Amino Acids are compounds of different molecules that bound together and form chains called peptides or polypeptides which in turn form structures called proteins There are hundreds of different amino acids but only about two dozen amino acids that play an important role in human nutrition. Amino Acids are broken down into two groups essential and non essential. Proteins which are formed by amino acids are the building blocks for our bodies and have many different roles that are essential to life, good health, and disease prevention. Our body’s need amino acids to build the proteins that maintain our healthy tissue and help grow and repair our cells. Proper diet and supplements will assist in the providing the body with the proper amount of aminos to carry out its necessary functions.
An essential amino acid cannot be made by the body and must be supplied by food. These include isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Then there are the non essential amino acids that are made by the body from the essential amino acids and can be synthesized by the body alone. These are arginine, alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine. Another type of amino acid is a semi essential amino acid which can sometimes be made internally if the body’s conditions are right. Histidine is considered semi-essential because the body does not always require dietary sources of it.