How Important are Amino Acids? by Edmund R. Burke

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Monday, April 15, 2002 9:28 PM

How Important are Amino Acids? by Edmund R. Burke

 

 

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How Important are Amino Acids? by Edmund R. Burke

 

How important are amino acids? Amino acids are considered the building blocks

that comprise protein. Protein, it follows, cannot exist without the correct

combination of amino acids. If any essential amino acid is low or missing, the

effectiveness of all others will be proportionately reduced. In the body,

adequate protein intake is vital for virtually everything from healthy muscles,

ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, nails, hair and most body fluids. Besides

water, protein comprises the largest portion of our body weight, and as such,

the body's requirement for protein is directly related to good health.

 

Additionally, the central nervous system cannot function properly without amino

acids, which are necessary for the brain to both send and receive information.

 

Unlike fat and carbohydrates, the body cannot store large quantities of protein.

Also, protein cannot be used directly by the body and must be digested from its

food source into isolated singular amino acids. The body must then recombine

these amino acids into protein.

 

The body's protein metabolism uses a base of essential amino acids to create 150

or more others inside the body, which on an ongoing basis recombine and produce

some 40,000 protein types on an as-needed-basis.

 

If the body is allowed to deplete itself of any of the essential amino acids, it

cannot produce those proteins requiring such amino acids. The end result will be

that the body will break down its own protein structure, including healthy

muscle, to meet its need for isolated singular amino acids.

 

This can be a particular problem with vegetarians. The quality and amount of

amino acids tends to be lower in protein found in vegetables, whereas most

animal protein contains all eight essential amino acids. Unless foods are

combined at the same meal to complement amino acids so that adequate amounts of

all eight are present, the body will be unable to use the rest. While it is

possible to combine foods with incomplete proteins to provide all the essential

amino acids, it is often very difficult. Amino acid supplements, taken in

conjunction with eating complete protein sources each day, offer a way to

guarantee that not only are all essential amino acids being taken, but that they

will be absorbed and used in the body.

 

Branched-Chain Amino Acids The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are the

essential amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine. Together, these three

amino acids make up about 35 percent of the amino-acid content of muscle tissue.

Each of these amino acids is also used by the body for energy. Studies confirm

that under conditions of stress, injury, or exercise, the body uses a

disproportionately high amount of the BCAAs to maintain nitrogen balance.

Studies also indicate that leucine is used at a rate two or more times greater

than those of isoleucine and valine. Many amino-acid formulations on the market

therefore have about twice as much L-leucine as the other two BCAAs.

 

The amounts of the BCAAs supplied vary with the different products available.

Some products contain just the BCAAs, others have the BCAAs as well as a few

additional ingredients, and still others contain the full spectrum of eighteen

amino acids with extra amounts of the BCAAs plus cofactors.

 

How Much BCAAs do You Need? Exactly how much of each of the BCAAs is needed by

the body has not yet been determined, I have developed the following guidelines

from available research and experience. If you wish to take a BCAA supplement,

you can take either a combination formulation consisting of just the BCAAs and a

few cofactors, a full-spectrum amino-acid formulation that includes the BCAAs,

or a full-spectrum amino-acid supplement that contains extra BCAAs. Supplemental

amounts of the BCAAs should range from 1,500 to

6,000 milligrams for L-leucine and 800 to 3,000 milligrams each for L-isoleucine

and L-valine. Divide the dosage between two servings a day. Take the two

servings thirty to sixty minutes before exercising and directly after exercising

on training days, or along with meals on nontraining days, to fortify the base

proteins.

 

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