Human diet needs to include food sources that contain histidine. This amino acid is essential in the diet due to the fact that it is not synthesized in the body. Histidine plays a very important role in the growth and repair of tissues in the body. One major role of histidine in the body is in preserving the integrity of the myelin sheaths that protect and insulate the nerve cells. At the same time, this amino acid is also required for the bio-synthesis of red and white blood cells. Additional functions of histidine include, protecting the body from damage caused by radiation. Histidine also aids the body in the detoxification process regarding the presence of heavy metals. Histidine is also important in the prevention of the person against full blown AIDS.
Very high levels of histidine in the body can induce stress and even contribute to the start of psychological disorders including anxiety and schizophrenia in susceptible people. Schizophrenic individuals have been found to possess exceedingly high levels of histidine in their bodies. Low levels of histidine can contribute to disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and could possibly be connected to incidence of nerve deafness. Histidine levels can be lowered by the amino acid methionine if the levels of histidine in the body become very high.
Histidine is also the main precursor for histamine, which is an important chemical in the human immune system. Histamine is important in other areas as well; sexual arousal for example, is influenced by histamine. Histamine production is thus based on the biochemical availability of histidine in the body at any one time. Sexual arousal, pleasure and libido in general may be improved by consuming supplemental histidine, along with supplements of the vitamins B3 (niacin) and the vitamin B6. The secretion of gastric juices in the stomach is also influenced by histamine - for this reason, people with indigestion caused by the deficiency stomach acid production may benefit from supplements of histidine.
Supplemental histidine must be avoided by all persons affected by manic (bipolar) depression unless and until a definite deficiency has been found. Good natural food sources for histidine are plant proteins found in rice, wheat, rye and other cereals. Histidine is also found in abundance in all dairy products, meats and poultry as well as fish in common with other amino acids.
The result from very limited research suggests a correlation between incidence of rheumatoid arthritis and low levels of histidine in the body. Supplements of histidine may also lead to improvement of arthritis symptoms in many individuals affected by the illness.
Histidine has numerous therapeutic uses and it is basically utilized to build up as well as sustain the healthy tissues in all the body parts. In addition, this amino acid is also used to make sure that the messages transmitted from the brain to different parts of our body reach properly. Histidine is also likely to be effective in treating mental disorder, in addition to specific kinds of sexual dysfunction. In effect, it is essential to maintain the balance of the levels of histidine in our body in order to make certain that we remain in perfect mental as well as physical health.
It may be noted that presence of histidine levels in our body is essential for regular sexual performance, since it is transformed into histamine - a chemical compound required for invigorating libido. In addition, histamine is also required to assist the immune system in recognizing when our body is enduring allergic reactions and also for producing gastric juices to sustain usual digestion.
People who have undergone a surgery, are enduring arthritis or are persistently ill would like to think about taking histidine supplements. It may be noted that this amino acid is available in the form of a capsule and also as a powder. In addition, histidine is also available in a blend of different amino acid formulations.
Histidine supplements are almost never needed as dietary sources for this essential amino acid covers a wide range of plant and animal based food sources. Histidine supplementation carried out as part of research on humans is to give a gram up to eight grams daily of histidine to each person.
Histidine supplementation is usually free of any adverse side effects. At the same time, those suffering from kidney or liver disease must not consume very large amounts of any of the amino acids till a professional health care specialist has been consulted.
Psychological problems may also be induced if histidine is present in the body at excessive levels - these problems include schizophrenia and anxiety in the person. High levels of histidine in the body can be brought down using supplements of the amino acid methionine. Nerve deafness is believed to be caused by the presence of histidine at insufficient levels in the diet. Disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis may also be brought on by very low levels of histidine in the body of the person. Those suffering from manic depressive disorder - also called bipolar disorder, must not use histidine supplements till a real deficiency in the body is verified - supplementation must then proceed under the supervision of a medical professional.
As histidine possesses established impact on the central nervous system (CNS) as well as in the production of histamine, it is advisable that people enduring bipolar (maniac) depression should keep away from taking histidine supplements prior to conferring with their physician on this issue. In fact, taking any single amino acid supplement may possibly result in the imbalance of the nitrogen levels within the body. In addition, it may also interrupt with the Krebs cycle due to which toxic substances are eradicated from the kidneys and the liver.
