trainingcoach's blog: "Nutrition Free B"

For optimal nutrition, it is of great importance to make sure that an individual’s protein intake has the whole complement of amino acids. The body uses twenty-two amino acids to make human protein, or complete protein. Ten of those amino acids, called essential amino acids, need to come from your diet because the body does not have the enzymes required for their biosynthesis. These ten amino acids are as follows: arginine histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. It is important to note that if even one essential amino acid is missing at the time of metabolism by the body; the remaining amino acids will not be assimilated, and will be reduced to the same number as those that were present at the time of metabolism. The body only uses the amino acids that make complete protein. If there is a deficiency of any of the essential amino acids, the body will actually start to cannibalize itself by the degradation of the body’s proteins. This involves the dismantling of muscle, and other protein structures, to obtain the missing amino acid. Conversely, excess, or unassimilated, amino acids cannot be turned into carbohydrates, or stored by the body for later use. They need to be obtained from the diet daily. Excessive protein will be stored as adipose tissue, or stored energy, otherwise known as fat. Fat layers the body and clogs the arteries. In addition, excessive protein causes the body to produce a highly toxic waste product in the body called urea. Urea is excreted from the body causing undue strain on your liver and kidneys. If practicing supplementation, be aware that one of the 10 essential amino acids, tryptophan, has been removed from most name brand supplements. This was due to the tryptophan ban of 1990 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read the supplement’s labels. The Tryptophan ban has been lifted as of 2007, and a majority of companies has yet to reintroduce tryptophan in their supplements. Tryptophan is obtained thru the diet from, cheddar cheese, pork chops, turkey, chicken, beef, Salmon, Atlantic Perch, lamb chops, eggs, white wheat flower, white rice, milk, russet potatoes cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cashews, soybeans, tuna, and peanuts. It is also important to have vitamin B6 present at the time of metabolism because B6’s purpose is to break down proteins and take tryptophan from the food sources. Use caution with supplementation because imbalances can occur if additions are made at key points in the reaction sequence and can render a supplementation program useless and actually result in a loss of energy for an athlete. Another factor for consideration, relates to the body’s assimilation of protein. Assimilation is simply the amount of protein that is digested, absorbed, and metabolized by the body.