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What do proteins mean for the human body? Without any doubt, you can answer that a lot. After all, it is protein that is the building block for the growth and restoration of absolutely all biological tissues of our body.
Why does the body need protein?
No enzymatic activity is possible without protein, since all enzymes contain protein components. If you analyze any single hormone, it turns out to be a protein. Plasma (humoral) immunity factors are complex protein complexes. The contraction of absolutely all muscles, in particular, the respiratory muscles, occurs exclusively due to the specific interaction of actin and myosin proteins.
Finally, the well-known hemoglobin, which carries vital oxygen in the composition of erythrocytes, is also a protein with a complex quaternary structure. This small list is enough to realize the impossibility of the vital activity of our body without proteins.
From day to day, the human body spends a certain amount of protein for its needs, which is why every day, to restore the required supply of protein, replenishment of this organic material is required. It is known that the main route of protein intake is, of course, food. However, protein is a rather complex high molecular weight component that, in order to be absorbed, must first be broken down into smaller particles.
These constituent components of the protein are amino acids – in other words, the structural units of the protein. Today, about a hundred amino acids are known, but only about twenty are actively involved in the metabolism of our body. With insufficient supply from the outside, some of them can be synthesized on their own in the body, others do not have this ability, therefore amino acids are subdivided into nonessential and irreplaceable. Thus, essential amino acids in our body should only come from food.
How long protein should be consumed for the normal functioning of various body systems?
Scientists have been looking for the answer to this question for more than one decade. Given that in the 19-20 centuries, the daily protein requirement for the body ranged from 26 to 136 grams. This difference of opinion was explained by the reactionary views of some scientists, who acted on the instructions of the government, and also by insufficient consideration of all the reasons that can change the daily requirement for protein in one direction or another.
Currently, 100-120 grams of protein per day is considered sufficient for humans. More precisely, this amount is displayed as a proportional ratio of protein to body weight, this is how the individual need for protein can be determined, based on the fact that 0,8-1,1 grams of protein should fall on one kilogram of weight. But, as we mentioned above, the required amount of protein for a person per day can vary.
So, for example, with physical or mental stress, the need for proteins increases, which is why the lifestyle of each individual person, as well as his profession, plays an important role here. The protein diet for pregnant women should be increased by about ten percent, and by twenty for nursing mothers.
If you are losing weight, then you need to consume 1,5-2 grams of protein per 1 kg of your weight daily. But remember that at one meal, the amount of protein should not exceed 30 grams, otherwise the excess protein will not be absorbed by the body. If you weigh more than 100 kg, then do not consume more than 200 grams of protein per day.
What does protein deficiency in the body lead to?
When you lose weight, the lack of protein will affect the muscles and you will lose weight at the expense of muscle, and not due to fat. Lack of protein in the body leads to a number of pathological conditions that are associated with hormonal imbalance, insufficiency of enzymatic systems, as well as a number of other factors. A person develops alimentary (food) dystrophy, brain activity is impaired, the work of hematopoietic organs, liver, and many other systems deteriorates.
Protein deficiency has a very negative effect on the child’s body: the baby lags behind in growth, in physical and mental development. With a protein deficiency in the pituitary part of the brain, a deficiency of specific cells also develops. The function of these cells is to produce growth hormone, which is responsible for the growth of the child’s body. With severe protein deficiency, there may even be death from dystrophy.
Protein Sources in Food
The main sources of protein are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, as well as other meat and dairy products. This protein is called animal. Peas, beans, nuts, contain vegetable proteins, which are necessary, first of all, for the construction and growth of all tissues and organs. Least of all protein in berries and fruits. It is worth saying that on average, animal products contain more proteins, in addition, they have a correctly balanced amino acid composition, and this is important for normal digestion, for the assimilation of protein components.
However, you should not overeat protein foods. When overeating in the intestine, putrefactive processes intensify, and this leads to the formation and absorption of toxic decay elements into the blood.