Amino Acids 101

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and the human body can synthesize 11 out of the 20 amino acids. Amino acids are the essential compounds in all living things – microbes to humans.  Every residing body contains the same 20 types of amino acids. Amino acids make up 20% of our bodies and approx.. 50% of our solid body mass.  These 20 types are the building blocks of proteins, 100,000 kinds of protein to be exact.

History of amino acids

Discovered early in the 19^th century, in 1806, two French chemists Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin and Pierre Jean Robiquet, discovered asparagine, the first amino acid that was isolated from asparagus.  The term ‘amino acid” has been used since 1898.  In 1902, scientists Emil Fischer and Franz Hoffmeister proposed that amino acids were what formed proteins.

What is protein?

Protein is critical to your diet and is one of the main components of our bodies. Protein is found in dairy, eggs, seafood, meats, legumes, nuts, and seeds. When we eat protein, it is broken down and then reformed into new protein in our bodies. Protein is a macronutrient essential for building muscle mass. The term “protein” means to sustain life.

Composed of amino acids, protein contains carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur compounds. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, while proteins are the building blocks of muscle mass. It is recommended that 10% to 35% of daily calories come from protein. Protein needs to be consumed as people don’t make many amino acids in their bodies.

• Build muscle
• Repair tissue
• Repair damaged muscles
• Make enzymes
• Make hormones
• Aid in weight loss
• It helps you feel full longer
• Improves muscle size
• Tone muscles
• Improves muscle protein synthesis
• Speeds recovery from muscle soreness after exercise.

Types of Amino Acids

Essential amino acids

We cannot synthesize 9 of the 20 amino acids, which need to be taken through foods. The best sources of essential amino acids are animal proteins, including meat, eggs, and poultry.  These are known as the essential amino acids, which includes:

Histidine

Histidine is used to produce the neurotransmitter histamine.  Histidine is vital to immune response, sexual function, digestion, and sleep-wake cycles.  It also maintains the myelin sheath, a protective barrier that surrounds nerve cells.

Isoleucine

Isoleucine is the last of the three branched-chain amino acids and is involved in muscle metabolism. This amino acid also assists in wound healing and detoxification of nitrogenous wastes. It is also vital for hemoglobin production, energy regulation, and immune function.

Leucine 

Another branched branched-chain amino acid, leucine, is crucial for protein synthesis and muscle repair.  In addition, it helps with wound healing and produces growth hormones.

Lysine

Lysine is essential to several processes in the body, including protein synthesis, hormone production, enzyme production, absorption of calcium, energy production, collagen production, and immune function.

Methionine

Methionine is vital to metabolism and detoxification, tissue growth, and absorption of zinc and selenium.

Phenylalanine

A precursor to dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and tyrosin, phenylalanine is an amino acid that plays a crucial role in enzymes and proteins’ structure and function.  Phenylalanine also helps with the production of other amino acids.

Threonine

An essential part of the structure of proteins like collagen and elastin, threonine is crucial to the health of skin and connective tissues.  Threonine also is involved in fat metabolism and immune function.

Tryptophan

People are familiar with tryptophan, it causes drowsiness, but this amino acid is responsible for maintaining proper nitrogen balance. Tryptophan is also a precursor to serotonin which helps regulate your appetite, sleep, and mood.

Valine

A three branched-chain amino acid, valine, helps with muscle growth and regeneration as well as energy production.

Non-essential amino acids

11 of the 20 amino acids can be synthesized from other amino acids in the body, and these are known as non-essential amino acids, which includes:

• Alanine
• Arginine
• Asparagine
• Aspartic acid
• Cysteine
• Glutamic acid
• Glutamine
• Glycine
• Proline
• Serine
• Tyrosine

Amino acids in the human body

From making up our actual body to regulating essential body functions, amino acids link together to make up collagen, keratin, and hemoglobin.  Amino acids become enzymes or hormones that help to regulate our body; these include thyroid hormones, insulin, and adrenalin.  Amino acids are crucial for vital processes in our body, including:

• Build and repair the body
• Regulate and maintain the body
• Regulate immune function
• Give the body energy
• Play a role in food taste
• Synthesis of hormones
• Synthesis of neurotransmitters

What are BCAAs?

Branch chain amino acids, also known as BCAAs, contain valine, leucine, and isoleucine, all of which play a role in protein synthesis and the glucose uptake of cells—used for overall muscle building and recovery post-exercise.  According to the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, BCAAs may help reduce muscle damage during endurance exercise.  Popular with athletes and bodybuilders to improve overall performance and muscle growth, BCAAs also reduce exercise fatigue, helping them endurance.

Also, studies show that supplementation with BCAA helped improve lean muscle mass and decrease the percentage of body fat.  HIIT or high-intensity exercise causes muscle damage, and BCAA also helps reduce this.

Foods that contain BCAA include

• Eggs
• Meat
• Poultry
• Buckwheat
• Milk and cheese
• Nuts and seeds
• Soy products
• Legumes.

Amino acid deficiency

When your body doesn’t get the amino acids it needs, you can suffer from an amino acid deficiency.  Symptoms of amino acid deficiency include:

• Trouble focusing
• Fatigue
• Memory loss
• Slows illness recovery
• Muscle loss
• Craving unhealthy foods
• Weakness
• Depressed mood
• Oversleeping
• Decreased immunity
• Digestive issues
• Depression
• Fertility issues
• Lower mental alertness
• Slowed growth in children

Amino acids and aging

When we age, we lose muscle mass; this happens to everyone and is known as sarcopenia. Studies show that exercise and consumption of amino acids can be correlated with increased muscle mass and strength.  They also found that a high percentage of BCAA leucine produces more muscle protein gain.

Amino acids and sports health

To make more muscle protein, you need essential amino acids.  In particular, research shows that the amino acids leucine, alanine, and proline are beneficial to sports recovery:

• Enhance muscle recovery
• Improve endurance
• Build muscle mass more efficiently

Foods rich in amino acids

Our bodies cannot make some amino acids, and we need to eat them in our diet.  Foods rich in amino acids include:

• Quinoa
• Eggs
• Turkey
• Cottage Cheese
• Mushrooms
• Fish
• Legumes and beans include peas, chickpeas, peanuts, cooked kidney beans, black beans, edamame, soybeans, and lentils.