Amino Acids: Building Blocks of Your Body

Proteins are the building blocks of life and amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The protein foods we consume contain amino acids in various proportions.

When protein intake is too low to meet the body’s needs over time, it causes a type of malnutrition that, in its most extreme form, is known as kwashiorkor.

Kwashiorkor is characterized by edema, diarrhea, muscle wasting, abdominal distention, liver enlargement, hair loss, and other symptoms.¹

Integrative medicine practitioner Fred Pescatore, MD, MPH, who is president of the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists, ranks amino acids as among …read more