Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and protein plays an important role in almost all of your metabolic processes. Amino acids are essential for a healthy body and overall wellness, along with helping to strengthen muscle, reduce stress and fatigue, improve endurance, balance your immune system, and normalise inflammation.
Amino acid supplements which deliver a 100% amino acid score in a proven natural balance are few and far between. Read on to find out more.
What are Amino Acids?
Your body needs amino acids to perform essential functions. Amino acids are organic compounds that are the building blocks which make up protein, accounting for roughly 20% of the human body.
Of the 23 amino acids there are nine essential amino acids which you need every day from food or supplements, which include; histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine and Ornithine.
The remaining amino acids are called “non-essential” because in theory they are able to be produced by a healthy human body if getting the right diet, rest, and exercise.
Whether it’s contributing to the function of your organs, glands, arteries, hormones, playing a vital role in cell structure or aiding in the transport and storage of nutrients, amino acids play a critical role in your health every day.
When you work out or engage in a strenuous physical activity, you can cause muscle damage, and muscle fibers can be broken down and used for fuel or energy. Amino acids can protect your muscles from damage by promoting healthy protein synthesis.
As many weightlifters know, amino acids - particularly branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) - are highly effective at boosting muscle growth. Since amino acids stimulate protein synthesis after you work out or engage in physical activity, your muscles are given an ample amount of nutrition to start increasing in mass.
Amino acids have a few different ways in which they promote healthy brain function, and one way is by helping a healthy mood. This is, in part, because mood-elevating neurotransmitters are produced from the amino acids our bodies get from protein-rich food or supplements.
Further, the amino acids 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and L-tryptophan are both important for boosting serotonin levels within the brain.
Serotonin is an important chemical and neurotransmitter in the human body, believed to help regulate mood and social behavior, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory, and sexual desire and function.
Cortisol, known as the stress hormone, can get out of balance due to the constant and chronic stressors involved in modern life.
High cortisol levels are always present with anxiety, depression, and stress.
Chronic stress is present with poor immunity and inflammation.
If you’re looking to have a strong immune system, the amino acid N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in particular is important. NAC is a building block for glutathione, the principal antioxidant within your body.
It is now known that inflammation is behind all diseases, including cancers, diabetes, depression, heart disease, stroke … and unbalanced cortisol levels result in inflammation...
An excellent amino acid for keeping blood vessels healthy and supporting healthy blood pressure levels is L-arginine, which functions as the precursor to nitric oxide. L-arginine is notable for its ability to boost blood vessel flexibility.
Branched chain amino acids, particularly leucine, are great at allowing the human body to store an important polysaccharide known as glycogen. Glycogen is responsible for energy storage and is found within liver cells and skeletal muscle.
Along with regular exercise and a healthy diet, amino acids are an excellent way to promote a healthy weight. It is known that arginine, glutamine and methionine promote stimulation of the growth hormone known as somatotropin, which supports protein synthesis and fat oxidation.
Found in dietary proteins, vitamins and supplements, amino acids are utilized by the body to make tissue proteins, some of which are broken down to produce energy.
The body uses food proteins and breaks them down into amino acids, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and are used by the body’s cells to create new proteins for energy.
Essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained by diet or supplementation.
Essential amino acids can be found in quinoa and soy (each offers all of the essential amino acids), beans, nuts, seeds, red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy, although quality and quantity can vary. For this reason, complete balanced supplementation of all amino acids is recommended.
Want more information about the benefits of Amino Acids?
Go here to Get Your Boom! Back for more information on the world’s only source of all amino acids in perfect natural balance, as proven over nearly ninety years of use by Doctors and health specialists across the world.
More Information
Alanine, Ala, A
Isoleucine, Ile, I
Leucine, Leu, L
Methionine, Met, M
Valine, Val, V
Phenylalanin, Phe, F
Tryptophan, Trp, W
Tyrosine, Tyr, Y
Asparagine, Asn, N
Cysteine, Cys, C
Glutamine, Gln, Q
Serine, Ser, S
Threonine, Thr, T
Aspartic acid, Asp, D
Glutamic acid, Glu, E
Arginine, Arg, R
Histidine, His, H
Lysine, Lys, K
Glycine, Gly, G
Proline, Pro, P
Name |
3-Letter Symbol |
1-Letter Symbol |
Molecular Weight |
Molecular Formula |
Residue Formula |
Residue Weight (-H2O) |
pKa1 |
pKb2 |
pKx3 |
pl4 |
Alanine |
Ala |
A |
89.10 |
C3H7NO2 |
C3H5NO |
71.08 |
2.34 |
9.69 |
– |
6.00 |
Arginine |
Arg |
R |
174.20 |
C6H14N4O2 |
C6H12N4O |
156.19 |
2.17 |
9.04 |
12.48 |
10.76 |
Asparagine |
Asn |
N |
132.12 |
C4H8N2O3 |
C4H6N2O2 |
114.11 |
2.02 |
8.80 |
– |
5.41 |
Aspartic acid |
Asp |
D |
133.11 |
C4H7NO4 |
C4H5NO3 |
115.09 |
1.88 |
9.60 |
3.65 |
2.77 |
Cysteine |
Cys |
C |
121.16 |
C3H7NO2S |
C3H5NOS |
103.15 |
1.96 |
10.28 |
8.18 |
5.07 |
Glutamic acid |
Glu |
E |
147.13 |
C5H9NO4 |
C5H7NO3 |
129.12 |
2.19 |
9.67 |
4.25 |
3.22 |
Glutamine |
Gln |
Q |
146.15 |
C5H10N2O3 |
C5H8N2O2 |
128.13 |
2.17 |
9.13 |
– |
5.65 |
Glycine |
Gly |
G |
75.07 |
C2H5NO2 |
C2H3NO |
57.05 |
2.34 |
9.60 |
– |
5.97 |
Histidine |
His |
H |
155.16 |
C6H9N3O2 |
C6H7N3O |
137.14 |
1.82 |
9.17 |
6.00 |
7.59 |
Hydroxyproline |
Hyp |
O |
131.13 |
C5H9NO3 |
C5H7NO2 |
113.11 |
1.82 |
9.65 |
– |
– |
Isoleucine |
Ile |
I |
131.18 |
C6H13NO2 |
C6H11NO |
113.16 |
2.36 |
9.60 |
– |
6.02 |
Leucine |
Leu |
L |
131.18 |
C6H13NO2 |
C6H11NO |
113.16 |
2.36 |
9.60 |
– |
5.98 |
Lysine |
Lys |
K |
146.19 |
C6H14N2O2 |
C6H12N2O |
128.18 |
2.18 |
8.95 |
10.53 |
9.74 |
Methionine |
Met |
M |
149.21 |
C5H11NO2S |
C5H9NOS |
131.20 |
2.28 |
9.21 |
– |
5.74 |
Phenylalanine |
Phe |
F |
165.19 |
C9H11NO2 |
C9H9NO |
147.18 |
1.83 |
9.13 |
– |
5.48 |
Proline |
Pro |
P |
115.13 |
C5H9NO2 |
C5H7NO |
97.12 |
1.99 |
10.60 |
– |
6.30 |
Pyroglutamatic |
Glp |
U |
139.11 |
C5H7NO3 |
C5H5NO2 |
121.09 |
– |
– |
– |
5.68 |
Serine |
Ser |
S |
105.09 |
C3H7NO3 |
C3H5NO2 |
87.08 |
2.21 |
9.15 |
– |
5.68 |
Threonine |
Thr |
T |
119.12 |
C4H9NO3 |
C4H7NO2 |
101.11 |
2.09 |
9.10 |
– |
5.60 |
Tryptophan |
Trp |
W |
204.23 |
C11H12N2O2 |
C11H10N2O |
186.22 |
2.83 |
9.39 |
– |
5.89 |
Tyrosine |
Tyr |
Y |
181.19 |
C9H11NO3 |
C9H9NO2 |
163.18 |
2.20 |
9.11 |
10.07 |
5.66 |
Valine |
Val |
V |
117.15 |
C5H11NO2 |
C5H9NO |
99.13 |
2.32 |
9.62 |
– |
5.96 |
1 pKa is the negative of the logarithm of the dissociation constant for the -COOH group. 2 pKb is the negative of the logarithm of the dissociation constant for the -NH3 group. 3 pKx is the negative of the logarithm of the dissociation constant for any other group in the molecule. 4 pl is the pH at the isoelectric point. Reference: D.R. Lide, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 72nd Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1991 |