It’s easy to overlook amino acids when building a longevity regimen. Antioxidants, collagen supplements, and superfoods tend to get the spotlight, but there’s an underrated nutrient worth considering: lysine. This essential amino acid promotes collagen production and skin health, making it a promising anti-aging nutrient. Plus, it’s easy to include in your diet, whether in your breakfast eggs or your favorite stir-fry.
Emerging research has scientists and longevity enthusiasts alike exploring the benefits of lysine for longevity, anti-aging, and other health benefits. When used in combination with a healthy lifestyle and NOVOS Core, lysine can be a powerful complement to your wellness routine.
What Is Lysine?
Lysine (or L-lysine) is an essential amino acid, meaning your body can’t produce it — you need to get it through diet or supplements. As with other amino acids, lysine is one of the building blocks of protein. It aids with tissue growth, calcium absorption, collagen formation, and a range of other functions — from gut health to muscle strength. Lysine also supports the production of carnitine, a nutrient that helps convert fatty acids into energy and lower cholesterol.
Foods high in lysine include meat, cheese, eggs, legumes, nuts, and yogurt. With the plentiful options for lysine-rich foods, many people can get enough of this nutrient in their diet. However, some may need more lysine, such as athletes with high energy needs or vegans who avoid legumes.
Given the benefits of lysine, it’s important to ensure you’re consuming enough of this vital nutrient through diet, supplements, or both. Without adequate lysine, people may experience a range of symptoms, including fatigue, dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, and even anemia or reproductive disorders.
Does Lysine Help With Aging Skin?
Research suggests that lysine and anti-aging may go hand in hand, particularly when it comes to the skin. Here’s how lysine can help slow the signs of aging.
Collagen Support
Lysine helps your body build strong, stable collagen by supporting an enzyme called lysyl oxidase. This enzyme helps link collagen fibers together, strengthening collagen and helping your skin stay elastic and firm with age. Without enough lysine, this structure can weaken, leading to sagging and fine lines.
Skin Healing and Regeneration
Lysine aids with tissue repair, which becomes increasingly crucial with age when skin becomes more fragile and wounds take longer to heal. In one study, a 15% lysine cream improved wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers compared to those receiving standard treatment alone.
Stress Reduction
Some evidence suggests lysine may help block stress response receptors, potentially reducing stress and anxiety. According to one study, whereas elevated stress may increase biological age, your body can reverse some of the damage when stress levels decrease.
Immune Function
As part of the immune system’s toolkit, lysine may have anti-inflammatory benefits. Less inflammation means the cells have a healthier environment to regenerate and function.
Furthermore, this review notes the importance of lysine in maintaining skin structure and regulating inflammatory pathways — two crucial areas for healthy aging.
Lysine for Skin Aging: Can Lysine Help You Look Younger?
Lysine supports many aspects of overall health, but its impact on skin aging is especially noteworthy.
Research shows that lysine can help maintain firm, healthy-looking skin while also improving skin tone, reducing breakouts, and strengthening hair and nails. In one clinical study, women who took an oral supplement containing lysine and other amino acids saw improved skin hydration, hair strength, and nail health over just 12 weeks.
Lysine may be especially helpful in menopause. The skin loses roughly 30% of its collagen within the first five years of menopause, with gradual drops in collagen over the next 20 years. With lysine support, the skin can maintain more of its firmness and show fewer visible signs of aging.
L-Lysine Benefits for Skin: Before and After
If you’ve explored lysine and skin health online or on social media, you’ve likely come across before-and-after photos touting the benefits of lysine. From Reddit to TikTok, many users report having brighter, plumper skin after incorporating lysine supplements.
While these stories are anecdotal and not clinical evidence, they do support what science tells us about lysine’s role in collagen support, tissue repair, and inflammation reduction. It’s reasonable to conclude that these biological effects may lead to visible improvements in skin texture, tone, and elasticity.
However, not all lysine products are created equal. When choosing any longevity or skin-supporting supplement, always look for third-party testing and formulations backed by research, such as NOVOS Core. Although it doesn’t contain lysine directly, NOVOS Core is packed with ingredients that support the same pathways that lysine impacts, including:
- Glycine: Supports collagen production and works synergistically with lysine for strong, resilient skin
- Alpha-ketoglutarate: Enhances muscle function and cellular metabolism, two processes that lysine also helps regulate
- Magnesium and vitamin C: Co-factors essential to amino acid metabolism and collagen synthesis
- Hyaluronic acid: Helps keep skin hydrated and elastic, complementing lysine’s structural benefits
Together, these ingredients help build a foundation for healthy skin aging, cellular vitality, and joint health. If you’re already consuming lysine through diet or supplements, adding NOVOS Core can help round out your longevity regimen.
Lysine Dosage: How Much Do You Need?
The typical lysine dosage recommendation ranges from 800 mg to 3,000 mg per day, depending on a person’s age, weight, and lifestyle. The average 150-pound individual needs about 1,500 to 2,000 mg of lysine daily. For the most accurate dosage recommendations based on your diet, health history, and goals, consult with your healthcare provider.
Whether you prefer chicken and eggs or lentils and tofu, you can get your daily dosage from both animal-based and plant-based sources. However, vegans and others who struggle to consume enough lysine might consider supplementation. During periods of high stress, illness, or recovery from an illness or injury, your lysine needs may be greater.
To learn more about optimizing your longevity supplement routine, check out this guide to selecting the best science-based, anti-aging supplements.
Lysine & Anti-Aging: Strengthening Skin From the Inside Out
Lysine may not make headlines the way that some nutrients do, but it’s nonetheless a powerful player in aging. As science continues to highlight the benefits of lysine for longevity and skin health, it makes sense to consider this amino acid as part of a holistic anti-aging lifestyle. When you include NOVOS Core in your daily routine, you can further support your body’s ability to address the root causes of aging.
To explore how the right ingredients can work together to slow aging, check out our free resources to build a personalized longevity stack — from our Free AI Facial Age Test to our five-minute Longevity Assessment. Take the first step toward a longer, healthier life with NOVOS today.
