Amino Acids Information

Amino Acids – Essential and Non-essential

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, they aid in the growth and repair of muscle tissue, and also stop the breakdown of muscle. Amino acids also help regulate moods and healthy sleep. In essence without having an abundance of amino acids on a daily basis your muscles will not grow.

When protein enters the body it is broken down into amino acids that are needed to build and grow. Amino Acids are categorised into two groups, essential and non-essential. Essential amino acids cannot be synthesised in great enough quantities by the body and therefore must be consumed on a regular basis from our amino acid supplements.

Amino acids come from protein sources such as fish, chicken, turkey, beef etc. They are also contained in certain pulses and grains such as lentils, however these sources never contain complete proteins, therefore not all amino acids. If you are vegetarian you should make sure you are getting all amino acids from your diet by varying you pulse a grain sources or by taking amino acids supplements. All meats as listed above contain complete proteins.

Amino acid supplements come in various different forms, firstly supplements that contain all aminos, secondly individual aminos and thirdly BCAAs that contain leucine, isoleucine and valine (essential aminos). BCAAs are important for athletes as they are metabolised in muscle, however just because some aminos are non-essential make sure you attain these from your diet as well – having all amino acids in your body is large enough quantities is vital for muscle growth, development and preservation.

L-Glutamine is also popular as it is the most abundant free form amino found in muscle tissue - hence the link to muscle repair and recovery. Supplementing with L-Glutamine will make sure none of the glutamine found in muscle tissue will be used for other sources, ensuring glutamine can do its job uniterrupted.

Browse our amino acid supplements

Amino acids are also contained in protein supplements (some even add large quantities to aid recovery)