Amino acids are organic compounds that combine with each other to form proteins. Both are fundamental for the human being.
There are 20 amino acids coded in the genome, and are the following:
- alanine
- arginine
- asparagine
- aspartate
- cysteine
- phenylalanine
- glycine
- glutamate
- glutamine
- histidine
- isoleucine
- leucine
- lysine
- methionine
- proline
- serina
- tyrosine
- threonine
- tryptophan
- valina
However, the human body is only capable of producing 11 of them. The remaining nine are considered essential amino acids and we must obtain them through food intake, since our organism is not capable of synthesizing them. In this BBC article you can see what those amino acids are.
How to get a good amino acids balance
The problem lies in the fact that it is very difficult to incorporate these nine amino acids simultaneously, since almost any food do not have enough of all of them at the same time. That’s why we must combine food: a complete and varied diet. Below, we show you a list of those foods that contain a greater amount of amino acids and you should incorporate into your diet:
- Lean meats, eggs, milk and derivatives: they contain the 9 essential amino acids and also include some of the other 11.
- Other meats and fish such as chicken, salmon, beef, pork, grouper, tuna and sardines: contain 8 essential amino acids.
- Chickpeas, soybeans, some type of beans, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, hemp seeds and pistachios: contain the 9 essential amino acids.
Why are the amino acids important?
Keep in mind that through the combination of different amino acids is how the different proteins the body needs are created. These proteins help the human body to do some tasks like:
- Break down food
- Muscle and bone growth
- Repairing body tissues
- Providing a source of energy
Types of amino acids
Another fundamental aspect to know is that amino acids are divided into three groups:
- Essential: as we have already mentioned, they are those that cannot be produced by the human body so they must be obtained through food intake. These are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.
- Non-essential: these are all those produced by our body, even when we do not ingest them.
- Conditionals: are those amino acids that are not essential in daily life, but the lack of them can be cause/effect in times of stress or illness.
The most advisable thing is that our body has all types of amino acids in order to have a healthy life and prevent illnesses or other conditions. In fact, one of the proteins that form the amino acids is collagen. In this article you can see which are the benefits that it brings to our body and what you have to do to get it.
Benefits for our skin
Some amino acids are also important and directly related to the health of our skin:
- They activate all kind of metabolic processes.
- They restore the structure of the dermis.
- They improve and support the nutrition of all tissues.
- They rejuvenate the structure of collagen.
- They form new collagen that brings luminosity to the skin, as well as a better texture.
All these benefits can also be complemented with mesotherapy treatments, a technique that consists of the introduction of small amounts of medication and substances such as amino acids to improve circulation and skin elasticity. You can find more information about this procedure in this blog post .