The only bit of concern I have to bring up about amino acid supplements
such as phenylalanine is the possibility of neural/brain damage.  The
reason PKU causes retardation is that those individuals with this inborn
error of metabolism are unable to use the normal metabolic pathway to break
down the amounts of phenylalanine normally found in the diet.  So, we can
postulate that excess amounts of any amino acid could cause the same
effect, particularly in the young.  Along this line, tryptophan (an amino
acid supplement) was taken off the market after reports of severe side
effects in several adults.  However, it has not been conclusively proven
that it was not an artifact of production which caused the damage.

As far as a bf mom taking the aa, I cannot say whether the excess aa would
be forced across into BrM and cause brain damage to the baby.  Perhaps
someone would like to hypothesize on this?

Arly in Northern Utah                [log in to unmask]
MS, CLE, IBCLC