Essential Amino Acids: The Basics

I’ve been getting many questions about essential amino acids lately. What are they? Why do I need them? Are they only for athletes? What can they do for me? In addition, I came across an interesting study that supports the use of EAAs in a specific population.

The EAAs include the amino acids phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, lysine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They’re essential because we can’t make them, but we can make other amino acids from these EAAs. In addition, three of the EAAs are designated as branch chain amino acids (BCAAs): leucine, isoleucine, and valine; they’re known as protein-building amino acids and important for building muscle.

Think of the EAAs as the rate-limiting amino acids. If we don’t have enough of them, we can’t make the other amino acids and thus, every protein made in the body can be affected. We often think only in terms of muscle, but the lack of EAAs could affect the manufacture of insulin, human growth hormone, leptin, and adiponectin to name just a few.

BCAAs have been marketed to athletes who are training to make muscle for years. Recently, EAAs have entered the arena because of their ability to make proteins that support muscle building. But that’s not the only group that may benefit as a recent study demonstrated. I’ll cover that on Thursday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet