What are the different types of Amino Acids?
Amino acids are either essential (must be derived from one’s diet), nonessential (can be synthesized within the body from the breakdown of proteins and other amino acids) or conditionally essential (amino acids which cannot be synthesized in certain situations and therefore must be consumed). 20 amino acids are important for humans. Nine of which are generally regarded as essential. They are: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, histidine, valine and phenylalanine. The nonessential amino acids are: alanine, serine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid and proline. The amino acids considered conditionally essential are: arginine, cysteine, glycine, glutamine and tyrosine. Although they are not normally required in the diet, certain populations may require food sources to receive these amino acids as they may not synthesize them in adequate amounts. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s), a group of three essential amino acids, are different from the other 17 am
