What is Protein?
What does
protein do for us?
Where do I
get amino acids from?
What are
essential amino acids?
What is a
non-essential amino acids?
Does Grape
juice have the same health
benefits as red wine?
How much protein should I consume?
What is Protein?
What does protein do for us?
Where do I get amino acids?
What are Essential amino acids?
What is a Non-Essential amino acids?
Does grape
juice have the same health
benefits as red wine?
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Protein (widely recognized as the building blocks) is a
molecule consisting of one or
more polypeptides. A
polypeptide is a polymer of many
amino acids linked by peptide
bonds. So in short, a protein
is a bunch of amino acids all
linked together with special
bonds.
Proteins serve the body as building blocks in the growth
and repair of tissues, as
enzymes in metabolism, as
hormones, as regulators of the
bodies fluid balances, as
antibodies, and in many other
ways. So you can see that
protein is vital to the
maintenance of optimal health.
Proteins themselves are
constantly being synthesized or
broken down as needed almost
everywhere in the body.
Amino acids are the primary ingredient in proteins which as
we know are the building blocks
for our bodies to maintain and
increase strength and various
metabolic functions. All of the
proteins we consume contain
amino acids in various
concentrations. Not all protein
sources contain all of the amino
acids.
Essential amino acids are those amino acids that the body
cannot produce on its own either
at all or in sufficient
quantity. They must be ingested
and are absolutely necessary to
maintain health. They are
Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine,
Lysine, Methionine,
Phenylalanine, Threonine, and
Tryptophan. Tryptophan is the
precursor to Seratonin, so you
can imagine what will happen if
you do not ingest proper amounts
of Tryptophan.... depression.
If the body is not supplied by a
diet with adequate essential
amino acids, it will break down
proteins (I.E. Muscle) for use
in creating new proteins. This
is called protein catabolism.
A non essential amino acid is an amino acid that can be
produced by the liver in the
absence of dietary non essential
amino acids. This is done by
utilizing fragments of
carbohydrate and fat that is
available in the system and
nitrogen to form the amino
group. Non essential amino
acids are usually found in the
diet but in unusual
circumstances they can be
produced internally.
The non essential amino acids are; Alanine, Arginine,
Asparagine, Aspartic acid,
Cysteine, Glutamic acid,
Glutamine, Glycine, Proline,
Serine, and Tyrosine.
Grape provides the same benefits
but in smaller quantities.
Both purple grape juice and red
wine contain resveratrol (a
flavonoid found in grape skin),
which prevents platelets in the
blood from sticking together.
According to James Stein, M.D.,
a cardiologist and an associate
professor of medicine at the
University of Wisconsin medical
school, "ounce for ounce, red
wine pack two times more
flavonoids than juice does."
In addition, the fermentation
process used to make wine allows
resveratrol to be absorbed by
your body more rapidly. Resveratrol helps
protect growing grapes against
disease, and when pesticides are
used to keep the vines healthy,
the grapes produce much less of
this natural defense.
Most Americans consume too much, protein each day. Roughly
10-30 percent of your daily
intake of calories should come
from protein. Meaning that a
2000 calorie per day diet would
offer 200-600 (50g-150g) of
those calories from protein
sources. Different studies have
ended with different results
which is why there is such a
variance in the percentages
recommended. The U.S. RDA is .8
grams per Kilogram of
appropriate body weight.
Appropriate simply means that an
obese person would be best
served to eat the amount of
protein recommended for him if
he was at a more common, healthy
weight. The diet and health
report recommends that people
maintain a protein intake that
is between the U.S. RDA and
twice the U.S. RDA. It appears
that having slightly higher
protein intake does not do
damage although excessive
protein intake can be very
damaging.
1 ounce of meat=
9 grams protein
Can I have too much protein?
Yes you can absolutely consume too much protein. There are
many health issues surrounding
excessive protein consumption.
Calcium excretion rises as protein intake increases and
that is especially true with the
intake of animal sources of
protein. Excessive calcium loss
can lead to Osteoporosis.
Excessive protein that is
consumed has to be broken down
and is then stored as fat if it
cannot be utilized by the
system. This creates higher fat
deposits. Many proteins are
associated with animal products
and this increased consumption
of animal products can lead to a
higher fat intake and higher
risk or heart disease.
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