How Amino Acids Make You, Stronger, Healthier & Livelier
Whether you’re a proponent of the idea, Eat to Live Or Live to Eat, we all agree on one thing – Food is an indispensable commodity for the sustenance of life. That’s because food or a diet ideally contains enough amount of Fats, Carbs & Proteins to give the body everything it needs to perform all tasks optimally. Though the body needs all of the above three, proteins are considered much more crucial and beneficial.
What really are Amino Acids?
Proteins are made up of small organic compounds and molecules that are widely known as Amino Acids (AA). There are many hundred AAs found in nature, but the human body only needs 20 out of these. Now, out of these 20, nine are considered essential amino acids because the body can’t make it by itself and they’re thus required to be taken from outside (through diet). Remaining 11 amino acids are divided into non-essential and semi-essential, all of which the body can make but some get depleted and are sometimes required to be taken in.
Why are Amino Acids so beneficial?
Please mention amino acid benefit for muscle recovery in the first line
- As building blocks of muscles, they help in muscle building, repairing (especially during and after workouts) and increasing overall muscular strength in the body.
- As they build the muscular strength, they reduce fatigue, increase prolonged focus and make one feel energized throughout the day.
- As facilitators of messages across the brain (neurotransmitters), AAs help in many chemical processes, chiefly better hormonal coordination and metabolism.
- They are found to be potentially helpful in weight loss through burning fat by using excessive fat for energy production.
- By increasing the antioxidant quotient of the body, AAs strongly improve immunity and protect the body against antigens.
- They are the fundamental catalysts in gene communication and make protein synthesis
- Through many controlled studies, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), a natural amino acid, is found to balance brain activity, improve mood and reduce major depression.
Essential Amino Acids and the role each plays specifically
- LEUCINE – Helps in gaining muscles and prevents undue breaking of muscles during workouts. It also helps in insulin production and thus in weight loss. It’s found to be helpful for embryo development during pregnancy.
- ISOLEUCINE – It helps in building stamina and endurance for athletes. It may help in the production of haemoglobin thus also helping the body with immunity. It also aids in quicker muscle recovery process.
- VALINE – Valine helps in easing coordination between muscles. It controls mood swings thus helps in mainting emotional normaly. It’s found to improve mental concentration as well.
- PHENYLALANINE – It’s found in two forms ; L-phenylalanine & D-phenylalanine. It helps in the formation of other molecules and proteins. D-phenylalanine helps in alleviating stress by producing dopamine and for treating joint pains and some skin conditions.
- THREONINE – It’s found to be helpful in treating involuntary muscle movements and spasms. It may be helfpul in treating medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis and ALS.
- TRYPTOPHAN – It occurs in two forms L-tryptophan and D-tryptophan. As 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), It helps in reducing depression. Tryptophan also balances nitrogen levels and enables proper growth in infants.
- METHEONINE – It’s also knows as D-methionine, L-metheonine and L-2-amino-4-(methylthio) butyric acid. It helps in purifying the body, nurturing skin and encouraging hair growth. It also delays ageing and remove excess fat from the liver too.
- LYSINE – It’s crucial in the absorption of minerals like calcium, zinc and iron. It boosts immunity and is considered beneficial for treating cough-cold and some disorders of the reproductive system. It’s also known by the name L-lysine.
- HISTIDINE – Histidine helps in the production of certain hormones that affect the kidney, nerves and the digestive system. It’s also crucial in the building of tissues and generating blood cells. It further aids in the breaking down of many minerals such as copper, iron, zinc and manganese to name a few.
What are BCAAs and EAAs?
BCCA – Branched Chain Amino Acids or BCCAs, consist of three essential amino acids namely Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. They’re generally in the ratio of 2:1:1 respectively. These three out of the 9 essential amino acids are particularly found to be helpful in faster and longer muscle gain and recovery.
Benefits of BCCAs
- Preventing muscle loss (Catabolism) during intense workouts.
- Stimulating rapid muscle reparation & growth (Anabolism).
- Decreasing muscle soreness and reducing fatigue experienced post
workouts.
EAA – Simply called Essential Amino Acids (EAA), they are gaining more and more interest amongst athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Rather than the 3 essential BCAAs, EAA blends covers all 9 essential amino acids mentioned earlier.
Lately it’s been observed that a certain concentration of just three essential amino acids; BCAAs might not be that conducive in helping the body overall gain muscle and stay strong consistently. That’s where EAAs come into the picture.
EEAs help in
- Imroving functioning of each of all 9 essential acids in the body, since even the lack of one of these 9 hampers with the proper utilisation of other essential amino acids in the body.
- It balances BMR (Body Metabolic Rate) to help in reducing weight.
- Builds and repairs muscles in a holistic way.
The Upshot?
Amino acids constitute proteins and thus are absolutely vital in the building and maintenance of muscle mass, in carrying out essential life processes and for protecting the body against all sorts of threat. The essential amino acids must be taken from outside as the body doesn’t produce it itself to maintain the optimum balance of minerals and nutrients in the body.
