Essential amino acids are the building blocks your body needs to build and maintain muscle. From exercise and recovery to healthy ageing and everyday movement, getting all nine essential amino acids is an important part of staying strong and active throughout life.
Why essential amino acids matter
Protein is made up of amino acids. While the body can produce many amino acids itself, there are nine essential amino acids (EAAs) that it cannot make in sufficient amounts. They must therefore come from our diet.
These nine EAAs play an important role in muscle protein synthesis (MPS), the continuous process through which the body builds and renews muscle protein.
Leucine is particularly important because it helps signal the muscle-building process. But leucine cannot do the job alone. All nine essential amino acids need to be available for the body to build new muscle protein effectively.
That makes EAAs relevant far beyond competitive sport. Maintaining muscle supports strength, movement and our ability to stay active throughout life.
Muscle is constantly changing
Muscle isn't static. Every day, muscle proteins are being broken down and rebuilt through a process known as muscle protein turnover.
Physical activity increases this turnover. Exercise provides a stimulus for adaptation, while essential amino acids provide the nutritional building blocks the body needs to support muscle protein synthesis.
But muscle health matters even when we're not exercising.
As we get older, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important for strength, mobility and physical function. Periods of inactivity can also make maintaining muscle more challenging.
Supporting muscle is therefore not simply about building bigger muscles. It is about maintaining the physical capacity to keep doing the things that matter to us.
What is different about free-form amino acids?
When we eat protein from foods such as fish, meat, eggs, dairy, legumes or other sources, the body must first digest the protein and break its large structures down into smaller peptides and individual amino acids.
Free-form amino acids are already in their individual form, so they require no further protein digestion before intestinal absorption.
This makes them particularly interesting when you want to provide amino acids in a small, convenient format with minimal digestive demand.
Research also shows that relatively small amounts of free-form EAAs can stimulate muscle protein synthesis when all nine essential amino acids are provided in an appropriate balance.
Food comes first
A balanced diet containing high-quality protein remains the foundation of good nutrition.
Fish, meat, eggs and dairy are rich sources of essential amino acids, while plant-based foods can also contribute significantly when different protein sources are combined across the diet.
There are times, however, when getting additional protein or amino acids through food may be less convenient. This might be around physical activity, during a busy day, when appetite is reduced or simply when a compact nutritional format is useful.
This is where targeted amino acid nutrition can complement a food-first approach.
How Unbroken is different
Unbroken starts with fresh Norwegian salmon, a naturally complete protein source.
Through extensive enzymatic hydrolysis, the salmon protein is broken down into approximately 60% free-form amino acids and 40% di- and tripeptides.
The result is an exceptionally small molecular profile, with an average molecular weight of approximately 374 Dalton.
Unbroken naturally provides:
- All nine essential amino acids
- 25 naturally occurring amino acids in total
- Free-form amino acids
- Di- and tripeptides
- Naturally occurring BCAAs
- Collagen-derived amino acids and peptides
- Vitamin B12, zinc, selenium and potassium
Because much of the protein has already been broken down, minimal further protein digestion is required.
Low digestive demand. High amino acid availability.
More than exercise recovery
Essential amino acids are often associated with athletes, but muscle matters to everyone.
Maintaining muscle supports our ability to move, stay strong and remain physically capable. This becomes particularly important as we age, when maintaining muscle mass and strength can become more challenging.
EAAs can also be useful around periods of increased physical demand or reduced food intake, when meeting protein needs through the normal diet may be more difficult.
The goal isn't to replace food. It is to provide another nutritional tool that can help support muscle when and where it is useful.
Before, during or after activity
For active people, amino acid nutrition doesn't have to wait until exercise is finished.
Because Unbroken requires minimal further protein digestion, it can be taken before, during or after activity, depending on your routine.
Research has shown that consuming essential amino acids before exercise can substantially increase amino acid delivery to working muscle compared with consuming them afterward. This is one reason we believe recovery can start before the start line.
During activity, Unbroken provides another opportunity for compact amino acid nutrition on the go. Afterward, it can complement food, hydration and rest as part of your wider recovery routine.
Supporting an active life
Essential amino acids aren't only about recovering from today's workout. They are part of the nutritional foundation that helps us maintain muscle throughout life.
Good food comes first. Movement matters. Recovery matters. And providing the body with all nine essential amino acids helps give muscle the building blocks it needs.
Unbroken brings those amino acids together with small peptides and key micronutrients in one compact format, naturally derived from Norwegian salmon.
For training. For recovery. For staying strong and active.
