Amino Acids: The Kind Of Acids You Want To Know
See enough horror movies and chemistry experiments and you might think acids are liable to burn and melt you if you get in contact with them. However, we all know that there are plenty of acids in the body as well as in the foods we digest, as well as that many of them play important roles in our health. One such acid or, rather, group of acids is amino acids. You might have heard a lot about them, especially how it’s recommended you get plenty of them. But here, we will look more closely at what they actually are, what they do, and where you can find them.
What are they?
Amino acids are, to put it simply, are known as the building blocks of protein. However, these are actually compounds that play a wide range of roles in the body. They’re vital to essential processes like building proteins and aiding hormone production. They come in a wide variety of forms, known as both essential and non-essential amino acids depending on their use in the body. Amino acids are found naturally in proteins, which are broken down by the body before the amino acids are then absorbed and re-used in the human body. To some degree, we do produce amino acids in the body like alanine, asparagine, cysteine, glycine, serine, and more. However, it’s important to aid this with diet.
What do they do?
Effectively, essential amino acids are essential for their role in synthesizing proteins, as well as other nitrogen compounds in the body, like peptide hormones and creatine. Ribosomal RNA fragments are the synthesis molecules in the body that links the acids together to create what is called coded proteins. However, amino acids do much more than just help synthesize proteins. The different essential amino acids also perform different specialized roles. Lysine, for instance, aids in calcium absorption, helping grow and nourish bones and teeth. Methionine has been found to play a role in blood vessel growth. From blood sugar control to immune function to hormone regulation, amino acids can be found helping in a wide range of bodily functions.
Where can they be found?
Most people can obtain all of the essential amino acids they need by eating enough animal proteins, such as meat and eggs, supplemented by some that are found in rice and beans. However, if you are living a vegan lifestyle, you may need to hunt a little more specifically for the different acids that the body needs. Lysine can be found in soy, black beans, and pumpkin seeds. Histidine and methionine are found in nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Threonine is found in wheat germ. In fact, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds all contain some of the essential amino acids that the body needs. There are, of course, supplements that can help with that, too.
Amino acids are an important building block of a healthy body. They’re especially important for anyone hoping to see reasonable muscle gains from exercise. Make sure you’re getting enough in your diet.
