[?] Subscribe To This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines


Home
Healthy Eating Blog
Healthy Foods
Organic Foods
Eating Guidelines
Eating Plan
Recipes
Diet Plans
Healthy Eating Tips
Nutrition
Fruit Nutrition
Fast Food Statistics
Healing Foods
Fasting
Alternative Medicine
Medicinal Herbs
Healthy Weight
Animal Health
Healthy Eating for Kids
Health and Fitness
Health Calculators
About Paul
Contact Paul
Disclaimer
Privacy Policy

What Are Amino Acids?: List of Essential Amino Acids

Basic Amino Acid

What are amino acids? And what are essential amino acids? Some amino acids are made through the protein foods you eat while some are manufactured in the body on their own.



There are twenty different amino acids that are responsible for growth and repair of the body’s cells. Nine of the twenty amino acids are considered essential, meaning they must be supplied by food because the body is unable to manufacture them.

Importance of Amino Acids

If the body lacks even one of the nine essential amino acids for an extended period of time, you will begin to lose muscle. When you eat food, enzymes in your digestive tract make essential amino acids, which eventually go into the blood stream. Then the body’s cells use the amino acids in the combination it needs.

Each essential amino acid has its own role it plays in the body. That means another amino acid cannot take its place. This is “why” it is so important to eat a healthy varied diet so as to provide all of the essential amino acids the body needs.

List of Essential Amino Acids – Complete Protein

What are amino acids? Animal foods provide the major source of protein. Meat, fish, eggs, milk, and milk products contain all the essential amino acids the body needs. Meat and dairy make a complete protein in the body.

But what if you are a vegetarian or don’t eat meat very often? How can you receive the essential amino acids your body needs, which is a complete protein?

All foods have some protein in them except for sugar and oil. Plant foods do not have the essential amino acids by themselves that the body needs for proper growth. However, certain combinations of plant foods will provide the essential amino acids.

In order for this complete protein to happen you must combine a plant food with another plant type food. Such as a grain combined with a legume.

List of Amino Acids From Plants – Incomplete Protein

Here is a short list of combinations that vegetarians and light meat eaters may want to take into consideration for a healthy diet. These are foods with amino acids? There are numerous other combinations you can come up with that supply essential amino acids as well.
  • Rice combined with lentils
  • Black beans and rice
  • Corn tortillas and bean dip
  • Bulgur mixed with kidney beans
  • Whole grain pasta and beans
  • Beans and cornbread
  • Whole wheat bread with peas or beans
  • Rice and peas
  • Corn on the cob with baked beans

Amino Acids and Weight Loss

What are amino acids? Amino acids are not something by themselves that will make you gain or lose weight. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is by eating naturally grown foods and in the right combinations. Say goodbye to processed foods manufactured in a factory. These are the foods that make the body sick and cause weight gain.

Say hello to natural, pure food grown and eaten in the way nature intended. If you are a vegetarian, simply make sure your meals are a complete protein to receive your essential amino acids. If you are not a vegetarian and want to lose weight, try eating less fatty cuts of meat and eat more fish, turkey, and chicken.



Top of What Are Amino Acids?
Return to Why Is Nutrition Important
Healthy Eating Homepage