Protein 101: Why, What, & How

Q: What do you call a peanut in a spacesuit?
A: An astronut!

Peanuts are a great source of protein. Today we are going over why you need protein, types of protein, and plant/animal sources for great protein. So snap open a bag of peanuts and let’s get this party started.

Why protein?

Protein is simply a word for chains of amino acids (think sausage links chained together). Your body is made up of roughly 20% protein. Protein helps the body move, regenerate, and grow. Proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Two big roles proteins play in your body include strength and flexibility control.

Collagen, your hero protein, accounts for roughly 30% of all bone tissue. Collagen is extremely strong and helps build ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and muscles. Think of collagen like the fibers of a rope. Three fibers weave together, and those fibers weave with other fibers to fortify and strengthen muscle and bone.

Your body is made up of roughly 20% protein. Protein helps the body move, regenerate, and grow https://t.co/AnIGdhAum6

— Kenneth Knudson (@Kenneth_Knudson) December 8, 2019

Elastin protein mixed with collagen in the skin makes in strong but flexible. This is why when you get pinched the skin snaps back into place. Pretty cool right?

Protein also completes the following in your body:

• Send and receive chemical messages via hormones (Garren, Davis 1965)
• Maintain proper fluid balance (Robriquet et al. 2006)
• Transportation of key drugs and nutrients to the right cells in the body
• Barricade against harmful bacteria zombies looking to destroy your body
• Small source of energy production (Milne et al. 2009)

Types of protein?

There are literally 100,000 different types of proteins in the body. Rather than trying to name all combinations (ain’t nobody got time for that), let’s cover the basic categories or buckets that proteins fall into.

Essential: The proteins that the body cannot produce by itself from other nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Valine

Non-essential: The body can create these proteins on their own by breaking down other nutrients.

• Alanine
• Arginine*
• Asparagine
• Aspartic acid
• Cysteine*
• Glutamic acid
• Glutamine*
• Glycine*
• Proline*
• Serine
• Tyrosine*

*Conditionally essential

Complete: Protein chock full of all the essential amino acids. Animal proteins (eggs, milk, fish) are generally more complete than plant proteins (beans, grains, rice, seeds, fruits, legumes), but this is not always the case.

Incomplete: Any protein that does not include all essential amino acids.

Amino acid score: Food scientists have given the egg a score of 100 because the egg contains all essential amino acids. While it may not have more protein when stacked gram for gram against other foods, it contains all essential amino acids.

Fish (61), beef (29), milk (23), and soybeans (29) are also great sources of protein that you can add to your diet.

Sources of protein

Protein can come in three different forms: animal, plant, and supplement. Here is a list from each type of great proteins you can start eating today

Animal

• Eggs
• Fish
• Chicken
• Beef
• Greek yogurt
• Pork

Plant

• Beans
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Tofu
• Spelt
• Hempseed
• Oats

Supplements

• Whey
• Protein
• Soy
• Hemp
• Pea

How much protein do I need?

Protein needs vary by age, gender, and activity levels among individuals. Remember that extra protein can be converted and stored as fat in the body. It’s important to get enough protein but not too much. The American College of Sports and Medicine recommends the following intake levels:

• 1.2-1.8 g/kg body weight for athletes
• 0.8g/kg body weight for healthy adults

SOURCES
Garren, L. D., Ney, R. L., & Davis, W. W. (1965). Studies on the role of protein synthesis in the regulation of corticosterone production by adrenocorticotropic hormone in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 53(6), 1443.

Milne, A. C., Potter, J., Vivanti, A., & Avenell, A. (2009). Protein and energy supplementation in elderly people at risk from malnutrition. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (2).

Rinzler, C. A. (2011). Nutrition for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.

Robriquet, L., Collet, F., Tournoys, A., Prangère, T., Nevière, R., Fourrier, F., & Guery, B. P. (2006). Intravenous administration of activated protein C in Pseudomonas-induced lung injury: impact on lung fluid balance and the inflammatory response. Respiratory research, 7(1), 41.

Thomas, D. T., Erdman, K. A., & Burke, L. M. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: nutrition and athletic performance. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(3), 501-528.

Zickl, D. (2019, July 9). There Are So. Many. Different Types of Protein-Here's How to Cut Through the Clutter. Retrieved December 5, 2019, from https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/a27079077/types-of-protein/.