Essential Amino Acids: What They Do and Why They Matter

Amino acids, to put it simply, are organic compounds your body needs to function properly. And while there are 20 amino acids your body needs to wholly function, only nine of those are considered essential. Those essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. It’s important to note that while your body can make non-essential amino acids, it cannot produce essential amino acids (EAAs)—you have to get these from your diet or through supplementation. Let’s dig into the benefits of amino acids, talk about branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and discuss why these compounds can enhance your longevity, performance, and everyday health.

There are numerous benefits of essential amino acids. As mentioned, these nine organic compounds can only be derived from your diet—usually protein-rich foods—so it’s important to make sure you’re fitting lots of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, etc., into your daily food intake. But another effective way to get the breadth and levels that you need is through a high-quality supplement. Let’s walk through some of the benefits of EAAs.

Whether it’s helping your body increase muscle mass or repairing damaged muscle tissue, there are a few EAAs that help preserve your lean muscle mass. Histidine, Leucine (BCAA), and Methionine work together to ensure your muscles not only build how they need to, but also that they are repaired so they can grow properly. Additionally, EAAs such as threonine make up collagen and help prevent muscle spasticity—involuntary movements and muscle tightness.

Isoleucine (BCAA) is the pigment inside the body’s red blood cells that carries oxygen, and it helps our bodies make hemoglobin. Since it’s a BCAA, it also helps boost energy, and helps our bodies with growth, immunity, metabolism, and glucose transportation. Lysine is another amino acid that helps in this department. It plays an essential role in the production of carnitine—a nutrient responsible for converting fatty acids into energy.

Amino acids such as Phenylalanine, Threonine, and Tryptophan work to support your body and mind, especially as it relates to anxiety and depression. Through creating molecules and proteins—such as collagen or serotonin—these EAAs come together to help boost your mood and give your mind relief from the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Of the 20 total amino acids that make up the human body, nine of those are essential amino acids, and three of those nine are considered branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). “Branched-chain” refers to the chemical structure of the amino acid. The three essential amino acids that are also BCAAs are Isoleucine, Leucine, and Valine, and they account for 35% of the essential amino acids in your body. These BCAAs share common benefits, including:

• Increasing muscle growth
• Decreasing soreness after exercise
• Reducing fatigue after physical activity
• Preventing muscle wasting/breakdown

It’s important to remember that for BCAAs to do their job properly, they need to be coupled with the other amino acids. 

While adding protein-rich foods to your diet is a vital part of improving the amount of EAAs you’re getting, it’s almost impossible to get all the vitamins and nutrients you need from diet alone. That’s why supplementing is so important! Here at Previnex, we just launched a new supplement, Muscle Health PLUS®, that’s chock-full of high-quality muscle health ingredients, including amino acids, BCAAs, and more. And it’s officially available for orders! This supplement is a great way to give your muscles all of the nutrients they need for peak performance. 

Amino acids are necessary building blocks to keep our bodies functioning at their highest level. While our bodies can produce nonessential amino acids, these nine essential ones can only be obtained through a high-protein diet and supplementation. So do your body and muscles a favor; make sure you’re eating protein-rich foods like eggs, milk, red meat, poultry, and more, and add a high-quality supplement to your vitamin regimen.