Amino acids are part of our everyday lives – they help us reduce stress, sleep better, feel more energetic, and also in successfully combating the negative effects that various diseases can have on our body.
They are actually considered to be the most important nutrients in the body, often referred to as “life-forming elements”. This is largely thanks to the fact that amino acids underlie all protein formation.
75% of the body (excluding water) consists of proteins – not considering water and fat, proteins represent three-quarters of what’s left. Muscle fiber, cell membranes, enzymes that help the brain function properly are all made up of proteins. Because proteins play an important role in our body, it is essential to understand the functioning of their key elements, namely amino acids.
Basic amino acid functions
Our body needs thousands of complex proteins at any given time, in order to function properly. To satisfy this demand, it synthesizes new proteins from single, free amino acids.
As protein-forming elements, amino acids have some basic functions:
- representing a large part of the tissues, cells and muscles in the body;
- supporting the development and healing of tissues and cells;
- improving blood circulation;
- producing enzymes for optimal digestion;
- synthesizing the hormones essential in reproduction;
- supplying energy.
If our diet does not bring a sufficient amount of amino acids into the body, it will provide itself with the proteins required to function. Because the body can not store amino acids, it will start destroying its own protein structures, blood and muscle tissues, in order to meet its needs. Most of us wrongly think we’re taking in a lot of amino acids through our diet, when in reality, that’s not always true.
Amino acids support vitamins and minerals to function properly and efficiently in our body. If they are missing, assimilation and use of other nutrients will suffer. If the intake of any of the amino acids is too low and doesn’t meet the body’s needs, none of the other amino acids can be used to develop and maintain tissue health. It is very important that the necessary amino acids come both from nutrition and from the administration of nutritional supplements.
All amino acids are essential for optimal health. The lack of even a single one of them can lead to the appearance of certain affections. Some of the effects of a deficient diet include low levels of energy, insomnia, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, hair loss, dermatological ailments, and psychological changes such as nervousness, depression, anxiety, mood swings, and irritability. Other possible symptoms resulting from amino acid deficiency are obesity, malnutrition, poor blood circulation.
All of these effects can be devastating for our health and well-being, and the administration of amino acid supplements is becoming extremely important. Amino acid supplements offer new medical strategies against many affections and symptoms, starting with stress and getting into more complex issues, such as arthritis or liver problems.
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