CHAPTER 6 Four Key Amino Acids

images Textbooks tell us that proline, glycine, glutamine, and alanine, the four main amino acids in broth, are nonessential amino acids. This means the body, theoretically at least, can manufacture them as needed. The ability to manufacture them easily and abundantly, however, is probably true only of people enjoying radiant good health.

Broth’s collagen and cartilage-building strength comes from its rich content of proline and glycine. Proline and glycine are the keys to the tensile strength, resilience, and water-holding capacity of healthy collagen and cartilage, as discussed in chapters 1 and 2. Common sense suggests that the millions of people suffering from stiff joints, skin diseases, and many other disorders related to collagen, connective tissue, and cartilage are simply not healthy enough to manufacture sufficient proline and glycine.

Research on proline and glycine is far from a growth industry, but several studies clarify the essential nature of these supposedly nonessential aminos. Most of the research indicates that proline and glycine should at the very least be considered conditionally essential, meaning that under most conditions, the body cannot make enough of these compounds and must get them from food. Let’s look at proline first.

Proline for Healthy Collagen and Cartilage

When individuals in normal health are put on proline-free diets, their plasma levels fall by 20 to 30 percent. While this is obviously a highly artificial situation, it does suggest the body cannot produce proline in sufficient quantities without dietary assistance. Proline is found in virtually all animal and plant proteins except lactalbumin, so deficiency should be rare when people obtain enough to eat. However, individuals will show low proline levels if they consume too little protein, a possibility among people on high-carbohydrate, low-protein, low-fat, or vegan diets. For most of these individuals, the way to bring proline consumption up to par is obvious—add good-quality animal protein to the diet. Curiously, some people on high-protein diets also suffer a proline shortfall, not because proline doesn’t exist in their foods, but because there’s too little compared to the excess methionine in their diets, a problem discussed in chapter 5.

People can also become proline deficient if their bodies are unable to metabolize proline into the active form of hydroxyproline because of vitamin C deficiency. Iron is another needed cofactor, and vitamin C is well known to improve iron assimilation. We need hydroxyproline along with lysine to make collagen and cartilage.

Glycine for Healthy Blood, Fat Digestion, Detoxification… and More

Glycine is the other important conditionally essential amino acid found abundantly in broth. It is the simplest of all the amino acids, and serves as the basic module for the manufacture of other amino acids. Researchers consider it to be conditionally essential because of its vital role in the synthesis of hemoglobin (for healthy blood); creatine (for supplying energy to our cells); porphyrin (also for healthy blood); bile salts (for digesting fat); glutathione (for detoxification); and DNA and RNA. Glycine is also involved in glucose manufacture, and low levels contribute to hypoglycemia. It furthermore reduces inflammation throughout the body and has shown potential for treating a wide variety of diseases currently treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.

Adequately nourished people should not be deficient in glycine, but compromised status is common when the body has increased needs, such as during pregnancy, infection, or illness. Because the glycine needs of the growing fetus are very high—both in absolute terms and relative to the other amino acids—glycine status is considered an important marker of a normal pregnancy. Glycine is the go-to amino acid that must be obtained through food or supplements if children are to recover from malnutrition. For people suffering from sickle cell disease, the ongoing disintegration of red blood cells creates a high demand for glycine, far beyond what the body can produce internally.

In terms of digestion, glycine contributes to gastric acid secretion, a fact that has led doctors to recommend it for patients with acid reflux and other gastrointestinal disorders. Aging, genetics, use of certain medications, and a variety of other factors decrease digestive ability and increase the need for glycine.

Glycine also plays a vital role in wound healing, which is a time when the body has increased needs, is under extreme stress, and cannot make all it needs. When researchers at Rutgers University fed rats supplements of glycine plus arginine or glycine plus ornithine, they found the glycine-plus-arginine combination significantly improved nitrogen retention in both traumatized and nontraumatized rats. The researchers theorized the glycine-arginine combo was the most helpful because both “occur in particularly high concentrations in skin and connective tissue and might, therefore, be required in greater amounts for tissue repair.” They further speculated that the beneficial effect of arginine-plus-glycine is “related to the creatine synthesis needed for wound healing.” These findings support the idea that broth could be helpful as well; broth not only is high in glycine but also contains more than adequate arginine.

The human body requires copious amounts of glycine for detoxification of mercury, lead, cadmium, and other toxic metals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Glycine is a precursor amino acid needed for glutathione, a powerful cancer-curbing, age-slowing antioxidant, needed among many other things for liver detoxification.

Scientists have also shown supplemental glycine can improve methylation, reducing high homocysteine levels, which, in turn, could reduce our risk of heart disease, cancer, premature aging, and other health problems.

To meet so many and diverse metabolic demands, glycine must be readily available. The body can make it, obviously, but there are plenty of reasons to think that even healthy people might not be able to make enough, especially during periods of stress such as pregnancy, injury, and exposure to toxins. It serves many metabolic functions in the body, and unless people enjoy a diet rich in broth, it’s not likely to be present in sufficient quantity.

Glutamine: Gut Health, Immunity, and More

The third most common amino acid in broth is glutamine. This, too, is a nonessential amino acid with well-recognized, health-giving potential. Ideally it’s produced abundantly in our muscles and released to all parts of our bodies that need it. In reality, most people are so stressed out mentally and physically that they benefit from increasing their dietary sources of glutamine.

Glutamine becomes a conditionally essential amino acid whenever cell proliferation is desirable. It’s vital to gut health because gut cells turn over rapidly and prefer feeding on glutamine over any other amino acid. Glutamine helps the villi of the small intestine to heal and grow, an important consideration for people suffering from malabsorption from the flattened villi caused by celiac or other gut diseases. Glutamine’s gut-healing capacity has helped heal ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, and Crohn’s disease.

“ Multiple Sclerosis

I am a retired RN and have had multiple sclerosis for twenty-three years. Recently my friend told me about bone broth, but I pooh-poohed it, as it sounded like too much work. I only have so much energy with this illness. Then I visited her and was surprised at how beautiful and youthful she appeared. She had had chronic health issues but was no longer using a walker or cane. I wanted to know what medications she was on. She told me it was just the bone broth! I was quite surprised, to be honest, but have always believed in the power and possibilities of healthy food. I had always had a love for big salads and had consumed minimal amounts of meat but came to realize this wasn’t helping me. I have a small frame and also live in Wisconsin, where it’s cold for many months. I was in a rough place, so I finally decided to get serious about incorporating the soup into my diet. I left salads behind and now eat steamed vegetables with fish or meat and drink one cup of the soup two to three times daily before meals. It is warming and good. I am very respectful of the soup and visualize daily that it is helping me become healthier and stronger. And it is.

—Ellen B. Drury, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ”

Glutamine stimulates immune cells, causing the proliferation of lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell); the production of cytokines (involved in cell signaling); the killing of bacteria by neutrophils (another type of white blood cells); and phagocytic and secretory activities by macrophages (white blood cells that ingest foreign material). Along with proline and glycine, it enhances recovery from injuries, wounds, burns, stress, post-surgery trauma, and most major illnesses. Patients whose diets have been supplemented with glutamine show quicker recoveries and earlier hospital releases.

Glutamine also supports liver health and detoxification. Along with cysteine and glycine, we need glutamine to produce glutathione, the master antioxidant so important for liver detoxification.

Soup is frequently prescribed for weight loss. Although most of the popular diet books talk about filling up with soup to eat less, the more complete and scientific explanation is that glutamine not only boosts metabolism but cuts cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. In fact, the research shows that glutamine is helpful for anyone with addiction problems, whether to sugar, alcohol, or drugs. We also have evidence that the glutamine in broth is the main protein-sparing factor, allowing us to stay healthy while eating smaller amounts of muscle-meat protein.

Glutamine helps people who need to lose weight, but it is even better at helping convalescents and others who have become too thin to put weight on or keep it on. Because much of the glutamine in the body is made and stored in muscles, extra glutamine prevents the muscle wasting and atrophy associated with illness. Glutamine can even counter some of the severe side effects of chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, traumatic wounds, and surgery. In terms of side effects from chemotherapy, glutamine supplements have soothed swelling inside the mouth, alleviated nerve pain, and stopped diarrhea, muscle wasting, and unwanted weight loss.

For fitness buffs, glutamine stimulates muscle building and repair. It’s a popular supplement for overtraining syndrome, in which an overworked body cannot produce enough glutamine on its own. Declining stores of glutamine are also associated with an increase in the rate of infection among athletes, further suggesting our need for this “nonessential” amino acid.

Finally, glutamine is a “brain food” that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Its presence in broth is one explanation why broth can help people turn around depression, irritability, anxiety, mood swings, and even conditions like ADD and ADHD. It has helped neurological diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease as well. What’s more, it helps people calm down and sleep well. Given that broth is devoid of tryptophan, the essential amino acid most associated with sleep, a cream soup offers the best of both worlds—glycine and glutamine from the broth and tryptophan from the milk or cream.

Sadly, more and more people today, including many autistic children, react poorly to glutamine in the diet, even as found in traditional foods such as bone broth. This is such an important topic that we discuss it in depth in the boxed text on here.

Long-Cooked Versus Short-Cooked Broth

The top four amino acids found in bone broth are glycine, glutamic acid (glutamine), proline, and alanine. The amino acid levels are about three times higher in the long-cooked broth than in the short-cooked broth. The samples tested here came from broth prepared from pastured chickens. Similar amino acid patterns have been found in all bone broths and in gelatin products. The results suggest that those sensitive to glutamine should consume only short-cooked broth until the condition clears.

Amino Acids in 24 Fluid Ounces of Chicken Bone Broths

Amino Acids: Aspartic acid

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 1660

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 483

Amino Acids: Threonine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 642

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 211

Amino Acids: Serine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 728

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 257

Amino Acids: Glutamic acid

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 3040

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 1100

Amino Acids: Proline

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 2960

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 727

Amino Acids: Glycine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 5320

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 1350

Amino Acids: Alanine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 2320

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 643

Amino Acids: Valine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 543

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 191

Amino Acids: Isoleucine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 395

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 129

Amino Acids: Leucine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 829

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 277

Amino Acids: Tyrosine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 229

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 102

Amino Acids: Phenylalanine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 577

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 170

Amino Acids: Lysine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 909

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 383

Amino Acids: Histidine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 281

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 296

Amino Acids: Arginine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 2090

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 512

Amino Acids: Cystine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): <72.1

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): <71.3

Amino Acids: Methionine

Long-Cooked Broth (mg): 289

Short-Cooked Broth (mg): 78.4

Both the long- and short-term broths were prepared by Kim Schuette of Biodynamic Wellness, Solana Beach, California. Certificate of Analyses from Covance Laboratories, August 12, 2013, report numbers 852397-0 and 352398-0.

Alanine: For Athletes and Anti-Aging

The fourth most prevalent amino acid in broth is alanine, a nonessential amino acid that has roles in liver function, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis (production of glucose), and the citric acid cycle. Although easily made by a healthy body, many athletes and bodybuilders take extra for endurance and the building of muscle mass. Extra can also be useful to improve physical functioning in the elderly. Alanine has been proposed as an anti-aging compound, though more research is needed.

The Takeaway

The exact levels and ratios of amino acids found in broth depend on the type of broth, the recipe, the source of the ingredients, its concentration, and other factors, However it is made, broth always comes up high in proline, glycine, glutamine, and alanine, low in cysteine, tyrosine, and histidine, and missing the essential amino acid tryptophan. This leads some people to worry about the best way to compensate. No problem. We can easily get all the amino acids we need simply by adding meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and vegetables and grains to our soups and stews. Or turn it into sauce or gravy to accompany meat with other foods in a rich and varied omnivorous diet.

Bones to Pick with the Lead in Bone Broth Study

Early in 2013, a study out of the UK about lead in chicken broth ruffled a lot of feathers, and unfortunately is still scaring people away from broth. The study, which appeared in the journal Medical Hypotheses, reported that broth made from organic chickens was contaminated with lead, one of the deadliest toxic metals known.

That was scary news, and if the study were valid, there would be plenty of reason for concern. Lead, after all, is a neurotoxin that can cross the placenta and blood-brain barrier. It is associated with abnormal fetal development as well as a very long list of neurobehavioral disorders and diseases in children and adults, including ADHD, violence, social withdrawal, depression, substance abuse, and Parkinson’s disease.

The study left a flock of unanswered questions, starting with the type of cookware and the broth ingredients and ending with a need for more details about the source of those “organic chickens,” the feed they were fed, the water they drank, whether they were free range or confined, where they were raised, and what their living conditions were. All the article reported was they were “organic birds.” Soon after the article’s publication, we discussed all of these issues in depth in an article at the Weston A. Price Foundation’s website. Then, six months after the study was published, the researchers discovered the chickens were not organic after all, thus proving a whole lot of people had been alarmed unnecessarily. In the meantime, we tested chicken and beef broth made from pastured chickens and cows raised at several locations in California and found undetectable levels of lead, even at five parts per billion.

The takeaway? The lead/broth flap was a lot of clucked-up nonsense. But take care with the source of your broth.

“ Health Restored

In October 2011, my husband was deathly ill. He was down to 115 pounds with chronic pneumonia, thyroid problems, several types of anemia, and other problems, and had been sliding downhill for six years. We had seen many doctors including specialists and naturopaths, and spent tens of thousands of dollars on tests without finding any answers. The lack of any diagnosis resulted in lots of drugs to treat the separate symptoms, but nothing helped. After I was given the book Nourishing Traditions by a WAPF member in our church, we began drinking lots and lots of broth. My husband has now gained thirty pounds and is back to work as a self-employed contractor out working in the weather. He is not 100 percent well, but he has a new normal. We have six children between two and ten years old. At first we had dismissed a lot of his “tiredness” to having small children. I am seriously motivated to keep him around. His recovery has been 100 percent from diet!

—Deanne Yoder, Molalla, Oregon ”

CHAPTER 6

Four Key Amino Acids