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Amino acids are so important, they are literally known as the "building Blocks" of the human body. But what is an amino acid? I am glad you asked! An amino acid is something that is required by all animals to be taken into the body on a daily basis or slowly but surely, things inside of you begin to fail, age faster and fall apart.

Essential amino acids are the members of this group of nutrients that cannot be synthesized from any other nutrients and must be supplied in the diet. This is vital for you to grasp. A deficiency in essential amino acids would manifest itself in a variety of ways. The symptoms are endless because essential amino acids are required for so many different internal functions.

You might not realize it but if you suffer from a weak immune system, loss of antibody production, fatigue, an acid/alkaline imbalance, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, water retention, or infertility, there is a good chance you are deficient in one or more amino acids. How can you be sure not to let yourself get into this situation?

That's hard to answer. You see, when protein food is broken down by the body during digestion, any given combination of up to 24 different amino acids will be found. Eight of them "might" be of the essential variety (again, meaning they cannot be manufactured by the body from anything else) and the rest are going to be non-essential (meaning they can be manufactured by the body if certain other nutrients are also available, which is not always the case either).

Most people believe if they supplement their diet with certain essential amino acids, the problem is solved, but that is not the case. The alleged non-essential aminos should still be supplemented to ensure an optimal balance. Just because essential aminos can be converted into non-essentials inside the body under emergency circumstances, that not only depletes you of the essentials but of other nutrients required to make it happen and that really stresses the system in a bad way.

Besides building cells and repairing muscle or glandular tissue, essential amino acids form antibodies to combat invading bacteria & viruses; they are part of your often confusing enzyme & hormonal system; they build RNA & DNA which is your genetic code; they carry oxygen throughout the body to carry other essential nutrients to their receptor sites, and are part of all forms of other internal activity. You want to protect your essential amino acids and ensure they are accompanied by the correct amounts of non-essential aminos and other protein compounds.

If ALL the amino acids (both essential and non-essential) are not present in your protein foods, 3 to 4 times a day (as the body requires new sources of protein every few hour period) then assimilation of almost all other nutrients will not go as planned. A good example would be the attempt to combine foods for a "complete protein" source (as most vegans believe in). The theory is that since most vegetarian sources of proteins are incomplete (lacking essential amino acids), vegetarians must carefully combine the timing and mix of their food intake to provide for the eventual intake of ALL amino acids.

The problem remains for them that even when all amino acids are present, the assimilation of all those amino acids will be limited to the lowest quantity amino acid in their meal. For example, if one amino acid is only present in half the amount your body needs, the assimilation of all the other amino acids will be limited to that same 60% level. Before you go shaking a finger at vegetarians, understand that this goes for meat eaters too. Not all meats contain a high enough percentage of the essential amino acids to ensure ALL the protein inside is used by your body.

This is bad for those of us exercising and requiring protein to speed up our recovery. This is bad for people who are aging faster every passing day. And it is worse for those of you plagued with muscle wasting diseases. Well guess what, I have done it again. I have solved yet another long standing problem that fitness enthusiasts, bodybuilders, athletes, the elderly, vegetarians and anyone else who requires a little healing has suffered. I have done it again...