Protein is made up of Amino Acids, which in turn are primarily nitrogen based, giving us our principle source of dietary nitrogen. The main sources of protein in our diets are meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, pulses, nuts and seeds and grains. There are only 22 or so amino acids and just like the letters in the alphabet make up different words, amino acids can make up many different types of protein. About 8 Amino Acids are essential (EAA’s), meaning that we need to get them from food as we cannot synthesise them ourselves, the rest are non-essential (nEAA’s), as we can synthesise them ourselves. We class the quality of protein either High or Low. Animal protein contains all 8 of the EAA’s and is considered High Value Protein. Vegetable sources of protein are considered Low Value Protein, as there is usually one or two of the EAA’s missing. If you are a vegetarian, you need to make sure you are getting your protein from a variety of sources, e.g. mix a grain with a pulse, (beans on toast!) to compensate for missing EAA’s. This is called protein complementation.
- Structure: hair, nails, skin, organs, tissue, muscles
- Immune system function
- Hormone function
- Nerve and muscle function
- Blood clotting
- Enzymes
We need protein on a daily basis. Men and women have slightly different requirements, primarily due to the extra muscle mass men naturally have. According to the Dietary Intake Reference, an adult female of average build and activity level, aged 19-70 needs 46gms per day and an adult male, 56gms. This requirement will increase if there is increased activity levels and muscle mass due to training. Protein requirements are also increased during pregnancy and breastfeeding and for growing children as their bodies are developing rapidly.
- Affect and tax the liver and kidneys
- Increase Calcium excretion
- Lead to dehydration
- Be stored as fat
- Increase risk of gout
- Will not increase muscle strength or endurance
Emma Buckley B.Sc
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