of copolymer-1, which contains all four amino acids in lower inflammation and regulates the formation of antibodies. Downplaying inflammation helped to protect nerve coverings of MS patients, thereby preserving nerve function and motor skills.