Amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins like hormones, enzymes and proteins in tissues and muscle. There are nine essential amino acids that we need to get from food; the body can make the other eleven.
Humans can produce 11 of the 20 amino acids. The other amino acids must be supplied in the food. Failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 11 essential amino acids, those that we cannot make, results in degradation of the body's proteins -- muscle and so forth -- to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use -- the amino acids must be in the food every day.
The 10 amino acids that we can produce are alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine. Tyrosine is produced from phenylalanine, so if the diet is deficient in phenylalanine, tyrosine will be required as well. The essential amino acids are arginine (required for the young, but not for adults), histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. These amino acids are required in the diet. Plants, of course, must be able to make all the amino acids.
DRI or RDA: None
Concentrated amino acids are necessary during periods of intense physical activity or stress. Suggested to promote your heart health, lung function and circulatory system health.
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