320: Why Amino Acids are so critical for the body, ft. Kion Founder Angelo Keely

ON AIR WITH ELLA episode 320

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Why are Amino Acids so important for healthy aging?

The importance of amino acids and protein for strength, energy, and just about everything in your body.

Amino acids form the proteins that make up our muscles, organs, hormones, hair, skin, nails. They act as the catalyst for nearly every chemical process in your body. They support processes like protein synthesis, muscle gain, brain function, hormone regulation, metabolism, and more. There are 20 amino acids in total, and all of them are necessary to make the magic happen for your health and performance. The 9 essential amino acids are the amino acids that your body can’t make on its own—and they must be consumed through diet or supplementation.

Angelo Keely is the co-founder and CEO of Kion - an active lifestyle, supplement and functional food company - and creator of my amino acid supplement of choice. Angelo is answering all of our questions, including...

In this episode:

What are amino acids? What do they do in the body?
What's the difference between nonessential and essential amino acids?
How do we typically get amino acids in our diet?
Why is eating enough protein so important for women?
How do amino acids impact people at different ages differently?
What are some specific benefits to taking amino acids over the age of 40?
In what ways can amino acids help women in perimenopause or menopause?
How do amino acids help improve energy?
What about BCAAs? (Spoiler alert: BCAAs are a waste of money. Darn it.)
What about collagen or creatine (which we talked about with Dr. Stacy Sims)?
What if I struggle eating the recommended amount of protein?
Does the timing matter when I take Kion Aminos?
Should we take amino acids if we aren't working out that day?

I asked Angelo to be our amino acids (AA) expert for this episode because he started the company that makes my AA supplement of choice: KION. As with any supplement, QUALITY IS EVERYTHING, and I not only recommend Kion, but I partner with them as an affiliate (see your discount code below!).

Why? Because Kion's blend of leucine-enriched essential amino acids (EAAs) is (IMHO) the cleanest and best on the market to help:

Support building lean muscle
Enhance athletic recovery
Boost energy (naturally)

If you want to try Kion, use discount code: ONAIRELLA to save for a limited time!

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What are the 9 Essential Amino Acids?

...and what do they do to support your health and performance?

Leucine, one of the most crucial EAAs for muscle protein synthesis, is essential for building muscle, blood sugar regulation, and producing growth hormones.
Lysine plays a role in growth hormone secretion, which supports muscle repair and recovery. It’s also an important part of structural proteins like collagen and elastin, which help build strong connective tissue.
Methionine helps the body process and eliminate fat, promotes heart health, and supports the liver to eliminate toxins in the body.
Phenylalanine has pain-killing and anti-depressant effects and is important for processing norepinephrine and dopamine. It also helps the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are important for a healthy nervous system.
Threonine promotes a healthy metabolism and immune system. Like Lysine, it’s also an important component of structural proteins and connective tissue.
Tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin, which manages sleep, appetite, and mood. It also has pain-suppressing qualities and can increase pain tolerance during hard workouts or competitions.
Isoleucine helps prevent muscles from breaking down during exercise, which may support faster recovery.
Valine helps stimulate muscle regeneration and is involved in energy production. It’s also important for immune function, hemoglobin production, and energy regulation.
Histidine is a precursor to histamine, which can help the body respond to free radicals produced during exercise. It’s also a precursor to carnosine, which turns lactic acid back into usable fuel and reduces soreness.

- All sources listed at GetKion.com

What the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says about amino acids:

"Amino acids are required for the synthesis of body protein and other important nitrogen-containing compounds, such as creatine, peptide hormones, and some neurotransmitters. Although allowances are expressed as protein, the biological requirement is for amino acids.

Proteins and other nitrogenous compounds are being degraded and resynthesized continuously [in the body]. Several times more protein is turned over daily within the body than is ordinarily consumed, indicating that reutilization of amino acids is a major feature of the economy of protein metabolism. This process of recapture is not completely efficient, and some amino acids are lost by oxidative catabolism. Metabolic products of amino acids (urea, creatinine, uric acid, and other nitrogenous products) are excreted in the urine; nitrogen is also lost in feces, sweat, and other secretions and in sloughed skin, hair, and nails. A continuous supply of dietary amino acids is required to replace these losses, even after growth has ceased.

Nine amino acids—histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine—are not synthesized by mammals and are therefore dietarily essential or indispensable nutrients. These are commonly called the essential amino acids."

Source: National Institutes of Health