Summary: Eating more amino acids during stress, around surgery or during long stretches of bed rest may help. It may prevent muscle loss, significantly lower the risk of problems after a procedure and speed recovery. But know this: during stress, your body needs far more protein than usual.
Our past articles showed how carb loading cuts problems after surgery and speeds recovery. But amino acids matter even more.
Amino acids are the building blocks of the body. Though there are thousands of types of proteins in the human body, they are all made of just 22 amino acids. This is very similar to the way thousands of words are made of just 26 letters of the alphabet. The human body combines amino acids in different combinations to make proteins. Proteins are needed to produce and regenerate most tissues, hormones, and more.
Humans get amino acids by eating protein-rich foods. During digestion, proteins are broken down into single amino acids and absorbed. Once inside the body, they can be rebuilt into the proteins the body needs. That powers the body’s building processes (anabolism).
Those are the basics of human nutrition. Here we focus on how amino acids speed recovery after surgery and boost the body’s building processes.
After surgery or during a long illness, the body shifts into breakdown mode (catabolism). Muscle is lost and the immune system weakens. But you can soften this breakdown and speed recovery by eating more protein or more amino acids.
One problem is that stress significantly raises your need for amino acids, or protein. Most people need only about 0.8 g/kg/day of protein. Athletes may need more, which is why they use protein supplements. But your protein need is even higher during rehab. So experts recommend 1.6 g/kg/day and as high as 3 g/kg/day of protein. That is a lot. During recovery, the only way to get that much protein is with supplements.
Researchers also recommend amino acid supplements to speed recovery. They work faster than whole proteins. Around the time of a procedure, doctors may give more of them by mouth or even by IV. For example, a study by Chitranjan and colleagues looked at total knee replacement (TKA). Amino acids given around the surgery may sharply cut muscle loss. They may also help patients get back to normal function sooner.
Book A Consultation With Us Today!
These tips are not just for surgery patients. Anyone recovering from an illness may gain from more amino acids. Muscle loss is high during stress. Disuse, like being stuck in bed, makes it even faster. But eating more protein, especially certain amino acids like leucine, may help prevent muscle loss from disuse.
Amino acids do more than cut muscle loss. They play a big role in wound healing. More amino acids like arginine and glutamine can significantly boost wound healing. Eating more amino acids is also linked to better bone density.
One more key point. It is good to eat more protein during stress. But it is just as vital to eat high-quality protein rich in essential amino acids.
Adding amino acids to your diet may bring extra benefits. Amino acids are absorbed more easily, because they don’t need to be digested or broken down like proteins. Amino acids also act as signals in the body, which may bring some unique benefits.
Finally, even amino acids the body does not use to build protein may help. Several of these may help lower stress and raise nitric oxide (NO). They may improve blood vessel health and cut muscle loss by helping reprogram the body, and more.
Frequently asked questions
Why does your body need more protein after surgery?
After surgery or a long illness, the body shifts into breakdown mode, called catabolism. Muscle is lost and the immune system weakens. Stress raises the body’s need for amino acids well above normal. Eating more protein, or adding amino acids, reduces how hard this breakdown hits and speeds recovery. Bed rest and disuse make muscle loss worse, so the extra protein matters most when you are least active.
How much protein do you need after surgery?
Most people need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. During rehab, that need climbs sharply. Experts recommend 1.6 g/kg/day and as high as 3 g/kg/day. That is a lot of protein to eat while recovering. That is why supplements are usually the only practical way to reach it. Choose high-quality protein rich in essential amino acids.
Do amino acid supplements help you recover faster after surgery?
Yes. They work faster than whole protein, because the gut takes them in without digesting them first. They also act as signals in the body. Around the time of a procedure, doctors may give more of them by mouth or even by IV. In a study by Chitranjan and colleagues, amino acids given around total knee replacement cut muscle loss. Patients got back to normal function sooner.
Which amino acids help with muscle loss and wound healing?
Leucine helps prevent the muscle loss that comes from disuse, such as in people stuck in bed. Arginine and glutamine boost wound healing. Eating more amino acids overall is also linked with better bone density. Some amino acids the body does not use to build protein still help. They lower stress, raise nitric oxide and support blood vessel health.
Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
