how do amino acids relate to athletics? Are they really good for them? It is my understanding amino acids can cause heart trouble or even cancer so why do they take them?

Answer 1

These sites present some interesting information -- both for and against amino acids and athletics. There doesn't seem to be a consensus about their effectiveness nor their health hazards.

http://www.ajinomoto.com/amino/eng/sports_print.html

http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/12/04/04.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15574076&dopt=AbstractPlus

http://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org/site/pdf/Williams%20JISSN%202-2-63-67-05.pdf