L-Arginine vs L-Lysine for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, users rate them about the same: 100% report improvement with L-Arginine (5 reports) and 100% with L-Lysine (2 reports).
L-Arginine has 106 meta-analyses and 765 randomized trials on PubMed; L-Lysine has 7 and 59.
Based on 211 reports about L-Arginine and 53 about L-Lysine. Not medical advice.
| L-Arginine Supplement | L-Lysine Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 49%helped78 reports · medium confidence | 65%helped21 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 106 / 765 | 7 / 59 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Libido % reporting improvement | 88% (41) | — |
| Heart & lipids % reporting improvement | 86% (14) | — |
| Performance % reporting improvement | 83% (12) | — |
| Immunity % reporting improvement | — | 100% (9) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 100% (5) | 100% (2) |
| Common side effects | diarrhea, stomach issues, chest pain, tongue biting | stomach issues |
| Typical dose reported | 2 g / before bed | 2 g / before bed |
Supplementation of some but not all micronutrients may benefit cardiometabolic health. This study highlights the importance of micronutrient diversity and the balance of benefits and risks to promote and maintain cardiovascular health in diverse populations. (Antioxidant Supplementation in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases; CRD42022315165).
J Am Coll Cardiol, 2022 ↗“Something I found that makes my meds work way better is Citrulline 2g + Arginine 2g twice daily.”
Based primarily on case reports ornithine levels can be reduced by using a protein restricted diet, pyridoxine supplementation (variation-dependent) and/or lysine supplementation. The lack of pre-defined clinical outcome measures and structural follow-up in all included studies impeded conclusions on clinical effectiveness. Future research should be aimed at 1) Unravelling the OAT biochemical pathway to identify other possible pathologic metabolites besides ornithine, 2) Pre-defining GACR specific clinical outcome measures, and 3) Establishing an international historical cohort.
Mol Genet Metab, 2021 ↗“Finally, I started to take L-lysine for a different issue. Immediately I saw that I could lay my head down at night and go to sleep like I could before. That was several months ago and I continue to sleep regularly.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate