Amino Acids: The Key Health & Longevity

Why your Nutrition Plan is Incomplete

In my last blog post, we discussed the importance of prioritizing dietary protein intake for overall health and fitness, with 25-30% of your overall caloric intake being from high quality protein sources like whole foods. Stated differently, consuming between .8-1.2g of protein per lb. of body weight per day is recommended depending on your health and fitness goals.

Protein Consumption Recommendations by Goal:

General Health	.6 - .8 g
Building Muscle	.8 - 1 g
Advanced Weightlifting	1.1 - 1.2 g
Fat Loss	1 - 1.2 g
Older Adults 60+	1 - 1.2 g

However, it isn’t only about how much protein you eat, the quality of the source is equally, if not more, important. Why? Not all protein sources deliver your body the same amount of value, due to the different types and quantities of amino acids that they possess.

Essential Amino Acids are the Key to Success

Most people are unaware of how to optimize their protein intake to achieve their desired results. In this next section, we will outline how to leverage the different types of proteins and their amino acid building blocks to meet your health and fitness aspirations.  

To clarify, it isn’t protein that we need to function, it's amino acids, which make up proteins. Our bodies break down the proteins we consume into amino acids, which can then be used to build the proteins we need inside of our bodies to perform critical functions.

There are 20 standard amino acids used by the human body to build proteins. Amino acids are classified into three categories:

Nine are Essential amino acids (EAA's), which the body cannot produce and must come from diet. Those are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Eleven are Non-essential amino acids, which the body can synthesize on its own from other compounds.

Conditionally essential amino acids, which are usually made by the body but may need dietary support during illness, stress, or intense training.

It is critical to consider your health and fitness goals when designing your nutrional regimen. Nonessential and essential amino acids will support the following functions:

1. Energy Production & Metabolism

2. Tissue Growth & Repair

3. Immune System Support

4. Nervous System Function

5. Detoxification & Waste Removal

6. Collagen and Skin Health

7. Hormones & Enzymes

However, if your goal is building lean muscle mass then you need to focus specifically on increasing your EAA intake because it is EAA’s that support these additional functions:

1. Building Muscle & Strength (specifically leucine, isoleucine, & valine)

2. Brain & Mood Regulation

3. Healthy Aging

Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS)

Let's dig a littler deeper into how to maximize protein synthesis for lean muscle mass repair & development. Muscle protein synthesis requires all nine EAA's, and in the right ratios to be present. If one is missing (a "limiting amino acid"), the process can’t proceed efficiently.

Complete proteins are those that contain all 9 EAA's in sufficient amounts and ratios for your body’s needs.

Incomplete proteins are missing one or more EAA's, or don’t have them in high enough proportions.

Your body can combine amino acids from different protein sources eaten throughout the day a process called protein complementation.

Think of it like assembling a bicycle — you need two wheels, one frame, one handlebar, and one chain. If you’ve got three extra wheels but no chain, those wheels are useless. The same happens with amino acids: if the balance is off or a part is missing, the extras can’t be used.

Consider Pairing Incomplete Sources: Rice (low in lysine, high in methionine) + Beans (high in lysine, low in methionine) = together they form a complete amino acid profile.

Protein Utilization Rates

Let’s consider your body’s utilization rates of common protein sources, in a healthy adult, based on their amino acid profiles, as not all sources are created equal in terms of your body’s ability to use them. The Net Protein Utilization (NPU) Rate refers to how much of the total protein eaten is actually incorporated into body protein (muscle, enzymes, hormones).

Protein Source	Net Protein Utilization (NPU)
Whole Egg	48%
Whey Protein	92%
Casein	76%
Beef	74%
Soy Protein	61%
Rice Protein	57%
Milk	82%
Pea Protein	60%
EAA Supplement	99%

The remaining amino acids not retained for protein synthesis are leveraged for energy, metabolism, and nitrogen balance.

One of the natural questions that stems from this understanding is, “What can I do to increase the impact, or utilization, of the protein I eat other than eating high quality protein sources?”

If your goals are lean muscle, faster recovery, and cleaner energy — without bloating or hidden calories —then an EAA Supplement may be the upgrade you’ve been missing.

An EAA Supplement (99% NPU) will deliver all nine essential amino acids in the right ratios that your body can use directly, or to complement incomplete sources.

Key Functions of the Amino Acid Types:

Therefore, it’s not just about eating enough protein, it’s about the source of your protein and ensuring you are getting EAA’s in their right ratios into your diet. 

Key Takeaways

• Essential Amino Acids are foundational for muscle development, metabolism, and longevity.

• Essential Amino Acids are the key to meeting your health and fitness goals.

• Consider an EAA Supplement and take it within 30 minutes of waking.

  • An EAA Supplement should have 1.5-2G of L-Leucine per serving (Correct Ratio)

  • Consider Quality Brands: Thorne & PerfectAmino

• Focus on high-quality protein sources and pair incomplete proteins strategically.

• Timing is flexible — daily totals and consistency matter most.

• Protein is the one nutrient that never stops being essential, no matter your age or goal.