Amino Acids Benefits for Healthy Skin

The key is to consume foods/supplements that are the most skin-friendly. This can help to keep your skin as healthy as possible.

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Do you want healthy skin? If so then you should consider amino acids benefits for skin. The protein collagen makes up to 80% of human skin. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein so one way to achieve healthy skin is through consuming certain amino acids. There are different benefits including damage repair, anti-wrinkle, and antioxidant properties. These are some of the key benefits provided by different amino. You can get them through food or supplements. For example, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) have been trending in recent years. However, it’s important to focus on the best amino acids for healthy skin.

How can amino acids help skin? There are various ways. For example, some can help to treat skin damage. Other amino acids can help to prevent damage from the get-go. Then there are different ways they can deal with the damage. They include focusing on the skin’s strength, fine lines/wrinkles, and so on. These are all the different ways you can improve your skin health. The key is to consume foods/supplements that are the most skin-friendly. This can help to keep your skin as healthy as possible. This is especially important today since there are so many factors that can affect skin health including diet, water, and environment.

Protein and Healthy Skin

Before taking up the effects of amino acids on the skin it’s important to talk about what results in healthy skin. Many nutrients are required for healthy skin. Not only do people need those nutrients but they need enough of them.

Protein and amino acids are easily some of the most important ones. Amino acids make up protein so it’s worth focusing on protein first. Collagen is the most common protein in skin and makes up over three-quarters of the body’s largest organ.

It’s important to make sure you get enough protein in your diet. This includes good sources like whole foods like:

  • Meat/Fish
  • Whole Grains
  • Seeds/Nuts
  • Eggs
  • Soybeans
  • Dairy

These are some of the best options. You can get all the amino you need from these single foods. They have all the “essential” amino required by the human body. That includes BCAAs and a grand total of 9 EAAs.

It’s always best to make sure real food is your first choice for protein sources. You can add extra protein through sources like protein powders and tablets/capsules. However, the vast majority of your protein should be from real food. You can add some extra protein with options like powders, tablets, and liquids.

How much protein do you need every day? It works out to 0.36g/pound of body weight, and 0.8g of protein/kg of body weight. There are some other factors but these are the main figures related needed to calculate how much protein you’ll need daily. Just do the math.

One caveat is these should be “good” sources. Watch out for canned meat, processed meat, etc. Like other highly-processed foods, these options are far from the original sources. You should also watch out for additives. It’s a good idea to rinse canned tuna/sardines if it’s in oil. This can boost the nutritional value.  

Amino Acids Benefits for Skin

Your body needs to have enough of all 20 amino acids. That can help with various body functions including hair, nail, and skin health. If you consume enough of the 9 EAAs every day then you’ll be on track for good overall health.

That said, different aminos provide different health benefits. For example, certain ones like Leucine, glycine, and lysine are known to provide certain health benefits. So if you get enough of these particular aminos then you’re more likely to have healthy skin, which is always a plus.  

Here are some of the main benefits you can get from different amino acids:


These are important for fighting off illness/disease. Antioxidants are important to help prevent skin damage before it starts. There are certain aminos like histidine that have antioxidant properties. These are worth adding to your skin or consuming to help boost your antioxidants.


Various factors can cause skin damage. The most common one is UV rays. This is why it’s important to minimize your sun exposure from 11 AM to 2 PM on sunny days.

However, there are other causes of skin damage. They include cold/dry weather, skin conditions, and normal aging. All of these factors can cause skin damage, which can be treated with certain amino acids.


This can provide several benefits. It can help to protect the skin from damage, which is always a plus. Stronger skin can also help to make it tight instead of loose. That’s one of the signs of healthy skin versus unhealthy skin.


Aminos can help to protect the skin from damage from the get-go. This is important because prevention is indeed better than cure. Every day our skin contacts lots of stuff that could cause damage. It’s important to try to prevent it as much as possible.

benefits of amino acids for skin

Top Foods for Healthy Skin


It turns out the old saying about apples is relatively true. It might not prevent all illnesses but can provide various health benefits like healthy skin. It’s greatly due to the skin-friendly Vitamin C. You can enjoy apples in various ways like juice, fresh, shakes, granola, and oatmeal.

Brussel Sprouts

These “little cabbages” are one of the least favorite foods among kinds. However, they’re also quite healthy and chock-full of the powerful antioxidant Vitamin C. There are lots of tasty online recipes that can reintroduce you to Brussels sprouts.


Ones like blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries are all low-carb and high-Vitamin C. They’re skin-friendly small fruits. They can be consumed in different ways like fresh or frozen. You can make smoothies, shakes or add some to yogurt or oatmeal. They’re nutritious and delicious!

Citrus fruits

Lemons, grapefruits, and oranges are among the most popular options. They’re sky-high in Vitamin C, which is good for the skin. If you have issues with acid reflux then make sure to add ingredients that will neutralize the acidity.  

Red Peppers

This might be a surprising one. These peppers are high in Vitamin C. This vitamin is important for producing collagen, which is the most common protein in the human body. It also makes up 4/5 of the protein in human skin. Bell peppers are technically fruits but are cooked with like veggies. They can be used in a wide range of different recipes.

Peanut Butter

This might seem like a surprising one since we sometimes consider peanut butter to be unhealthy. In fact, peanuts are superfoods that are high in protein, healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins/minerals. In fact, peanut butter has a nutritional value that’s similar to tree nuts even though it’s a bean for amino acids benefits for skin.

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