Essential Amino Acids: Their Health Benefits and Top Food Sources

Nutrients are one of the fundamental components of a healthy body. They lay a solid basis for a life full of vitality, positive emotions, robust bones and muscles, and much more. You need a balanced amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients—especially amino acids—to achieve this goal.

Amino acids support a wide range of processes in the body. Though their function in muscle growth and repair is the most well-known, amino acids are essential to your body for many more reasons.

It’s essential to get adequate amino acids daily; your food may provide all the amino acids you need. Therefore, a proper diet is very crucial. Read on to learn about the functions of necessary amino acids in the body and which foods include them.

What Are Amino Acids?

Amino acids are vital for living and maintaining healthy functioning. They are referred to as macronutrients and make proteins. Protein is composed of long-chain molecules called amino acids^[1].

Your body contains protein in nearly every tissue and organ, including your muscles, bones, skin, and hair. Additionally, they produce the enzymes that power significant bodily chemical processes.

Since the body does not store amino acids, it must synthesise them from scratch or other sources. There are more than 20 amino acids, which fall into three groups^[2]:

• Essential amino acids
• Nonessential amino acids
• Conditional amino acids

Essential amino acids must come from food since your body cannot produce them alone or from other amino acids. Only nine are considered essential, although all 20 are crucial for your health.

Why Are Essential Amino Acids Necessary?

The human body needs just 20 amino acids (AA), which are the building blocks of thousands of different kinds of protein. Of these 20, 9 cannot be produced by the body and must, therefore, be received from food; these are known as essential amino acids. 

Maintaining enough muscle mass requires a diet rich in all 20 amino acids, including 9EAA, called high-quality protein.

9 Essential Amino Acids

There are nine essential amino acids, each serving a variety of vital functions in your body, including^[3]

#1 Histidine: Histidine is a building block for the neurotransmitter histamine, a brain molecule. Histamine significantly impacts the immune system, digestion, sleep patterns, and sexual function of the body ^[4].

#2 Isoleucine: Isoleucine has a role in your body’s immunological response and muscle metabolism. It also supports haemoglobin synthesis and energy homeostasis in your body^[5].

#3 Leucine: Your body uses leucine to produce growth hormones and proteins. It also aids in wound healing, blood sugar regulation, and the growth and regeneration of muscular tissue^[6].

#4 Lysine: Lysine is necessary for synthesising energy and hormones. It’s crucial for immunological and calcium function as well^[7].

#5 Methionine: Methionine aids in developing new tissue, metabolism, and detoxification of the body. Additionally, methionine aids in absorbing zinc and selenium, two essential nutrients^[8].

#6 Phenylalanine: Phenylalanine is essential for producing your brain’s chemical messengers, including dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. It’s necessary for the synthesis of other amino acids as well^[9].

#7 Threonine: Threonine is a crucial component of elastin and collagen. These proteins provide your skin and connective tissue structure. Additionally, they aid in forming blood clots, which stop bleeding. Threonine is crucial for both the immunological system and fat metabolism^[10].

#8 Tryptophan: Tryptophan aids in preserving the proper nitrogen balance in your body. It also contributes to the synthesis of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. Serotonin controls your appetite, mood, and sleep patterns^[11].

#9 Valine: Valine has a role in energy production, muscular development, and tissue repair^[12].

Non-Essential Amino Acids

Your body creates the remaining 11 amino acids you need, which we call nonessential amino acids. The body can synthesise these amino acids from other amino acids. The 11 nonessential amino acids are ^[13]:

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

Conditionally Essential Amino Acids

Conditional amino acids are those that are not necessary. This implies that they are only deemed necessary in cases of illness or stress. The conditionally essential amino acids are^[14]:

• Arginine
• Cysteine
• Glutamine
• Tyrosine
• Glycine
• Proline
• Serine

These are only necessary in certain situations, such as disease, pregnancy, infancy, or trauma.
For instance, while arginine is thought to be unnecessary, your body cannot produce as much of it as needed while recovering from a significant injury or battling certain illnesses^[15].

Because of this, people may take supplements containing arginine to satisfy their bodies’ demands under specific circumstances.

Furthermore, because a pregnant woman needs more amino acids to maintain her and the fetus’s health, arginine and glycine are regarded as conditionally necessary during pregnancy^[16].

ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID PROFILE OF VEGETARIAN AND NON-VEGETARIAN DIETS “ICMR NIN MY PLATE FOR THE DAY” 

The daily consumption requirements for essential amino acids are mentioned below:

Most diets make it reasonably easy to meet these needs; therefore, keeping track of your consumption of particular amino acids may be typically unnecessary.

Signs of Amino Acid Deficiency

Your body will show signs if you have a deficiency of amino acids. Below are a few things you might experience if you have low amino acids^[17]:

#1 Difficulty Concentrating

Foods high in protein, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products, provide the necessary amino acid tyrosine. Tyrosine increases your body’s synthesis of focus-enhancing neurotransmitters like dopamine and adrenaline, and a low tyrosine level might make it difficult for you to concentrate.

#2 Tiredness

Everybody has days when they feel like they are dragging. However, you could not be getting the amino acids your body needs to function if you are constantly exhausted.

#3 Memory Loss

Acetyl-L-carnitine increases memory and cognitive function in addition to helping the body produce energy. So, low energy or poor memory might indicate amino acid deficiency.

#4 Slow Recoveries from Illness

Inadequate amino acids might hamper your body’s capacity to heal from an infection. Amino acids slow down the healing process.

#5 Muscle Loss

If amino acid production is insufficient, your body may tear down muscle tissue to feed itself during severe activity. If your muscles are weaker than they used to be, it might cause your inability to run quickly or lift as much weight.

#6 Craving Unhealthy Foods

Do you have an overwhelming need for sweets? Do you adore carbohydrates? It’s possible that your brain isn’t receiving enough amino acids to keep you feeling content. Amino acids are the building blocks of neurotransmitters, which regulate hunger.

#7 Depressed Mood

Studies reveal that a few amino acids function as building blocks for neurotransmitters linked to depression, such as serotonin and norepinephrine^[18]. Tryptophan, for instance, is a precursor to serotonin, which plays a critical role in mood regulation. A lack of these neurotransmitters may indicate a deficiency in essential amino acids.

#8 Oversleeping

Are you having trouble getting out of bed? One possible reason might be a deficiency in the amino acids that give you energy.

Role of Amino Acids

Your body breaks down amino acids to create proteins. The many types of amino acids and their combinations dictate the function of each protein.

Thus, your body uses amino acids for a variety of vital functions.

#1 Tissue Building And Repairing: Amino acids may support the growth and maintenance of internal organs, muscles, and bones. They may be crucial for wound healing as well^[19].

#2 Synthesising Neurotransmitters And Hormones: Amino acids may produce hormones like norepinephrine and adrenaline and neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. These hormones and neurotransmitters are crucial for controlling mood, stress reactions, and mental health in general^[20].

#3 Generating Energy: When protein is broken down into amino acids, the body may use it as energy^[21].

#4 Strengthening The Immune System: Immune cells require essential nutrition, such as amino acids. Amino acids boost the body’s defences against infections and aid in healing by synthesising antibodies^[22].

#5 Keeping Nails, Hair, And Skin Healthy: Certain amino acids, such as lysine and threonine, aid in producing collagen and elastin, which maintain the skin’s suppleness and softness and promote the growth of hair and nails^[23].

#6 Assisting The Digestive Tract: Amino acids support the production of essential proteins and molecules in the gut and the small intestine’s lining membrane^[24].

#7 Making Molecules Using Nitrogen: Creating neurotransmitters, peptide hormones, and creatine requires amino acids. These molecules are necessary for energy metabolism, muscular contraction, and cell-to-cell communication—all of which depend on nitrogen-containing amino acids ^[25].

#8 Maintaining A Healthy Weight: While threonine is essential for fat metabolism, methionine controls our metabolic rate and may aid detoxification^[26].

#9 Maintaining A Stable Mood: Tryptophan stimulates serotonin synthesis, a neurotransmitter necessary for comfort and balance^[27].

#10 Establishing Regular Sleep And Waking Cycles: Irregular sleeping patterns, brought on by conditions like stress, snoring or breathing problems, and insomnia, might negatively impact general health. For a restful night’s sleep, histidine and tryptophan support the maintenance of regular circadian cycles^[28].

Some amino acids, called essential amino acids, are produced by the body, whereas others are only obtainable through diet. Despite their potential as a nutritious source, essential amino acids may be absent from plant-based proteins.

Foods That Contain Amino Acids

Numerous food types include essential amino acids. Chicken and egg proteins may be among the finest suppliers of amino acids. Your body may absorb and utilise animal proteins most easily.

Complete proteins are foods with all nine of the required amino acids. Some foods include poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, quinoa, and buckwheat.

Incomplete proteins are foods that provide some of the necessary amino acids, but not all of them. Nuts, seeds, beans, and some grains are among these foods. You must incorporate a variety of incomplete proteins in your diet if you’re a vegetarian or vegan to ensure you’re getting all nine of the required amino acids.

Here are some common food sources of essential amino acids ^[29]:

These are only a handful of the meals high in essential amino acids. All protein-containing meals from plants or animals will have some essential amino acids.

The Bottom Line

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. You need 20 of these molecules to support healthy bodily function. These are the molecules that all living things require to synthesise protein. Your body makes 11 of the essential amino acids.

The good news is that obtaining your body’s remaining nine amino acids requires no more effort. Just make sure your diet is well-balanced. Concentrate on eating foods like meat, eggs, and dairy that are complete proteins, which include all nine necessary amino acids. Nuts and beans, which contain incomplete proteins, are also beneficial.

For optimal health, one must consume essential amino acids. Consult our certified nutritionist for advice or assistance, ensuring your diet contains adequate amino acids.

Frequently Asked Questions