Amino acids are organic compounds containing an amino group and a carboxylic acid group that make up proteins. Proteins are composed of various proportions of about twenty common aminos. These acids are comprised of about sixteen percent nitrogen, and that is what separates them from other basic nutrients like sugars and fatty acids.
Amino acids are an essential part of each human beings makeup as it a crucial part of protein and that supplies the structure for all living organisms.
The importance of these acids cannot be underestimated when one considers that protein represents the second largest component of an individual’s body weight second only to water. Proteins made up of these acids are necessary elements that affect all facets of the body. Even hormones and enzymes are made up of proteins, which are made from these same building blocks and the hormones and enzymes are important regulators in bodily functions. Genetic information carried in chromosomes has a structural basis of proteins that is carried from the parent to child.
These acids are in reality a string of aminos that are joined together like a chain. Each protein is made up of a particular group of aminos and placed in a precise arrangement. Each protein is created to be able to meet a particular need in the body and cannot be exchanged for another protein. Each protein made up from these building blocks is unique and is created when a person eats food that has dietary protein, which is broken down into acid form and is then used by the body to make the necessary proteins as they are needed.
The human body has about twenty-eight identifiable amino acids that come together to make hundreds of kinds of proteins. There are also special aminos that are not made in the body and must be ingested through food that are known as hitidine, isoleune, lysine, phenylalanine, leucine, methionine, valine, tryptophan and theonine.
Any aminos that are not included in the essential group are just as important as the essential acids, but the body can produce them instead of relying on diet to obtain them. Eating a well balanced diet and taking the proper supplements can ensure that the body always has the substances it needs to maintain a healthy balance in every system.
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