Focus on Health: Lysine

I recently wrote about my experience with tracking my food to find out where I may be lacking in my diet. In addition to Selenium, I found out that I wasn't regularly getting enough Lysine in my diet. Lysine is an essential amino acid that our body needs to build proteins. Our body does not make essential amino acids so we need to get them from foods.  Lysine may help with athletic performance and it supports immune function.

The great news is that Lysine is available in a variety of plant foods! Legumes are an excellent source of Lysine as is tofu, tempeh and soy milk. Grains like quinoa and amaranth and nuts like pistachios and cashews. Consider making sure you have 2-3 servings of these foods every day to make sure you are getting an adequate amount of Lysine daily.