What Is Methionine & What Foods Can I Find It In?

3D-model of Methionine (src)

Methionine is an essential amino acid.

Together with cysteine, methionine is one of two sulfur-containing proteinogenic amino acids.

Essential means that the body cannot synthesize it, and therefore must be ingested through our diet.

Table of Contents

Methionine Is An Antioxidant

Methionine is one of nine essential amino acids found in humans. It cannot be synthesized in the body, and therefore needs to be provided by our diet. (source )

Methionine is indispensable to humans and works as an antioxidant. (source )

You can find more research-backed benefits of methionine in Methionine: 4 Research-Backed Benefits & One Side-Effect .

Methionine And Weight Loss

Methionine is believed to be beneficial for weight loss.

It is used in many weight loss supplements to help speed up the metabolism, so that you lose weight faster.

It is also sometimes used to reduce appetite and increase your energy.

Carefully Cook Foods Containing Methionine

Cooking foods at high temperatures can decrease methionine bioavailability. Due to oxidation. (source )

Too Much Methionine Can Be Toxic

Methionine can become toxic when taken in very high doses.

It can cause cardiovascular damage. (source )

Foods You Can Find Methionine In

You find Methionine mostly in eggs, seafood, american indian and alaska native food, and nuts and seeds.

Examples of food sources include

Foods 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 Methionine, we recommend you visit our tool.

Here's our top ranked list of foods that contain Methionine.

Sara Niemelä

co-founder Care Omnia, Head Content Creator

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Nutrition is my passion. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours reading, analyzing, categorizing and comparing research studies.

I’m a wife and a mother of three. I enjoy the outdoors, cooking, and spending time with my family.