Valine and HGH - The Surprising Connection

When you're worried about whether or not you're producing enough human growth hormone, the first step to reducing your anxiety is to make sure you're getting the right nutritional profile. Eating a healthy diet is important no matter what your age or your wellness goals. But it's especially important if you're concerned about the amount of HGH that your body is making. Valine is one of the nutrients that you need to pay close attention to if you want to make sure your overall health and HGH production are on point. We will explain why, and in great detail. We'll also give you advice on how to help you get more valine in your diet.

What is Valine?

valine

Valine is a very special amino acid. For starters, it's an essential amino acid. This means that your body does not make it on its own. You absolutely have to get it from your diet, no exceptions. But don't worry; it's a lot easier than you might think! There are many lean proteins out there which contain sufficient amounts of valine to keep you healthy. The biggest question is whether or not you are getting enough valine in order to maintain the best possible health, not just a sufficient level of wellness.

Another important thing that makes valine special is the fact that it is a branched chain amino acid. Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are necessary for your body to carry out basic biological functions, such as feeding your muscles and producing energy. But there's one basic function that makes valine one of the most important amino acids you can put into your body.

What Does Valine Do?

Valine, along with fellow BCAAs leucine and isoleucine, Are the three amino acids you absolutely need in order to undergo proteinogenesis. As you can probably guess, this process is responsible for synthesizing new proteins in your body. Sometimes, the protein you eat and the amino acids therein aren't exactly the proteins you need to stay healthy or, more importantly, produce generous amounts of human growth hormone. That's when the body steps in, breaks these proteins down, and takes out the amino acids it needs to produce more HGH.

branched chain chemical structure

Valine has some other important functions as well which definitely deserve an honorable mention. In addition to helping your body produce more HGH, It is very important for preventing your muscles from cannibalizing themselves during and after a hard workout. Yes, to some degree, you want a little bit of muscle tissue breakdown; but only enough to make sure your body can build that tissue back up bigger and stronger than it was before. Valine definitely helps with this. Another convenient thing about valine is that, unlike other proteins, it doesn't have to be processed by your liver first in order for your body to use it. Valine passes go, collects $200, and go straight to your muscles where it is needed most.

Athletes, whether professional or just passionate about a specific sport, supplement with valine all the time in order to enhance their performance. Since valine goes straight to your muscles and provides them with instant energy, it is great for endurance athletes who run marathons or who like to blast through long, arduous workouts in the gym. It gives them the energy and the stamina to keep going when they may otherwise get deflated and quit early.

Furthermore, it isn't just skeletal muscle tissue that valine helps improve. It's also responsible for healthy nervous system and cognitive functioning. In this respect, the benefits of valine have several subtle effects that you may not notice at first. For one, when your brain gets more valine on a regular basis, it reduces overall anxiety and helps alleviate insomnia. When you improve your quality of sleep, your body becomes healthier overall. And the healthier your body is, the easier it becomes to produce more human growth hormone.

How to Get More Valine

If you want to get more volume in your body the natural way, you can always do it through your diet. We've compiled a list of the foods that contain the highest amount of valine per gram. Luckily, most of them are pretty common items you can find at your local grocery store:

  • Parmesan. Here's some good news for all of you Italian food lovers: Parmesan cheese (real Parmesan, not the fake stuff in the green canister at the store) is one of the highest sources of valine that you can get. 1 ounce (28g) of Parmesan contains 38% of your recommended daily intake (RDI).
  • Lamb and beef, two very common and relatively affordable red meats, contain 90% of your RDI per 3 oz serving.
  • Chicken and turkey. These white meat favorites are hiding 78% of your RDI dose of valine per 3 oz serving also.
  • Pork also has a decent amount valine in it, coming in just under chicken and turkey with 77% RDI of valine in each 3 oz portion.
  • Pumpkin seeds. A handful of this tasty treat isn't just for Halloween anymore. You can get almost 1/4 of your daily valine RDI in a single ounce.
  • Tuna. For all the sushi lovers out there, fresh tuna (whether cooked or raw) contains 80% of your recommended daily intake of valine in a single serving. This is an excellent alternative option for all the pescatarians out there who don't want to eat any of the meats listed above.
  • Portobello mushrooms. If fish isn't an option either because you follow a strict vegetarian diet, then make sure you pick up some portabella mushrooms the next time you're at the grocery store. They contain 248 mg of Valium per 1/2 cup. They're especially tasty when grilled!

If any of the items above don't necessarily fit into you your monthly grocery budget, there are other ways you can get more valine in your diet, too. Growth hormone supplements contain tons of BCAAs, and in optimally higher amounts than what you might get from food alone. Of course, the high quality ones contain the best source of valine your money can buy. You can learn more about those supplements here at BuyHGH.com.