AMINO ACIDS - ESSENTIAL AND NON-ESSENTIAL

Amino acids are the building blocks for proteins. The amino acids are classified into essential and non-essential amino acids. The essential amino acids have to be provide through the food we eat. They cannot be produced in the body. The non-essential amino acids can be produced by the body.

The nine essential amino acids are:

• Histidine: Histidine helps make a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called histamine. Histamine plays an important role in your body’s immune function, digestion, sleep and sexual function.

• Isoleucine: Isoleucine is involved with your body’s muscle metabolism and immune function. It also helps your body make hemoglobin and regulate energy.

• Leucine: Leucine helps your body make protein and growth hormones. It also helps grow and repair muscle tissue, heal wounds and regulate blood sugar levels.

• Lysine: Lysine is involved in the production of hormones and energy. It’s also important for calcium and immune function.

• Methionine: Methionine helps with your body’s tissue growth, metabolism and detoxification. Methionine also helps with the absorption of essential minerals, including zinc and selenium.

• Phenylalanine: Phenylalanine is needed for the production of your brain’s chemical messengers, including dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. It’s also important for the production of other amino acids.

• Threonine: Threonine plays an important role in collagen and elastin. These proteins provide structure to your skin and connective tissue. They also help with forming blood clots, which help prevent bleeding. Threonine plays an important role in fat metabolism and your immune function, too.

• Tryptophan: Tryptophan helps maintain your body’s correct nitrogen balance. It also helps make a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called serotonin. Serotonin regulates your mood, appetite and sleep.

• Valine: Valine is involved in muscle growth, tissue regeneration and making energy.

Your body produces the rest of the 11 amino acids you need. These are called nonessential amino acids. 

The nonessential amino acids are alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine.

CHEMISTRY OF THE CELL

There are three classes of food substances in the cell. These are: carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Carbohydates are the substances that provide the body with energy. They can be classified into: Simple and Complex sugars. The simple sugars consists of Monosaccharides and disaccharides. The complex sugars are the polysaccharides. 

Mono - means one, so monosaccharide means it consists of one sugar molecule. Di - means two, so the disaccharide consists of two sugar molecules. Poly -  means many, so polysaccharides consists of more than two sugar molecules. 

Examples of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, galactose, and ribose sugars.

Examples of disaccharides are: maltose, lactose, and maltose.
Maltose is made up of two molecules of glucose. Maltose = glucose + glucose
Lactose is made up of glucose and galactose. Lactose = glucose + galactose. 
Sucrose is made up of glucose and fructose. Sucrose = glucose + fructose. 

• Galactose is found in dairy products, avocados, sugar beets, other gums and mucilages.
• Foods high in Maltose: wheat, cornmeal, barley, fruits such as peaches and pear. 
• Lactose is found mainly in milk and dairy products such as cow's milk, goat's milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream.
  
• Sucrose is found in fruits and vegetables, and is purified from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sucrose in your sugar bowl is the same sucrose found naturally in sugar cane, sugar beets, apples, oranges, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables.
• Sometimes called “fruit sugar,” fructose is a naturally occurring sugar found primarily in fruits (such as apples, dates, figs, pears and prunes), but also in vegetables (such as artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, onions and red peppers), honey, sugar beets and sugar cane.
• Foods naturally high in pure glucose include honey, agave, molasses, dried fruit, fruits, fruit juices, and sweet corn.

LIPIDS

These are the fats and oils. Fats are solids at room temperature whereas oils are liquids at room temperature. A lipid is made up of fatty acids and glycerol. These are organic compounds. Lipids are sources of energy, insulation, and protection since they can act as cushions for organs.

PROTEINS

Protein is are made up of the building blocks called amino-acids. Amino acids have a central carbon that has amino and carboxylic groups attached to it. Your body needs 20 different amino acids to function correctly. Nine of these amino acids are called essential amino acids. Essential amino acids must be consumed through the food you eat. Essential amino acids can be found in a variety of foods, including beef, eggs and dairy. The other amino acids are called non-essential amino acids. They can be produced by the body.