Lysine is an amino acid, found widely in animal foods like meat, fish, and eggs, but now wildly popular as a supplement.
Lysine has multiple benefits for both acne and health. Firstly, lysine is vital for collagen production, and therefore anti-ageing and strong skin. Both lysine and a structurally related compound it forms called allysine are raw materials for all collagen in your skin.
Secondly, lysine is an excellent remedy for stress, being known to reduce stress hormones strongly. Lysine activates the same receptors as benzos, the classic pharmaceutical anti-anxiety drugs, and it does so naturally. Lysine can even control serotonin receptors linked to anxiety.
Who is most at risk of deficiency? Easily vegans, vegetarians, and people who restrict animal foods for health. Unless you’re smart and tactically eat the correct nuts and seeds using a meticulous system, lysine can be hard to obtain from plants alone.
That said, anyone can be lysine deficient. Is your skin weak, your face dull and glowless, and your acne slow to heal? Do you have a constantly low mood, racing thoughts, coupled with an inability to sleep? Lysine may be the supplement for you.
Therefore, here’s a guide to the top ten lysine supplements available today:
One – Pure Encapsulations
Pure Encapsulations kicks off our list by being pretty much unbeatable.
This lysine brand is highly pure and potent. The lysine is free form and easily absorbed, coming in the superior L-lysine hydrochloride form. It’s natural rather than synthetic, derived from a microbiological fermentation process. With Pure Encapsulations, you receive the optimal lysine dosage of 500mg per capsule. The bottle contains a gigantic 270 capsules, giving you a nine months’ supply.
This lysine contains very few additives. There’s ascorbyl palmitate, which is a bonus form of vitamin C, and secondly, the vegetable capsule, consisting solely of vegetable cellulose and water. Pure Encapsulations is indeed among the purest lysine supplements on the market, with no corn, soy, magnesium stearate nor allergens.
But perhaps the best feature is the excellent value for money. Buy Pure Encapsulations lysine, and you will receive an almost 9 month supply. Each capsule contains 500mg, the standard dosage. There’s also a 90-count bottle available if you wish to conduct a shorter experiment.
Pure Encapsulations is possibly the greatest lysine supplement available today.
Amazon link: Pure Encapsulations L-Lysine.
Two – Thorne Research
Thorne Research is also a top-tier lysine supplement. It’s just as high value for money; while you only receive 60 capsules of 500mg per bottle, the price is also lower.
It’s another rare product with no magnesium stearate, as well as no unnecessary binders, coatings, disintegrants, or fillers. Most importantly, the lysine itself is natural and potent, being extracted from a bacterial fermentation process, in the well absorbed L-lysine monohydrochloride form. Each ingredient in this lysine is tested for potency and quality. In fact, 15% of Thorne Research’s total employees are assigned to quality control.
This brand contains a handful of extra ingredients: silicon dioxide, calcium laurate, leucine, and a hypromellose capsule, all of which are benign. Leucine is actually a healthy amino acid itself, among the most important for muscle construction.
Thorne Research recommends storing their lysine in a cool, dry place. Strategically, you should take lysine for 2 months before passing judgement. Why? The stress reduction will occur within weeks, but the improvements in skin tone and youthfulness require patience, as fresh collagen slowly builds up.
Overall, Thorne Research equals Pure Encapsulations as the greatest lysine product available today.
Amazon link: Thorne Lysine, 60 Capsules.
Three – Superior Labs
An expertly formulated lysine supplement, which is perfect in every way for health, mood, muscle and acne.
Superior Labs contains the following ingredients. One, L-lysine hydrochloride (L-lysine HCI), a superbly absorbed form in the gut. Two, organic rice concentrate, as a harmless capsule filler, which is far superior to corn flour. Three, a vegetable capsule, consisting solely of plant cellulose derived from pine bark. The lysine comes in the typical dosage of 500mg, requiring one capsule daily. There’s 120 capsules per bottle, giving you a 4 month supply.
Superior Labs is also a rare lysine supplement which is free from magnesium stearate. Take this supplement and you will enjoy all the stress reduction, youthfulness, and restful sleep lysine has to offer. Superior Labs has even been tested meticulously for bacteria and heavy metal contamination; the likes of arsenic and mercury are a nightmare for your health. The supplement is manufactured in third party facilities which are subject to stringent inspections, guaranteeing quality.
Superior Labs ranks among the greatest lysine bottles on the planet.
Amazon link: Superior Labs L-Lysine Supplement.
Four – Klaire Labs
A top quality lysine supplement which flies under the radar, yet outdoes many of the famous brands. Klaire Labs (also known as SFI Health) comes in the classic lysine dosage of 500mg, with 100 capsules in a bottle, for a 3 month plus supply. This company has been operating since 1969 and was founded on the principle of choosing only pharmaceutical grade ingredients.
Like Pure Encapsulations, the lysine is in the well-absorbed L-lysine HCI form, allowing it to digest, absorb into the bloodstream, and strengthen your skin with maximum efficiency. This brand has less reviews than its competitors, but those that exist are overwhelmingly positive, reporting calmness and reduced sickness.
The bonus ingredients are all benign, reading ascorbyl palmitate, silicon dioxide, water, and the hydroxypropyl methylcellulose capsule. Klaire Labs is completely free from the controversial anti-adhesive agent magnesium stearate. Each stage of the manufacturing process is optimised for a potent supplement, from the selection of raw materials to the shipping of the finished product.
Overall, Klaire Labs is a hard L-lysine supplement to beat.
Amazon link: Klaire Labs L-Lysine.
Five – Solaray
According to Solaray, their lysine is a “Naturally produced free-form amino acid from microbial fermentation”. Essentially, it will be produced by fermenting molasses or the sugars from grains, in line with other natural supplements.
Solaray succeeds again with its low ingredient count: just organic rice extract blend, cellulose, and vegetable cellulose capsule. The specific form of lysine is the optimally absorbed L-lysine HCI, and it’s also free form.
You might be wondering, after researching many supplements, what the “L” in these supplements means. In short, lysine itself is the natural form found in peas, meat or eggs, whereas L-lysine is the bioactive form. Lysine is converted to L-lysine in the body, so by supplementing with l-lysine, you’re taking the most bioactive form instantly, and that’s the standard.
Another form is d-lysine, a sweeter and rarely occurring form. D-lysine is considered to be weaker and more prone to causing side effects compared to L-lysine in studies. Hence, none of the brands here contain it, and Solaray is no exception.
The final advantage of Solaray is its value for money: 120 tablets with 500mg for a very low price. If you’ve concluded that lysine is what your skin needs, Solaray is an excellent way to obtain it.
Amazon link: Solaray L-Lysine 500mg.
Six – NutraBio
NutraBio is easily one of the purest supplement brands on the market, selling pure zincs, magnesiums and seleniums alike. Luckily, lysine hasn’t escaped their attention. NutraBio’s bottle contains 500mg per capsule, with a recommended dosage of 2 daily for 1000mg (though one is sufficient).
NutraBio guarantees that every batch of every product is tested in a 3rd party lab for purity, and the additives list is supremely clean, reading simply hypromellose and water. There’s no magnesium stearate to be seen, guaranteeing full nutrient absorption. This is also guaranteed by being in the optimally absorbed L-lysine monohydrochloride form, increasing the transport of lysine molecules into the bloodstream where it can perform its important duties.
Most importantly, NutraBio comes in a jumbo supply of 500 capsules, though with a higher price. This gives you well over a year’s supply. What’s your ideal strategy with lysine? 2 months of supplementation is ideal, but it also depends on your goals: the collagen-boosting benefits will take a while to materialise, while the calming of anxiety could show up quicker. Either way, NutraBio allows you to fulfil any masterplan you concoct.
Amazon link: NutraBio L-Lysine (500mg).
Seven – Natural Factors
Our last two brands are in the second tier of lysine products. Why are the first six better? Because neither Pure Encapsulations nor its brethren contain magnesium stearate.
Magnesium stearate is a lubricant, an anti-adhesive which prevents powder supplements from sticking to factory machinery. It’s a controversial additive, with its enemies warning of inhibited nutrient absorption and its allies dismissing the evidence as weak.
The reality is probably a slight detrimental effect on nutrient absorption, enough to weaken a product slightly, but a minor flaw when a supplement is perfectly formulated otherwise. Natural Factors lysine fits that criteria. The ingredients other than lysine are magnesium stearate, silica, water, carbohydrate gum (cellulose), and rice powder, not perfect but still much cleaner than bottom barrel brands.
Plus, the lysine itself is in the well-absorbed L-lysine hydrochloride form. There are no chemical fillers, preservatives, or flavours, nor allergens like soy or corn. Natural Factors is also excellent value for money, and is a well respected brand. The bottle contains 90 capsules, with the optimal dosage of 500mg, while the price is low. The bottle recommends two capsules daily for a dosage of 1000mg, but one is more than sufficient.
Natural Factors is a high quality lysine supplement for acne and health.
Amazon link: Natural Factors L-Lysine.
Eight – NOW Foods
Our final lysine brand is from the heavyweight natural company NowFoods, one of the best trusted supplement companies around. This lysine has the disadvantage of a longer additives list than others, but three great advantages. Firstly, its dosage is easily the highest at 1000mg per capsule. This comes in the superbly absorbed L-lysine hydrochloride form, and with 100 capsules, you receive excellent value for money.
Secondly, Now Foods constantly tests well in lab reports and is extremely transparent. This is a brand where you can guarantee that you’re getting what you pay for. Finally, Now Foods is much cheaper than its competition, at least among reputable brands.
As for the additives, they read: stearic acid (vegetable source), magnesium stearate (vegetable source), croscarmellose sodium, microcrystalline cellulose, vegetarian coating, and silicon dioxide. This is longer than ideal, and certainly longer than Pure Encapsulations, but not deal-breaking. NowFoods is also a vegan product, if that’s important to you.
NowFoods is my top recommended lysine brand if you’re on a restricted budget.
Amazon link: Now Supplements L-Lysine Hydrochloride.
Conclusion
If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, or have carefully analysed your diet and concluded that you need lysine, nothing now stands in your way.
Pure Encapsulations and NutraBio are probably the ultimate brands, while NowFoods is ideal if you want to save on cost and receive a high dosage. Any brand here will supply the lysine you seek.
NEXT: forget creams and moisturisers – discover the ultimate acne-clearing diet
Thanks for reading!