Amino acids – The most important essentials in our food

What do the essential amino acids actually contain??

Our body needs nutrients, and a lot of them. One of them is a sufficient amount of protein. Especially protein, which contains the valuable essential amino acids.

This is important for a proper nutrient balance in the body. But what exactly are essential amino acids and are there also non-essential amino acids??

Essential vs. non-essential amino acids

Exactly the question raised above will be investigated in the following. Amino acids in general are the small building blocks of proteins that perform numerous important tasks in the body and every small cell.

We can differentiate between 21 different amino acids. Only eight of them are classified as essential.

An amino acid is essential if the body cannot produce it itself and is therefore dependent on it through our food intake.

However, the non-essential amino acids are in turn dependent on the essential ones for the body to produce them.

Essential amino acids are therefore quite important for our health.

The most important essential amino acids in our food

But how does our body get exactly those essential amino acids so that it remains healthy and vital??

Basically, they are present in every protein-rich food. These include all types of dairy products, legumes, seeds, nuts, eggs, meat and fish.

If, on the other hand, you want to rely on vegetarian essential amino acids, you should eat green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli well, gladly and especially often.

Spirulina algae also contains an extensive potpourri of essential amino acids.

But what do the essential amino acids do in our body

In the following, the eight essential amino acids will be presented, so that you also know what you are doing your body good, if you eat enough healthy food.

Isoleucine is responsible, among other things, for our muscles and their maintenance. But isoleucine is also found in our nerves, bones and connective tissue.

Sunflower seeds and also rice contain this essential amino acid as well as poultry and game.

Leucine, on the other hand, helps in the development of antibodies, transport proteins and enzymes. This amino acid is also important for our balanced hormone levels.

This is how it helps with the isolin secretion of our pancreas. Peas, flaxseed and also rice are helpful for this amino acid. Tuna and eggs also contain a good dose of leucine.

Lysine is also important for our immune system. Just as for a strong and healthy connective tissue. A deficiency quickly becomes noticeable through brittle nails and hair.

Lysine is found in beef, cheese, peas and also sunflower seeds. Methionine is especially important for the production of all non-essential amino acids.

Methionine also regulates our adrenaline balance. Hemp and chia seeds as well as eggs and beef contain methionine in abundance.

Phenylalanine is also partly responsible for regulating our sense of stress. Those who have depression should see to it that they consume as much phenylalanine as possible.

Poultry and pork like flax and hemp seeds and also rice contain extensive phenylalanine.

Threonine is also involved in connective tissue and the formation of collagen. This essential amino acid is also active in the formation of the most important mucus layers in our body.

Here it is recommended to eat rice, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, game and poultry.

Tryptophan has a special function among the eight essential amino acids. It is not only an important protein building block as such, but is also urgently needed for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Game, eggs and also flaxseed contain extensive amounts of tryptophan.

Valine, on the other hand, is one of the central raw materials for all those neurotransmitters that transmit information and signals between nerve cells.

Poultry, fish, flaxseed, rice and sunflower seeds are good sources of cysteine. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also use Amino4u.

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