There are a lot of marquee amino acids out there that get star billing for helping you in the gym: beta-alanine, valine, arginine, and of course leucine (the Tom Hardy of leading amino acids). A new supporting actor has burst on the scene lately. A Chinese study found that histidine can help reduce body fat levels. Over 12 weeks, overweight subjects took two grams of histidine after breakfast and another two grams after dinner.
At the end of the trial, the group who consumed the amino acid lost about four and a half pounds of body fat, while the placebo group actually gained two pounds. It seems that histidine improved insulin sensitivity and squelched certain inflammatory agents in the blood. Histidine supplements are inexpensive and easy to find. It is also plentiful in such healthy foods as alfalfa, beets, endive, garlic, radish, spinach, and turnip greens.