Lysine rich foods
Lysine (symbol Lys) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins.
The human body cannot synthesize lysine, so it is essential in humans and must be obtained from the diet.
Lysine plays several roles in humans, most importantly proteinogenesis, but also in the crosslinking of collagen polypeptides, uptake of essential mineral nutrients, and in the production of carnitine, which is key in fatty acid metabolism.
Due to its importance in several biological processes, a lack of lysine can lead to several disease states including defective connective tissues, impaired fatty acid metabolism, anemia, and systemic protein-energy deficiency.
The daily human nutritional requirements vary from ~60 mg/kg in infancy to ~30 mg/kg in adults. More on lysine here.
Below is a list of foods having the highest content of lysine in grams (g) per 100 grams of the food. The list also includes the number of kilocalories (kcal) and the lysine content in grams (g) per kcal, and the list is sorted with respect to the latter with the highest values at the top.
As you can see there are many foods having a high lysine content per kcal. So if you are lacking in lysine, you could easily correct the deficiency by eating some of these foods.
The list is made using ECstep’s Personal Nutrition Data Program and includes more than 100 of the lysine richest foods. Commercial brand products are not included in this list.
