PROTEIN & Dietary Protein and Body Protein

Protein is an essential part of our diets. Proteins are large, complex molecules resembling tangled strings of beads. Each of the “beads” on the string is one of a group of smaller molecules called amino acids. Amino acids are composed of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, and some
contain sulfur. Using the amino acids from the protein you eat, the body makes more than 50,000 different proteins. These proteins are the main structural elements of our skin, hair, nails, cell membranes, muscles, and connective tissue. Collagen, the main protein in our skin, provides a barrier to the invasion of foreign substances. Proteins in cell membranes determine what substances can enter and exit cells. Our muscles, which contain some 65 percent of the body’s total protein, give our bodies their shape and strength. Proteins in connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, and cartilage enable our skeletons to function, form internal organs, and hold the organs in place. Proteins in the blood carry oxygen to all cells and remove carbon dioxide and other waste products. The proteins in muscle,
connective tissue, and blood make up most of the protein in the body. Other proteins called enzymes accelerate metabolic processes, and still other proteins and amino acids are hormones and neurochemicals, the substances that deliver signals throughout the body and regulate all metabolic processes. During periods of growth, our bodies must manufacture and store large amounts of protein. Therefore, the requirement for protein in our diets is higher during growth. But even when we are not growing, each of the unique proteins in the body has a finite lifespan and must be replaced continuously. So the need for protein never ends.

Dietary Protein and Body Protein

The thousands of proteins that make up our bodies are assembled on demand from some 20 different amino acids. What are these amino acids, and where do they come from? The protein from the meat we ate last night is not directly incorporated into our muscles. The proteins in the foods we eat are digested first into small “peptides.” Some of these peptides are further digested into their constituent amino acids. Only amino acids and small peptides are actually absorbed by the small intestine into the bloodstream. They are then delivered to the liver, muscles, brain, and other organs, where they are used to make new proteins or converted to other amino acids needed by those organs.