Amino acid supplements are becoming increasingly well known in the supplement world. And this is certainly not without reason!
Most people know the advantages (and disadvantages) of, for example, protein powder and pre-workout, but what exactly are amino acids, and what are the benefits of amino acids? And how can they contribute to your sports performance, for example?
This is exactly what we have sorted out for you in this article!
Table of Contents
- What is an amino acid supplement?
- 5 proven benefits of an amino acid supplement
- How many amino acids do you need?
- Which foods are high in amino acids?
What is an amino acid supplement?
Everyone knows proteins, proteins are a very important ‘building material’ in your body. Amino acids can be seen as the building blocks of proteins, several amino acids (usually tens to hundreds) are linked together to form a protein.
In total, a huge number of amino acids have been identified, but only 22 of these are found in human proteins. These are the most relevant amino acids, as these are the ones your body needs.
These amino acids can be divided into essential, semi-essential, and non-essential amino acids. Your body cannot make the essential amino acids itself; you have to get this through your diet. This is different with the semi-essential amino acids, your body can in principle make these itself, but in some cases, your body cannot make enough of them. The non-essential amino acids, on the other hand, can be made in sufficient quantity by your body.
| Essential amino acids | Semi-essential amino acids | Non-essential amino acids |
| Histidine | Arginine | Alanine |
| Isoleucine | Asparagine | Aspartic acid |
| Leucine | Glutamine | Cysteine |
| Lysine | Glycine | Cystine |
| Methionine | Serine | Glutamic acid |
| Phenylalanine | Proline | Tyrosine |
| Threonine | Hydroxyproline | |
| Tryptophan | ||
| Valine |
When people talk about an amino acid supplement, it usually refers to a supplement that contains 1 or more of the essential amino acids. And indeed, you can also get these from your diet. We will discuss which foods are very suitable for this in a moment. However, if it is difficult for you to get enough of the essential amino acids with your daily diet, it can be a handy solution to take an amino acid supplement.
5 proven benefits of an amino acid supplement
To explain why extra amino acids can be a good idea in some situations, we will now share some proven benefits of amino acid supplements and amino acids in general.
- Better muscle building : As we mentioned before, our muscles consist largely of proteins. Amino acids can increase the rate of protein synthesis (building protein) while also inhibiting protein breakdown. These 2 factors together ensure that more muscle can be built up.
- Less fatigued during a workout : Your body produces a lot of the substance serotonin during exercise. This substance has many different effects, but we now look at its influence on fatigue. Sustained production of serotonin provides a fatigue signal that is sent from your brain to your muscles. Amino acids inhibit the production of serotonin, so you will feel less fatigued during a workout.
- Easier to lose weight : This benefit mainly relates to meals with a lot of amino acids/proteins (we’ll discuss these in a moment). The easiest way to lose weight is simply to consume fewer calories through your diet. Meals that contain a lot of amino acids/proteins will make you feel full faster. This can help lower your calorie intake.
- A faster recovery after strength training : There are several studies that indicate that a specific group of amino acids can improve recovery after strength training. This specifically concerns 3 essential amino acids; leucine, isoleucine and valine. You also call these BCAAs. Do you want to know more about BCAAs? Then click here. We must recognize that while there is a lot of evidence for this benefit of BCAAs, there are also many studies that contradict it.
- A better night’s sleep : Difficulty falling asleep can of course be due to many factors. One of those factors is a deficiency of amino acids. The amino acids tryptophan and glutamine play an important role in relaxing/falling asleep.
How many amino acids do you need?
It is very difficult to determine how much of all the amino acids you need individually. Recommended amounts can be found on the internet, but you should take these with a grain of salt. In addition, it is almost impossible to adjust your diet in such a way that you get the right amount of each amino acid every day.
But what should you do, you might ask? It is better to look at proteins, make sure you get enough of this in your daily diet. On average, as a healthy person, you need about 0.8-1 gram of protein per kg of body weight per day. If you want to build muscle mass this is more; about 1.6-2 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day.
Which foods are high in amino acids?
Proteins are made up of amino acids, so if you’re looking for foods with a lot of amino acids, you should look for foods with a lot of protein. Below we list 10 foods that contain a lot of protein.
| Food | Grams of protein (total) |
| Beef | 26 |
| Chicken | 27 |
| Codfish | 19 |
| Eggs | 13 |
| Milk | 3,4 |
| Pork | 27 |
| Quinoa | 15 |
| Salmon | 20 |
| Soybeans | 21,5 |
| Tuna | 29 |
Lifestyle coach [5+ years of fitness experience]