What are essential amino acids?
Essential amino acids are amino acids that are not synthesized by the body and must be obtained from food and other sources of nutrition such as supplements. While there is some difference of opinion on how many of unsynthesized amino acids actually exist, the number is generally identified as eight. All eight of these indispensable amino acids can be obtained from consuming a balanced diet. The eight essential amino acids agreed upon by most experts are lysine, methionine, leucine, tryptophan, valine, phenylalanine, threonine and isoleucine. One of the best sources for obtaining all these amino acids is food with a high protein content. Fortunately, protein can be obtained from meats, poultry, vegetables and dairy products with relative ease. Fish is also a good source of several of the essential amino acids. It is important to note that food can also be a good source of the nonessential amino acids as well. While the body does synthesize amino acids classified as nonessential, variou
