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Lysine, molecular model. Lysine is an essential amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. It cannot be synthesised by the body and so needs to be obtained from foods such as green beans, lentils and spinach. Lysine plays a large role in calcium absorption, building muscle tissue, injury recovery and in the production of hormones, enzymes and antibodies. Atoms are colour-coded: carbon (grey), hydrogen (white), oxygen (red) and nitrogen (blue). (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/LAGUNA DESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)