What are amino acids? Why are they so crucial for the body?

A quick guide on essential amino acids

Manoj Saini
3 min readAug 26, 2021
Photo by logan jeffrey on Unsplash

There are 20 different amino acids that your body needs to function correctly. Although all 20 amino is essential to your health, only nine amino acids are crucial. Those are Histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine. The body does not produce essential amino, so we must take this amino through the diet.

In This article, I am only focusing on essential amino acids, how they function, the food sources, and the benefits of taking these supplements.

Meat and poultry are the best sources of essential amino acids.
It has broken down into amino acids whenever we eat protein-enriched food, which muscles use in various processes. Amino helps you to regulate immune function.

However, arginine is considered nonessential. However, your body makes enough, but while fighting diseases such as cancer body requires more. That is why arginine intake should increase by diet or supplements.

  • Phenylalanine — Provides an integral role in the structure and function of protein enzymes.
  • Valine — helps in muscle growth and regeneration. It plays a crucial role in energy production.
  • Threonine — is the central part of structural protein such as collagen. It also plays a role in fat metabolism and immune function.
  • Tryptophan — This amino deficiency causes drowsiness, need to maintain a nitrogen balance that regulates sleep, appetite, mood.
  • Methionine — plays an essential role in metabolism and detoxification. It also helps the tissue goeth and provides absorption of zinc and selenium, and these are essential minerals that are vital for your immune system and health.
  • Leucine — needed for protein synthesis and muscle repair. It helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes healing the wound faster, and helps produce much-needed growth hormones.
  • Isoleucine — isoleucine involved in muscle metabolism helps you grow muscle faster. This amino is heavily concentrated in muscle tissue. It is also essential for immune function, hemoglobin production, and energy regulation.
  • Lysine — also plays a significant role in protein synthesis, hormone, and enzyme production. It also promotes calcium absorption and plays an essential part in energy production.
  • Histidine — This amino is responsible for immune responses, digestion, sexual function, and sleep cycle.

Essential amino acids are the core of many vital processes in the body, how in the fitness community is used for their muscle-building capability and repair damaged cells. However, the body depends upon them much more.

That is why this amino deficiency can adversely affect your body functions including, nervous, reproductive, immune, and digestive systems.

Below are the main benefits of essential amino acids

  • Significant health benefits — improve mood and sleep tryptophan is needed for serotonin production, the hormone responsible for regulating mood and sleep. Low serotonin levels linked with depression adequate supplementation can reduce depression, boost mood and improve sleep.
  • Improve workout performance — BCAA(branched-chain amino acids) are widely used to alleviate fatigue, improve performance and helps to faster muscle recovery and decrease muscle soreness.
  • Prevent muscle loss — Muscle loss is a common side effect for patients primarily on bed rest. Amino preserves lean mass and maintain muscle breakdown.
  • Promote weight loss — helps simulate the fat loss if you have taken adequately with diet and proper workout routine.

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