https://www.myprotein.com/thezone/supplements/protein-foods-high-amino-acids/
#1 Eggs
Eggs are well known as a muscle building food and many old school bodybuilders used to chug them raw from a tall glass (not recommended!).
A large egg contains 6g protein and is an incredibly versatile – try them scrambled, poached, boiled or even as an ingredient in baking!
#2 Chicken
Chicken is a great source of amino acids, and is also rich in niacin and selenium, hence why it’s such a popular food choice amongst those in the fitness industry! Packs a punch of lean protein.
#3 Beef
Beef includes all the essential amino acids and is a really versatile meat. It is a great source of iron and depending on the cut, it can either be quite lean (preferably) or calorie-dense in regards to the excess fat.
#4 Tuna
This is a great choice for anyone on-the-go and stuck for a handy source of protein!
#5 Soybeans
Soybeans have a high protein content and are rich in vitamins, minerals and insoluble fibre. The bean also contains a good level of potassium, zinc, iron and vitamin E!
#6 Salmon
A great source of healthy fats, salmon is a brilliant choice for packing a punch of protein into a meal.
#7 Sardines
Another oily fish which is great for adding some heart healthy fats into your diet – you cant go wrong with a tin of sardines or try grilling fresh ones with a Mediterranean style salad.
#8 Prawns
Extremely low-fat but high in protein, prawns are a great choice for anyone counting the calories and looking to add a healthy protein boost to their meal.
#9 Scallops
Scallops are a great source of vitamin B12 and also contain omega 3 fatty acids. They also contain potassium and magnesium.
#10 Lamb
Grass fed lamb is a great source of CLA which is a health supportive omega 6 fatty acid. It is also a great source of selenium and zinc.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=129
Amino Acid Mixture in Human Milk
| Amino Acid | Milligram per Gram of Protein |
|---|---|
| Tryptophan | 17 |
| Histidine | 21 |
| Methionine+Cysteine | 33 |
| Threonine | 44 |
| Isoleucine | 55 |
| Valine | 55 |
| Lysine | 69 |
| Phenylalanine+Tyrosine | 94 |
| Leucine | 96 |
Proposed Amino Acid Requirements for Adults
| Amino Acid | Milligram per Gram of Protein |
|---|---|
| Histidine* | -- |
| Tryptophan | 4 |
| Methionine (without cysteine) | 13 |
| Threonine | 19 |
| Lysine | 37 |
| Isoleucine | 42 |
| Valine | 47 |
| Phenylalanine (without tyrosine) | 48 |
| Leucine | 55 |
Proposed Amino Acid Requirements in a Meal Plan Providing 50 Grams of Protein
| Amino Acid | Milligram per 50 Gram of Protein |
|---|---|
| Histidine* | -- |
| Tryptophan | 200 |
| Methionine (without cysteine) | 650 |
| Threonine | 950 |
| Lysine | 1,850 |
| Isoleucine | 2,100 |
| Valine | 2,350 |
| Phenylalanine (without tyrosine) | 2,400 |
| Leucine | 2,750 |
Role of Gut Bacteria in Supplying Indispensable Amino Acids
In the ongoing list of reasons why a healthy digestive tract is so important to our nourishment, researchers have now added the role of intestinal bacteria in providing us with indispensable amino acids. Studies have shown that a healthy balance of intestinal bacteria can increased the availability of both methionine and lysine to our cells. (In scientific terms, there can be "net synthesis" of these amino acids in our large intestine, where the amount of lysine and methionine produced by intestinal bacteria exceeds the amount of these amino acids that are consumed by them.) Since certain lactic acid bacteria have also been shown to synthesize the amino acid histidine, there have also been questions raised about the possible role of intestinal bacteria in increasing availability of this amino acid.
Summarizing Food Sources of Indispensable Amino Acids
There are several conclusions that can be drawn from this food-based look at indispensable amino acids. First, among the plant foods, legumes can be a particularly helpful food group. Any person avoiding animal foods and concerned about amino acid intake would do well to emphasize beans, lentils, split peas, tofu, tempeh, and other legumes in their meal plan. Second, nuts and seeds can also make substantial contributions to healthy amino acid intake. It would be wrong to overlook their role here. Third, when most people hear the very common recommendation to include at least five servings of fresh vegetables in their daily meal plan, they usually think about the value of these foods in terms of vitamins and minerals. But when vegetables are consumed in generous amounts, they can provide a surprisingly high percentage of the indispensable amino acids that we need. Finally, you will notice that we did not discuss the role of fruits as a food group when calculating amino acids needs. This group does indeed provide small amounts of indispensable amino acids, but not enough to serve as a basis for healthy amino acid intake. One cup of blueberries, for example, will provide about 1.5% of your daily phenylalanine, 1% of your daily lysine, and 3% of your daily threonine.
Because animals have muscles where plants do not, animal foods clearly serve as more concentrated sources of protein and can provide a leg up in meeting amino acids needs if enjoyed and included on a somewhat regular basis in a meal plan. However, we would like to point out that the incorporation of animal foods into a meal plan does not automatically mean that your indispensable amino acid requirements are a "slam dunk." It is still important to consider the broad spectrum of amino acid guidelines described above when formulating a meal plan, even if animal foods are included in that meal plan.
As described earlier, it can be difficult to get the full variety of indispensable amino acids without a meal plan that includes regular intake of foods from a variety of food groups. Fruits would clearly be the least helpful food group for improving amino acid intake. If vegetables are used simply as a kind of "garnish" in very small amounts, they are also not particularly helpful in preventing amino acid deficiency. However, when consumed in generous amounts (for example, 1-2 cups or more per serving), they can make a very substantial contribution to our amino acid needs. At the top of the plant food list for amino acids, however, we would have to single out beans and legumes, followed by nuts and seeds. With regular daily servings of beans/legumes, nuts/seeds, and generous combined servings of fresh vegetables (4-5 cups total), your risk of individual amino acid deficiencies should stay relatively low. As you can see, we believe that no animal food intake is required to keep your risk of amino acid deficiencies relatively low, provided that you enjoy generous amounts of plant foods from these different food groups in our meal plan. You don't need to worry about combining these different groups on a meal-by-meal basis, or even within a single day. But you do need consume generous amounts from these plant food groups over a period of several days.
One additional point seems important in this discussion of plant food groups and dietary deficiency of amino acids. If you consumed 2 cups of legumes (about 500 calories), 1/2 cup of nuts and seeds (about 400 calories), and 5 cups of vegetables (about 150 calories), your calorie total would still only be about 1000-1100 calories. This very low calorie level would raise the potential for our body to divert amino acids away from some of their health benefit functions and toward increased breakdown for use in energy production. So it is important to maintain a healthy level of total calorie intake that will not only allow for sufficient intake of amino acids but also avoid the need to use them for energy production purposes. Remember that key food groups like fresh fruits and whole grains will typically plan an important role in fleshing out your overall daily meal plan.
Since intestinal bacteria may play an important role in making certain amino acids available to us in adequate supply—particularly lysine, methionine, and potentially histidine—digestive tract problems involving bacterial imbalance in the large intestine may put us at greater risk of certain amino acid deficiencies.
Relationship with Other Nutrients
Most simply put, amino acids are constantly interacting with a wide variety of other nutrients in our body. Amino acids play a central role in many basic areas of metabolism. They are so intricately interwoven into metabolic process that many metabolic processes are actually named for their amino acid components. Examples include the Glucose-Alanine Cycle, the Methionine Cycle, and the s-adenosylmethionine Cycle. Especially in the case of dispensable amino acids (including alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and serine), the metabolism of carbohydrates, fatty acids, organic acids, and amino acids is highly overlapping and impossible to separate.
You can also find unique relationships between specific amino acids and specific nutrients. For example the metabolism of methionine, cysteine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan is very closely related to the B-complex vitamins B6, B12, choline, and folate.
Proposed Amino Acid Requirements for Adults
| Amino Acid | Milligram per Gram of Protein |
|---|---|
| Histidine* | -- |
| Tryptophan | 4 |
| Methionine (without cysteine) | 13 |
| Threonine | 19 |
| Lysine | 37 |
| Isoleucine | 42 |
| Valine | 47 |
| Phenylalanine (without tyrosine) | 48 |
| Leucine | 55 |
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/12-complete-vegetarian-proteins.html
Animal proteins all contain every single one of these essential amino acids, so they're called complete proteins. If you're an ovo-lacto-vegetarian (only eggs or dairy products), you can get complete proteins when you eat the eggs or dairy products.
Plant proteins are a little different. Each plant that you eat has a different amino acid profile. For example, grains and cereals are extremely low in lysine. So low that they can't even be considered a source of lysine. If you only eat grains and cereals, you won't get enough lysine, and that's bad.
However, legumes such as peanuts, peas, dry beans and lentils contain a lot of lysine. On the flip side, legumes aren't good sources of tryptophan, methionine and cystine, but those amino acids are found in grains and cereals. As long as you eat some grains and some legumes, you'll get some of each essential amino acid.
Grains and legumes are called complementary proteins because when you combine them, you get all of the essential amino acids.
Nuts and seeds are also complementary to legumes because they contain tryptophan, methionine, and cystine.
You don't need to eat complementary proteins together at every meal. As long as you get a variety of proteins throughout the day, you'll get ample amounts of each amino acid. But, just in case you're interested, here are some ways to combine your complementary proteins.
Grains and legumes:
- Black beans and rice
- Pasta and peas
- Whole wheat bread and peanut butter
- Bean soup and crackers
Nuts and seeds plus legumes:
- Roasted nuts, seeds, and peanuts
- Hummus (chickpeas and tahini)
- Lentils and almonds
Soy is one plant protein that contains all the essential amino acids.
It's also a good source of healthy fats and phytochemicals (plant chemicals that may be good for you). It's usually served as tempeh or tofu, and soy milk is a popular replacement for milk. Amaranth, quinoa, hempseed, and chia are also complete proteins, so adding any of these foods, along with combining your other protein sources, will help you get all your essential amino acids met every day.
- Broccoli: 5 grams per cup
- Spinach: 5 grams per cup
- Rye Grains: 5 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Rolled Oats: 7 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Millet: 5 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Amaranth: 6 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Freekah: 5 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Teff: 7 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Buckwheat: 7 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Almond Butter: 7 Grams per 2 tablespoons
- Spirulina: 4 grams per teaspoon (!!)
- Chlorella: 2 grams per teaspoon
- Chia seeds: 10 grams per 2 tablespoons
- Flax Seeds: 5 grams per 2 tablespoons
- Cacao Powder: 5 grams per 2 tablespoons
- Maca: 3 grams per tablespoon
- Acai: 5 grams per 3 ounce frozen puree
- Kale: 5 grams per cup
- Lentils- 18 grams per cup
- Black Beans- 13 grams per cup
- Chickpeas- 13 grams per cup
- Tofu: 10 grams per 3 ounces
- Tempeh: 10 grams per 2 ounces
- Endamame (Soybeans) – 16 grams per cup
- Romaine Lettuce: 3 grams per cup
- Sunflower Seeds: 10 grams per 1/4 cup
- Almonds: 7 grams per 1/4 cup
- Pumpkin Seeds: 10 grams per 1/4 cup
- Coconut Flour: 3.5 grams per 2 tablespoons
- Quinoa: 7 grams per 1/2 cup cooked
- Plant-Based Protein Powders (hemp, pea, brown rice, cranberry bean, soy, etc.) : 17-25 grams per scoop (depending on the brand)
- Green Peas: 8 grams per cup
Wikipedia
Legumes are also an excellent source of resistant starch which is broken down by bacteria in the large intestine to produce short-chain fatty acids (such as butyrate) used by intestinal cells for food energy.[
https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/supplements-articles/how-to-use-amino-acids-supplements/
