Amino Acids - Kenya

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins (the presence of all of them makes a protein molecule).

There are over 20 different types of amino acids essential for your body.

While a good number of them come from foods we eat every day (non-essential amino acids), some amino acids have to be taken as supplements (essential amino acids).

There is another group of amino acids called Conditional Amino Acids.

These are especially important during times of illness or stress to the body.

Non-Essential amino acids (Our bodies can make them)

• histidine

• isoleucine

• leucine

• lysine

• methionine

• phenylalanine

• threonine

• tryptophan

• valine

Essential Amino Acids (Our bodies cannot make them) Essential amino acids include:

• alanine

• asparagine

• aspartic acid

• glutamic acid.

Conditional Amino Acids (Essential during times of stress and illness) Conditional amino acids include:

• Arginine

• Cysteine

• Glutamine

• Tyrosine

• Glycine

• Ornithine

• Proline

• and Serine