Pure Aminos And Growth!

AMINO ACIDS AND NUTRITION: Protein is an indispensable ingredient in the living organism, and the amino acid building blocks must be available in the cytoplasm. Many amino acids are synthesized in the body; others are not. Those not synthesized are called essential amino acids. In man these are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. These essential amino acids must be provided in the food that an organism eats. For example: If in Mexico the people ate corn alone, their diet would be deficient in tryptophan and lysine and their growth and tissue replacement would be impaired. Spanish people augment their basic corn diet with beans, which are richer in lysine but still poor in tryptophan. Eggs, milk, or meat would balance the diet. A vegetarian diet is characteristically low in lysine, methionine, and cystine. Animal products on the other hand provide a more complete array of amino acids. Thus inland African natives have dietary deficiencies not found in African coast natives who supplement their vegetable diet with fish. Children of central and southern Africa and India often suffer from protein insufficiency that leads to a serious disease called kwashiorkor. See also DNA; gene; METABOLISM; nucleic acid; NUTRITION; protein. - COURTESY ALFRED NOVAK, Stephens College