L-Theanine

L-Theanine is the main amino acid found in green tea leaves and has anecdotally been used for improving mood and relaxation. Research has shown that L-Theanine can reduce immune suppression from high volume training and can also act as an adaptogen to both psychological and physiological stress. While L-Theanine may not *directly* affect size and strength gains, this may be a decent addition to a recovery shake or night time meal during periods of high stress or high volume training. I wouldn’t recommend taking theanine before training as it can have a relaxing effect on some people – not the ideal scenario for hard training!
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▪️ Source: Juszkiewicz, A., Glapa, A., Basta, P., Petriczko, E., Żołnowski, K., Machaliński, B., … & Skarpańska-Stejnborn, A. (2019). The effect of L-theanine supplementation on the immune system of athletes exposed to strenuous physical exercise. Journal of the International Society of Spo