Essential amino acid
Phenylalanine + Tyrosine
The aromatic pair. Raw material for dopamine, adrenaline and thyroid hormone.
25 mg/kg/dayAbout 1.75 g a day at 70 kg
What it builds
Tyrosine is made from phenylalanine, so WHO pools the two into one requirement line and AminoLens follows. Between them they are the starting material for an unusually consequential set of molecules: dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline, the thyroid hormones, and melanin.
Phenylalanine is also one half of aspartame, which is why every diet drink in the country carries a phenylalanine warning on the label. That warning is not addressed to the general public.
Where phenylalanine + tyrosine actually comes from
Ubiquitous across protein foods. This line is very rarely the constraint.
Ranked by a realistic portion rather than per 100 g, because nobody eats 100 g of pumpkin seeds. Figures are digestibility-adjusted, so these are the amounts the app credits you with, not the amounts printed on the packet. Computed live from the 72 foods in the AminoLens recommender pool.
All foods
Every food in the pool, animal and plant.
| Food | Portion | Per portion |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 120 g breast | 2.60 g |
| Beef (eye of round) | 120 g | 2.41 g |
| Lamb leg | 120 g | 2.39 g |
| Pork tenderloin | 120 g | 2.39 g |
| Chicken thigh | 120 g | 2.19 g |
| Haddock | 120 g fillet | 1.92 g |
Plant-based only
Vegan foods only. The list most people actually need.
| Food | Portion | Per portion |
|---|---|---|
| Soybeans | 120 g cooked | 1.64 g |
| Tempeh | 100 g | 1.42 g |
| Extra-firm tofu | 150 g | 1.21 g |
| Firm tofu | 150 g (half a block) | 1.10 g |
| White beans | 150 g cooked | 984 mg |
| Pinto beans | 150 g cooked | 915 mg |
Signs you might be short
Effectively never the limiting line on a diet with adequate protein. The aromatic pair is abundant in animal and plant protein alike.
Pairs well with
No pairing strategy needed. Cover your total protein and this line covers itself.
See your phenylalanine + tyrosine coverage
Photograph a meal and watch where the protein actually goes.
Analyse a meal