Amino acid deficiency may be the result of protein malnutrition. Such deficiency is generally associated with a faulty diet, failure to digest or absorb adequately, stress conditions, infection, trauma, use of drugs, deficiency of other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and dysfunctions connected with the ageing process. Since amino acids perform such a major role in the structure and function of the body, in both health maintenance and disease, the importance of available tests to assess their relative presence cannot be underestimated. Tests not only disclose the nutritional and metabolic status of the patient, they also discover the effect of factors such as stress, trauma, and other drugs.
The deficiency conditions resulting from any of these causes can be corrected by supplementation of appropriate amino acids.
Posts Tagged ‘proteins’
Amazing Power of amino acids cont…
February 12th, 2010Amazing Power of Amino acids
February 10th, 2010An amino acid can be defined as any of a large group of organic compounds which represent the end products of protein breakdown. All proteins are made up of amino acids. Life without protein is not possible.
Growth, development, and function depend upon protein, which, in turn, depends upon the correct availability of amino acids. When we take protein it must be first broken down into amino acids before it can be absorbed by the body. This takes place in the small bowel. From there, the fragments of the protein are carried to the liver by the bloodstream, where they are stored for future use. When needed by the body, these fragments are finally recombined into the type of protein needed by each particular kind of cell.
All amino acids comprise a carbon atom, an amino group, and a carboxyl group. Plants synthesize amino acids from these sources : the soil which supplies the necessary nitrogen and sulphur, water which provides oxygen and hydrogen, and atmospheric carbon dioxide which supplies carbon and oxygen. With the help of synthesizing bacteria and fungi, plants unite these elements into amino acids. Animals cannot synthesize amino acids from these basic elements but derive them from the indigestion of plants. Thus the primary source of all the proteins, including meat and fish, is the vegetable kingdom.
The mere division of nutrients into groups such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids does not mean that they are effective individually. An interrelationship exists among the three nutrients, and they may lose their efficiency if any one of the nutrients is not present in an optimum quantity. All proteins are not present in its optimum quantity. All proteins are not nutritionally equivalent. This difference in nutritional value is based on the amino acid composition of different proteins. This led to the concept of Essential Amino acids (EAA) and Non-Essential amino acids (NEAA).
