What Is Cystine & What Foods Can I Find It In?
Cystine is a non-essential amino acid, that aids in protein synthesis.
Non-essential means that our bodies can produce that amino acid, even if we don’t get it from the food we eat.
Table of Contents
Transport Of Cystine
Cystine is a sulfur-containing nonessential amino acid. (source ◳)
The transportation of cystine into the cell is essential for the synthesis of glutathione. Glutathione is an important antioxidant.
The cystine transport is also important for the maintenance of glutamic acid levels in the body. (source ◳)
Cystine Can Form Kidney Stones
When there is too much cystine in the urine, kidney stones can form. It is a disorder called cystinuria.
Cystine stone is a type of kidney stone, but typically larger than other kidney stones and is visible on plain radiographs. (source ◳)
Restricting dietary sodium may reduce the urinary excretion of cystine.
Also, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may be beneficial. (source ◳)
Foods You Can Find Cystine In
You find Cystine mostly in egg, nut and seed, legume, and beef products.
Examples of food sources include
- Egg White
- Cottonseed Flour
- Cottonseed Meal
- Whole Egg
- Soy Protein Isolate
- Sesame Flour
Foods That Contain Cystine In Our Nutrition Tool
You can find regularly updated top ranked lists of foods for over 200+ nutrients in our nutrition tool.
If you are interested in what foods contain the most Cystine we recommend you visit our tool.
Here's our top ranked list of foods that contain Cystine.