Amino Acids

Eggs

Milk

Chicken

Amino acids are organic compounds that make up proteins. Twenty percent of our body is made up of protein. Our cells, muscles and tissues are made up of amino acids.
Amino acids carry out many bodily functions such as transport and storage of nutrients. They assist in the healing of bones muscles, hair and skin.
Amino acids are important for children for their growth.

Amino acids cannot be stored in the body for future use. Therefore it is essential for us to consume amino acids every day.

Ten of the 20 amino acids are produced (synthesised) by our body.
Amino acids can be grouped into 3 categories - essential, non-essential and conditional.
Essential amino acids are called so because they cannot be produced by the body. Therefore they must come from the food that we consume. The 9 essential amino acids are - histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Those that can be produced by the body are called non-essential amino acids. They include: alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid.

Conditional amino acids are non-essential and are required only in times of illness and stress. The conditional amino acids include: arginine, cysteine, glutamine, tyrosine, glycine, ornithine, proline, and serine.

Plants have all the enzymes required for the production of all the amino acids they require. Humans do not have all the enzymes. Therefore the essential amino acids we require should come from the food we consume.

On an average the daily intake of protein is 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per day. It is not necessary to consume protein with every meal. For example, if your body weight is 50kg then you will need 50 grams of protein over the period of 24 hours.

Most of amino acids required by our body is found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy. Amino acids are also available in supplement form.  Like any other health product, you should do a thorough research on the product or seek medical advice before buying it. Amino acids are better absorbed in empty stomach. Vitamin B6 and C are also essential for the proper absorption amino acids.
Typically vegans get about 10-12% of calories come from protein whereas non-vegetarians get about 14-18% of calories from their protein intake. Obviously vegans consume less protein than non-vegetarians. We need only about 10% of our calorie intake from protein. It is easy for vegans to get their daily protein requirement.

Many non-vegetarian food and soy have complete protein.

Most of the vegetarian food does not have complete protein. So vegans should different types of food that contains protein in order to meet the complete protein requirement. Almost all the grains and vegetables have some amount of amino acids. Lentils and nuts have more amino acids.

Bragg's liquid aminos are commercially available everywhere. Mostly they are used as salad dressing or to substitute soy sauce. They are gluten free.

Most non-vegetarians consume more than their daily requirement of protein. Excessive consumption of protein may lead to osteoporosis and kidney disease.

Related article: Proteins