ABCDEFG Come and sing along with me, H I J K L M N O P Tell me what you want to be!
The proteins we eat and the protein in our body are made up of little things called amino acids. These little amino acids are all assembled in various ways to build proteins.
Just like there are 26 letters of the alphabet we use to make up words; there are 20 amino acids that get strung together to make different proteins.
Some words are short and some are long, but we only use the 26 letters of the alphabet to create millions of words. From just a few amino acids to several thousand, they get strung together to make different proteins and each specific 'amino acid chain' gives the protein its 'meaning'.
The Protein Pool
Not all food proteins are the same. Just like the sequence of letters in a word give a different meaning to the word, the sequence of amino acids in a certain protein creates a unique protein.
As an example, when you eat a dairy product you are eating proteins called casein and whey but when you eat meat, fish or poultry you are eating proteins called collagen and myosin among others. The protein of beans is called legumins while an egg has a number of proteins including avidin and ovalbumin.
When these different proteins are digested in the body their amino acids are absorbed into the bloodstream. Your body uses these amino acids, or building blocks, to make some 50,000 different body proteins.
This process gives your body the 'raw materials' it needs to do many things from creating the enzymes to speed up chemical reactions in the body to hormones that act as chemical messengers. Some proteins support your immune function and some transport nutrients in your body. Proteins are also responsible for providing the structure to your bones, skin, hair, nails and muscles.
The System
Eating protein daily in both the right amount and the right type is very important. A shortage of protein in your diet will force your body to begin breaking down proteins already within your body in order to provide the amino acids necessary to produce the most important and vital body proteins.
Your body is constantly building up and breaking down proteins, but this system only works as long as there are enough amino acids being absorbed from your diet to keep the processes in balance.
Does One Size Fit All?
Does everyone need the same amount of protein in their diet? Daily protein needs depend on many things, like how much you weigh and how much muscle you have and whether you are male or female.
Daily activities also play a part in determining your protein needs. A construction worker or a body builder has different protein needs than a bank teller or a computer operator.
The guidelines by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine say the average female needs about 46 g and the average male needs about 56 g daily. However, these guidelines are set at levels to only meet the most basic needs of people!!
What Is Right For You?
Protein is essential in maintaining your lean body mass (which is everything in your body that isn't fat). Therefore the amount of protein that your body needs really depends, in part, on how much lean mass you have.
So how do you know how much lean body mass you have? This can be done by getting a body composition measurement. Some bathroom scales have this capacity. Once you know this the ideal amount of protein would be 0.5 - 1.0 grams per pound of lean body mass.
If you don't have access to this measurement, a reasonable target is to take your weight in pounds: multiply your weight by 0.7 or your weight in kilograms: multiply your body weight by 1.5.
As an example a female who weighs 140 lbs. should aim for about 100 g of protein daily while a male weighing 220 lb. should aim for about 150 g of protein daily.
Vital For Healthy Diet
Protein is a vital part of a healthy diet. The actual word 'protein' first appeared in scientific literature in 1838. It was derived from the Greek word 'protos' which means 'first rank or position' in recognition of how important protein is to life.
So in thinking of the correlation of the letters of the alphabet which make different words and the amino acids which make different proteins; the Alphabet Song: "ABCDEFG, Come and sing along with me, HIJKLMNOP, Tell me what you want to be" makes perfect sense!
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