Amino acids have arrived-big time. News about amino acids is even the stuff of headlines and best sellers. Research and clinical use are booming worldwide. Aminos are becoming part of everyday life-helping people sleep, feel better, and overcome anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. They are in dietary sweeteners. They are part of new anti-aging compounds. They are used in emergency rooms for treatment of medication overdose and liver detoxification. And they are now gaining repute in blood tests, as powerful indicators of mental and physical illnesses.

The two dozen amino acids present in the human body are now being shown to be among the most potent healing substances ever discovered. These constituents of protein are necessary to everyday life processes, but research and clinical work in the last two decades have revealed a vast range of therapeutic functions for amino acids, including phenylalanine's pain-relieving powers, tyrosine's energizing ability and addiction-fighting potential, methionine's role in Parkinson's disease treatment and as an antiallergen, and homocysteine's emergence as a new and precise marker of heart disease risk. This update and revision of the landmark book on amino acids covers the exciting discoveries of the last decade and shows how to use them in your personal health-management program.