What are amino acids?
Amino Acids are organic compounds that combine in your body to form proteins. For this reason, they’re basically the fundamental building blocks of any weight or strength training regime.
They break down into 3 categories: Essential Amino Acids, which you can only get from your diet as your body cannot produce them on its own; Nonessential Amino Acids, which your body can produce but are also available in food, and Conditional Amino Acids, which your body generally only needs at particular times, such as when you’re i
Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and play a huge role in physique development.
- Providing the body with energy. …
- Enhancing the musculoskeletal system. …
- Regulating digestion. …
- Enforcing healthy sleep/wake cycles. …
- Supporting the immune system. …
- Producing neurotransmitters. …
- Stimulating the growth of healthy skin, nails, and hair. …
- Producing hormones
In recent years, there has been extensive research into the role of individual amino acid supplements. For example, supplementing with Leucine has been shown to stimulate protein synthesis.
What are the benefits of taking amino acid supplements?
Because of the various roles they perform in your body, amino acid supplements provide a range of benefits. As the building blocks of protein formation, they’re particularly beneficial for anyone looking to promote growth in muscle mass.
10 Health Benefits of Amino Acids
Amino acids do so much for you, but here are the top 10 most important functions:
- Providing the body with energy. Isoleucine and valine, in particular, are good sources of energy to fuel the body.
- Enhancing the musculoskeletal system. Isoleucine and valine assist with healthy muscle function, while leucine works to repair muscles. Lysine promotes calcium absorption needed for bone growth. These amino acids are good for healthy, toned muscles and strong bones. Isoleucine and valine are common ingredients in workout supplements because they target the muscles and boost energy.
- Regulating digestion. Your body produces histamine to help your digestive system work properly. You need histidine to help generate histamine.
- Enforcing healthy sleep/wake cycles. Erratic sleep habits caused by issues such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and stress, can take a toll on your overall health. Histidine and tryptophan help you maintain normal circadian rhythms for a good night’s sleep.
- Supporting the immune system. Want to keep colds and flu at bay? Histidine, lysine, and threonine help boost immunity so your body can better fight off viruses.
- Producing neurotransmitters. These chemicals are the nervous system’s way of communicating with the body, regulating everything from appetite to mood. Phenylalanine not only produces some neurotransmitters but other types of amino acids, too.
- Stimulating the growth of healthy skin, nails, and hair. Collagen and elastin keep your complexion looking soft and supple. These two proteins also encourage hair and nail growth. Lysine assists with collagen production, while threonine helps generate collagen and elastin.
- Producing hormones. Amino acids such as lysine are useful for maintaining healthy hormone levels. Examples of amino acid hormones include epinephrine and norepinephrine, which oversee the body’s stress response, and thyroxine, which plays a role in metabolism.
- Maintaining a healthy weight. Methionine governs our metabolic rate and can also help with detoxification, while threonine is key for metabolizing fat.
- Balancing your moods. Tryptophan jump-starts the production of serotonin, a hormone that’s essential for feeling happy and well-adjusted.
Are amino acid tablets healthy?
Amino acids are a vital part of every healthy diet and foundational to a number of key bodily functions, so they’re definitely healthy.
Some amino acid supplements are difficult to get from non-meat or dairy food sources, so they can be an especially good nutritional supplement for anyone on a vegetarian, vegan or similarly restricted diet.
When should you take it?
Most amino acid supplements are intended to supplement the nutrition you get from your regular meals, so we generally advise taking them with meals, so they’re absorbed with other nutrients.
Some people choose to take Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplements before training as tablets or mixed into a pre-workout so their body is supported during strenuous exercise.
Who should take amino acid powders?
Amino acids are suitable for anyone and everyone, particularly anyone on an intense weight, strength or resistance programme looking to build muscle mass.
Amino acid powders are especially good for mixing into pre-workout blends with other popular pre-workout ingredients such as caffeine, B-Vitamins, green tea extract and black pepper extract.
Are amino acids worth taking?
Amino acid supplements are absolutely worth taking, especially if you’re on an intense weight, strength or resistance training programme.
By taking amino acid supplements, you’re making sure your body has the building blocks it needs to repair muscle and grow muscle mass, supported by a healthy diet that includes a vareity of foods and nutrition sources.
