Leucine shortens lifespan

Nutrition
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Hi there. Some studies seem to conclude Leucine shortens lifespan. It is a content of Huel. What do you say Huel?

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First of all Leucine is an essential amino acid so you need to consume it as well as the other essential amino acids in order to survive.

Which studies are you referring to?

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Leucine is also a content of about 95% of all foods known to humanity. Pretty much anything with protein ā€“ legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, meat, dairy, etc.

Seems like an odd question to ask?

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Not an uncommon occurrence on this forum though; ā€œconcernedā€ new member with zero posts [tick] writes leading, attention-grabbing question suggesting such-and-such key component of Huel will cause you x/y/z terrible problem [also tick], pointedly asks ā€œwhat is Huel going to do about it?ā€ [tick #3], and then either disappears or only returns to add vague suggestions that theyā€™ve seen ā€œirrefutableā€ evidence, which is promised but never materialisesā€¦ [awaits with bated breath] :wink:

I always wonder when this happens if itā€™s a rival company (or agents acting on behalf of), or just bored shitposters looking for kicks by stirring up FUDā€¦ :face_with_monocle::woman_shrugging:

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Often - especially at new product launches - but, obviously, there are always genuine new users seeking information or have concerns so its a bit of a minefield.

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The notion that an amino acid essential for health may simultaneously be shortening our lifespan is a bit of a head scratcher, and one that, as with many nutritional theories, requires much more research, specifically in humans, before we can make any definitive conclusions.

What we know so far is that leucine is essential for human health, and as weā€™re unable to synthesise it ourselves, we have to source it through our food. Leucine plays a key role in muscle synthesis and regulating a whole host of cellular processes, primarily through activation of the mTOR enzyme. Animal studies have suggested that restricting intake of BCAAs like leucine may increase lifespan and healthspan, but these findings havenā€™t yet been reliably reproduced in humans.

Crucially here, leucine isnā€™t unique to the Huel formula - as Hex points out, leucine is ubiquitous in the human diet, found in both animal and plant-based foods in abundance. Itā€™s not something we could ā€˜removeā€™ even if we wanted to, and the current evidence base doesnā€™t offer a convincing argument to do this anyway.

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