"Do You Know What Essential Amino Acids Are and What They Do?"

Then read on and find out some fascinating facts

Did you know that your body is approximately 20-percent protein by weight, almost 60% water, and the rest of your body is built up of minerals (i.e. calcium in your bones)? A protein is any chain of amino acids, and amino acids are a small molecule that acts as the building block of any cell.

Carbohydrates provide essential cells with energy, while amino acids provide cells with the building material that they need to grow and maintain their structure. The human body is constructed of 20 different types (there are as many as 100 available in nature) and humans can produce 10 of the 20 them, all the others must be supplied in the food we eat.

Failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids; those that we cannot make, results in the degradation of our body's proteins, i.e. muscle and so forth. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use, but must be in the food we eat every day. 
 

"As far as your body is concerned, there are two different types, essential and non-essential."

Essential amino acids cannot be created, and therefore the only way to obtain them is through food, such as Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine Non essential ones are those that your body can create out of other chemicals found from within your body, namely; Alanine, Arginine (required for the young, but not for adults), Asparagine, Aspartic, Cysteine, Glutamic, Glutamine, Glycine Proline, Serine, and Tryosine. Protein in our diets comes from both animal and vegetable sources.

Most animal sources (meat, milk, eggs, etc) provide what's called "complete protein," meaning that they contain all of the essential amino acids. Vegetable sources usually are low on, or missing certain essential amino acids. For example, rice is low in isoleucine and lysine.		  
However, different vegetable sources are deficient in different essential amino acids, and by combining different foods you can get all of them throughout the course of the day. Some vegetable sources contain quite a bit of protein -- things like nuts, beans, soybeans, etc. are all high in protein and by combining them, you can get complete coverage of all essential amino acids.

The digestive system breaks all proteins down into their amino acids so that they can enter the bloodstream, which the cells then use as building blocks.
From this you can see that your body cannot survive strictly on carbohydrates, you must have protein.

The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for protein is 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight; therefore a 150-pound person needs 54 grams of protein per day.
A glass of milk contains about 8 grams of protein.
A slice of bread might contain 2 or 3 grams of protein.
 
  
So you can now see that it is not that hard to meet the RDA for protein with a normal diet. Essential Amino acids are available in various forms as a supplement, either as individual elements, or in a number of different combinations. The most popular essential supplements are arginine, tryptophan, tyrosine, glutamine, and lysine.

Not only do these essential amino acids help to make neurotransmitters, i.e. the chemicals that convey messages in the brain, they also help produce hormones such as insulin; enzymes that activate the bodily functions; and certain types of body fluids.

For the repair and maintenance of organs, glands, muscles, tendons, ligaments, keratin, skin, hair, and nails, essential amino acids are absolutely necessary, so click the link below.