What are Essential Amino Acids?

As I’m sure you already know amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which is essential to muscle mass. There are many amino acids, but there are only eight that qualify as essential amino acids. So what are these amino acids, and what makes them so special to be classified as essential? First, here is the list of essential amino acids:

• Phenylalanine
• Valine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Isoleucine
• Methionine
• Leucine
• Lysine

You may already recognize some of these amino acids, such as leucine, isoleucine and valine, which are more commonly referred to as the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). Each of these eight amino acids plays a critical role in muscle building, hormone production and a host of other vital processes that occur within the body. While each essential amino is involved in dozens of bodily functions, the scope of what each one does is outside the scope of this article.

These eight amino acids are classified as “essential” because the human body cannot manufacture them on its’ own, and they must be acquired from an outside source. The human body cannot store amino acids like it can with fat and glucose (sugar), so it is important that we follow a diet that is rich in essential amino acids.

Obviously, proteins are the best source of amino acids. After all, protein is made of amino acids, but not all proteins are created equal. Some protein sources do not contain all eight of the essential amino acids, and therefore these proteins are classified as “incomplete.” On the other hand, a protein source that contains all eight essential amino acids is considered a complete protein.

In general, animal protein sources are complete proteins. These would include beef, fish, poultry and eggs among others. Most protein powders these days are also complete proteins. On the contrary, most vegetarian protein sources, like grains, legumes, nuts and vegetable proteins, are incomplete proteins, missing one or several of the essential amino acids. This drawback is not too critical though, as these vegetarian protein sources can be combined to complement one another, in turn supplying all of the essential amino acids.

Essential amino acids are critical to our daily lives. A deficiency in any one of these amino acids can have dramatic negative consequences on our health. Following a nutrition plan that is ample in animal proteins, or for the vegetarians, a diet that contains a variety of vegetable protein sources, can ensure that all essential amino acids are incorporated in your daily diet.

Tim Mielke is a former competitive bodybuilder and published author, with 20 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. He has written dozens of articles ranging from the organic lifestyle, to hyped-up supplements to steroids, for various health and fitness sources. His book, The Book of Supplement Secrets: A Beginner’s Guide to Nutritional Supplements, has received excellent reviews. Tim brings his knowledge and expertise to RightFitnessandNutrition.com, and is currently developing his own supplement line and writing two more books, which he hopes to have published in 2014.