All the A's

ostrowskiab
Jan 9, 2019
2 min read

Let's talk Amino acids, every athlete's favorite phrase of 2019. We hear all the time about the importance of amino acids such as BCAA's, collagen and glutamine in sports drinks and supplements, but do you really know what you're drinking? The following is a quick idea of what exactly amino acids are, how they are beneficial and how to get the most of them.

Amino Acids are essential to the function of our organs, glands, tendons, and arteries. Essentially meaning that our bodies do not make them, the nine essential amino acids are, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lycine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Primarily they transport and store our necessary nutrients to other cells. Because they help to heal wounds and repair tissue they can be the deciding factor between you and some pretty sore muscles. These essential amino acids can all be found in complete proteins such as meats, dairy, and seafood, But for those of you who are like me and like to avoid meat at times or are a vegan, you can find amino acids in incomplete proteins. Meaning that they only provide certain essential acids incomplete proteins include plant based foods. Nuts, beans, brown rice, tofu, and lentils all provide several amino acids, but it is important to eat several kinds of plant based foods throughout the day in order to consume a large grouping of amino acids.

Foods highest in essential amino acids

Meat: Beef, pork, turkey, chicken, eggs, tuna

Dairy: Cheese, milk, yogurt

Plant Base: Pumpkin, soybeans, tofu, cashews, almonds, beans, brown rice, legumes, chia seeds, plant proteins

The non-essential amino acids, made in your system are, alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid.

Our last group of amino acids are conditional- meaning that while our body makes them, when we are sick or stressed their abundance decreases and it becomes more important to get them from our nutrition. These include, arginine, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, ornithine, proline, serine and tyrosine.

BCAA's

Branched-chain amino acids make up a grouping of three essential amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which account for 35% of the essential amino acids in our muscles. While regulating blood sugar levels, improves glucose metabolism, BCAA's are more commonly used to reduce mental and physical fatigue during exercise. (1, 2).

Leucine: Critical for protein synthesis, leucine stimulates wound healing and produces growth hormones.

Isolecine: An isomer of leucine, this branch regulates blood sugar and energy levels and is heavily involved in hemoglobin production and muscle metabolism.

Valine: Promoting muscle growth and tissue repair, Valine increases alertness, elevates blood pressure and increases heart rate and respiration.

BCAA supplements

While it is not necessary to add amino acids to your diet if you are sure it already consists of a wide variety of foods, there are many great supplements that are not too expensive that I recommend. Considering their benefits for muscle growth, physical performance and muscle recovery, these two supplements are all around benefactory for those spending time in the gym.

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