Description
Twenty-two amino acids have been identified that are naturally incorporated into polypeptides (i.e., long chain of amino acids) and are called proteinogenic (used in the production of protein). Of the twenty-two amino acids, eight are labelled “essential” amino acids because the human body cannot synthesize them from other compounds, so they must be obtained from our diet. The remaining fourteen amino acids are “non-essential” because they can be made in the body. The term non-essential can be misleading since several amino acids are actually semi-essential in children because the metabolic pathways that synthesize these amino acids are not fully developed.5,6 Even more confusing is the fact that some amino acids become conditionally essential,
