Are you planning a calorie-reduced diet? Do you do sports and want to build up muscles? Do you sometimes not sleep well and would like gentle and natural support for your sleep? Many health-conscious people, especially at an advanced age, find amino acid supplements enriching for their health. Users report a greater sense of well-being, better sleep and generally better performance.
We have put together some important information about dietary supplements with protein building blocks for you here. In this article, you will find suggestions and tips on the subject of amino acids and protein.
Amino acids and their functions in the human organism
You may also encounter amino acids under the name of protein or protein building blocks. These building blocks form the basis of protein. They form chains of different lengths, which are called either protein or peptides, depending on their length. Surely you know protein as a macro-nutrient under the name protein. Besides fats and carbohydrates, protein is a component of many foods. However, it is also offered in one or the other dietary supplement mostly as an amino acid complex.
Several 100 protein building blocks are known to date. They have a variety of functions in our body. What all these building blocks have in common is that they are regularly converted or transformed in one form or another.
For example, some amino acids are
- the building material for physical tissues such as skin, muscles and organs.
- starting substances for hormones.
- the basis of enzymes.
- the basis for messenger substances in the brain.
- basic substances for thyroid hormones.
- the basis for the formation of substances that our immune system needs.
But how can we optimally supply ourselves with amino acids?
About:
- A healthy and balanced diet.
- Food supplements supporting the diet.
Essential and non-essential protein building blocks
The protein building blocks that serve as the basis for body tissue are called proteinogenic amino acids. This group of protein building blocks is further differentiated:
Some of them can be produced by our human organism itself. They are called non-essential.
Eight proteinogenic protein building blocks cannot be produced by the body itself. This is the group of essential protein building blocks.
To this group consists of:
- Valine
- Leucine
- Isoleucine
- Threonine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine and
- Tryptophane
They must be ingested with food.
Important for you to know: Over 99% of the essential protein building blocks can be converted into the body’s own protein. Some scientists therefore also speak of the human amino acid pattern. This expresses the fact that this group of protein building blocks has a special significance for our health and vitality.
Studies have shown that the essential protein building blocks work together. Effects are therefore only fully effective if the group of eight essential protein building blocks is taken up together. This even supply is not guaranteed with all forms of nutrition. Vegans often do not take up essential amino acids in sufficient quantities.
In order to guarantee the basic supply, supplementation of the food can be meaningful. We will see that in many life situations there is also an increased need for protein. This can also be covered with a high-quality food supplement.
In addition to essential and non-essential protein building blocks, there is a third group, the semi-essential amino acids. They are produced by the organism itself in certain situations or age groups. In others, they must also be taken in with food.
The different forms of amino acids
It is interesting that not every amino acid has the same chemical structure. A distinction is made between clockwise and counterclockwise forms. The left-turning form is marked by L-, the right-turning form by D-. Clockwise and counterclockwise forms of protein building blocks sometimes differ considerably in their effect. In the field of essential protein building blocks, L-forms such as L-Tryptophan are generally associated with positive effects.
Some protein building blocks branch conspicuously in their structure. The three branched-chain protein building blocks Valine, Isoleucine and Leucine form a separate group. The BCAAs (English for “Branched-Chain Amino Acids“) are especially appreciated by athletes.
Proteins as building materials
Our skin, our muscles and every body tissue depend on protein as a building material. Our organism counters protein deficiencies by, among other things, breaking down the body’s own protein. Therefore, in certain life situations, insufficient protein intake can lead to muscle breakdown. Ageing processes in the skin are also associated with protein metabolism. The connections have not yet been conclusively researched.
With advancing age, the formation of wrinkles also increases. This may have to do with the fact that proteins are no longer converted into the body’s own protein as effectively as in younger years. Many people therefore also see protein supplements as a way to support their youthful appearance.
Protein building blocks as the basis of other important substances
Many functions and states in the body are controlled by the presence or absence of various substances.
For example, our mood, good sleep and calmness are closely related to the substance serotonin. This messenger substance or neurotransmitter ensures certain signal transmissions to receptor sites in the brain.
The amino acid Tryptophane – an essential amino acid – is the basis for the formation of Serotonin. This connection is just one example of how protein building blocks are converted into other essential endogenous substances.
There are many other conversion processes. The thyroid hormone T4 is formed from the amino acid Tyrosine. Enzymes are important substances that fuel certain reactions in the human organism. They also need one or the other amino acid for their formation.
Do you need more protein?
The average requirement for total protein is estimated at about 0.8 g/kilogram body weight. The personal individual requirement varies. Different constitutions and life situations have a direct effect on the need for protein and also amino acids.
1. Calorie-reduced diets
Have you ever had a very frustrating experience with a strict diet? Have you consistently reduced your calorie intake and yet hardly lost any weight at all? Have you even gained more weight in a short time later than you weighed before the diet?
You have probably experienced the notorious yo-yo effect. In this case, the organism was not supplied with sufficient protein during the diet. As a result, a protein deficiency developed and your body began to break down its own protein, especially in the muscles.
The muscles are mainly responsible for the energy consumption of our body. By using less muscle, you have consumed fewer and fewer calories and gained more weight after the diet.
Important for you to know: Calorie-reduced diets should always be accompanied by adequate protein intake. The essential amino acids are of utmost importance, as they can best be converted into the body’s own protein. In this situation, a dietary supplement with essential protein building blocks can offer you valuable support.
2. Sport
Athletes also generally have a higher protein requirement. This is especially true if they not only want to maintain muscle with their sporting activities but also to build muscle. Endurance athletes also regularly report performance-enhancing effects in connection with the intake of amino acids and protein.
Athletes supplement their diet in many different ways:
Some choose a specific amino acid such as Arginine to achieve a specific effect. Arginine, for example, is said to expand the blood vessels by increasing the formation of nitrogen and thus provide an increased pump in strength athletes.
For the BCAA already described in a dietary supplement, there are also empirical values and studies on possible performance-enhancing effects for athletes.
Others do not rely on one specific amino acid or a small group but on the combination of essential protein building blocks in particular.
3. Age, illness and stress
Since amino acids have an effect on a wide variety of physical functions and processes, many people appreciate nutritional supplements with protein building blocks. In old age, in special stress and strain situations as well as in exhaustive illnesses, this supplement is very helpful.
One possible explanation for this effect is that in stressful situations there is also an increased need for proteins and protein building blocks.
Under certain circumstances, protein is no longer absorbed as effectively in old age as in younger years.
A dietary supplement could supply the important building blocks in a more targeted and faster way than is perhaps the case with foods of a general nature. The building blocks in normal foods must first be extracted and processed under energy consumption before they are available to the body. Protein building blocks in food supplements, on the other hand, are regularly available more quickly, especially if they can support each other in their effect.
4. Sleep better with amino acids?
Some users use the amino acid Tryptophane as a dietary supplement when they have trouble sleeping. This has a direct effect on the production of Serotonin and seems to reduce sleep disturbances. Gentle and natural sleep support is the result.
Dosage and usage
Protein building blocks in a high-quality dietary supplement are hardly ever associated with side effects. Exceptions are only made when taking various drugs at the same time, such as MAO inhibitors and antidepressants that affect Serotonin levels. Caution should also be exercised with additional protein intake from dietary supplements in the case of a damaged kidney, in which case you should consult your doctor.
You can follow the recommendations of the WHO for the dosage and daily requirement of essential protein building blocks:
- Valine 26 mg
- Isoleucine 20 mg
- Lysine 30 to 64 mg
- Phenylalanine 38 to 52 mg
- Threonine 16 mg
- Methionine 21 mg
- Tryptophane 4 mg
- Leucine 10 to 50 mg
- Isoleucine 20 mg
Select high-quality products for amino acid food supplements
Not all food supplements are the same. This also and especially applies to food supplements with amino acids.
High-quality premium dietary supplements are based on the recommendations of scientists and recognised institutions such as the WHO. They combine the protein building blocks in a sensible way. For example, the essential protein building blocks for a particularly effective effect in a dietary supplement are supplied simultaneously.
High-quality dietary supplements are easy to use and often available in different dosage forms. Among other things, they can be purchased as pellets or in powder form.
Furthermore, these premium food supplements do not contain any additives. Additives can have a negative effect on the bio-availability of a dietary supplement. Bio-availability is the measure of how well the human organism absorbs and uses the substances in the food supplement.
Additional substances used in the processing of a food supplement may impede the absorption of amino acids in the food supplement. Even if they are actually only intended to speed up production.
Trust valuable food supplements Made in Germany – they are safe products.