Essential Amino Acids Function And Food Source

All living creatures require amino acids to make up proteins or molecules as an important framework. Amino acids are called essential for an organism species, if such species need but unable to produce its own or always short amino acid in question. To meet this need, the species should be feeding it from the outside (through food). The term essential amino acids, is valid only for heterotrophic organisms.

Including humans require amino acids to survive, one of the body needs is an essential amino acid. For humans, there are eight (there are a few that mention nine) essential amino acids that must be met from the daily diet, ie isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and Valina. Histidine and arginine is referred to as half-essential, because healthy adult human, capable of meeting its needs. The amino acid carnitine also is a half essential and often given for medical purposes.

When humans consume foods that contain protein, the protein in these foods will undergo the process of decomposition. The results of this decomposition will then produce amino acids that will be left in the body, and is used for various functions.

What are amino acids?

There are several kinds of amino acids, ie, conditionally amino acids, non-essential amino acids, and essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are the type required by the human body, but the body can not produce it themselves. So it requires foods containing essential amino acids to meet their needs. As for who belong to the essential amino acids include valine, histidine, tryptophan, isoleucine, lysine, leucine, methionine, threonine, and phenylalanine

Functions of Amino Acids

After going through the process of decomposition and digestion, amino acids are left in the body provides a variety of important benefits for the body. Start of repair body tissues, helping the growth of normal, outlining the food, and the body as an energy source. Because it can provide the energy source for the body, deficiency of essential amino acids regarded as protein energy malnutrition.

Essential Amino Acids food sources

As already mentioned above, an essential amino acid containing various types of amino acids. Among others, valine, histidine, tryptophan, isoleucine, lysine, leucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine. Various types of amino acids can you get from some of the foods below.

• Leucine: Not only contains lysine and isoleucine, foods such as seaweed and tuna also contains leucine. While other foods that are rich in leucine include soybeans, egg whites, and chicken.


• Lysine: Turkey meat and chicken breast meat, are foods that contain high enough lysine. In addition to turkey and chicken, foods such as parsley, watercress, and seaweed, also have a high content of lysine. Additionally, you can also get lysine from foods such as cod fish and tuna.


• Threonine: Foods rich in threonine is raw spinach and watercress. Other options for foods containing threonine include tilapia, egg whites, turkey, and soy.


• Valin: One source of food which included having high content of valine is eggs. In addition to eggs, other foods that become sources of valine include seaweed, watercress, turkey, and spinach.


• Isoleucine: If you want to get isoleucine, try to eat the egg white. In addition to not contain a lot of fat, egg whites, it also contains a lot of isoleucine. Not only egg whites, other foods such as lamb, turkey, crab, chicken, tuna, codfish, and soybeans are also a source of isoleucine.


• Methionine: methionine-containing foods include chicken, turkey, crab, lobster, and tuna. However, some of the food is still less than the egg white. Egg whites contain high enough methionine. Egg whites also contain other essential amino acids which is certainly good for the body.


• Tryptophan: sea lions and deer meat is actually a food that contains tryptophan high. However, perhaps the meat is not familiar with you and difficult to obtain. In order to get the tryptophan you can also eat soybeans, spinach, seaweed, turkey, and egg white.


• Histidine: Foods rich in threonine is raw spinach and watercress. Other options for foods containing threonine include tilapia, egg whites, turkey, and soy.


• Phenylalanine: For a phenylalanine amounts high enough, you can eat some kind of meat. Such as turkey, lamb, pork, beef or veal. Sesame flour, cottonseed flour, and salmon are also included in foods that contain phenylalanine.