Amino acids, what are they?

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein (protein). If you were to take protein apart, all the small amino acids would fall out that together form the amino acid profile of the protein. Different protein sources have different amino acid profiles.

A large part of human cells are considered protein, such as muscles, organs and tissue. Amino acids play a vital role in keeping these cells healthy and functioning.

They support the transport and storage of nutrients, and they have an important function in wound healing. In addition, they help organs, muscles, tendons, glands and veins to function.Also, the heart is considered a large muscle, specific amino acids are essential for a healthy heart.

Specific amino acids are used as a dietary supplement to improve your mood, sport performance and rest / sleep.

Which amino acids are essential and which are not?

If you do some research on amino acids, you will often hear the term essential and non-essential. Out of the 20 amino acids our body needs, 9 are essential. Our body cannot produce the 9 essential amino acids. These amino acids need to be absorb out of our diet.

Can you get a shortage of non-essential amino acids? Even thought the body produces non-essential amino acids does not mean you cannot get a shortage. For instance, if the body is fighting cancer it might be that the body cannot keep up with the production of Arginine. It would be wise to use extra supplementation or adjust your diet to support your body.

It is also possible that due to kidney problems you drain amino acids from the blood into the urine. This will lead to a shortage in both essential and non-essential amino acids.

List of essential amino acids: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan and Valine.

List of Non-Essential Amino Acids: Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Beta Alanine, Carnitine, Cysteine, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine, Taurine and Tyrosine.

In this blog we will focus on the essential amino acids and in which protein sources / food they occur the most.

How do I know if I’m getting enough essential amino acids?

Essential amino acids are found in large numbers in our diet. This is also the reason that our bodies do not make them, because there is plenty in our food. The right question to ask is am I getting the right ratio?

Our amino acid needs have evolved with the amino acids we naturally get through food. The essential amino acids are the most abundant in the amino acid profile of our diet. By amino acid profile I mean the composition of amino acids that make up a specific protein source. Yet you see differences, soy has a different amino acid profile than chicken meat (Chicken Protein).

Our body needs different amino acid ratio’s and quantities throughout different stages of our life. Growing children have a different need than adults. People that do physical work or are pro athletes have different needs then someone who works at an office.

For example, you can eat a lump of one-sided protein but still not get enough essential amino acids for optimal muscle growth or normal function of your body.

You can show this best with a picture of a barrel. Below you see that lysine is the first limiting amino acid, so the barrel can only be filled with water up to lysine. The water holding capacity of the barrel is equal to the maximum muscle growth. If your body only receives 70% of its lysine needs, you will never be able to achieve full growth potential.