If I asked you, “Why do we eat protein?” I’m wondering what you would answer.
One of the most common answers is, “For energy.”
How about this protein question, “Does it matter which sources of protein we eat to get maximum protein nutritional value?”
Most people would answer that gram for gram all protein sources are the same.
While it is somewhat true that protein provides energy, it is not the main reason why our bodies require protein.
And, all protein sources are not the same when it comes to their nutritional and usable benefits.
Let’s look more closely at protein so you understand the correct answers to these protein questions.
Your body is built of protein.
Protein makes up your organs, bones, tendons, ligaments and blood.
It also makes up many of your hormones (insulin, growth hormone), immune system, neurotransmitters and all of the enzymes of metabolism, digestion and detoxification.
In other words, it plays a huge role.
Because of the acts of daily living, proteins break down. They need to be repaired or replaced so that all the structures they comprise stay healthy and functional.
That’s why getting enough daily high quality dietary protein is essential. So, protein is a key nutrient for both recovery and longevity.
If you’re working on increasing your fitness, your needs for quality protein increases so that you’ll be able to support your structure as you increase your workload. If you don’t do this, you’ll likely feel less energetic, experience irritability and poor sleep, and perhaps injure yourself or feel ill.
Protein is a complex structure made up of smaller units called amino acids.
There are 22 different ones in nature that are used in your body to make protein. Only eight of them must be in your diet on a daily basis. So when it comes to making proteins, you can’t make them without the 8 essential amino acids.
They are called “essential” because your body cannot make them and must get them from food.
Eat enough of these eight essential amino acids and your body can make all of the other proteins it needs. Therefore, a protein’s quality is attributed to the amount and proportion of these eight essential amino acids. For instance, animal proteins have all of the essential amino acids and vegetable proteins are often missing one or more of them.
In order to make sure you are getting enough protein to maintain your body in an optimum state, make sure you don’t fall into one of these two groups.
1. People who are not eating enough quality protein. This can be due to a lack of accurate information about which foods have high quality protein. If you are a vegan and don’t eat animal protein, make sure to learn what your best sources of high quality protein are. Also, many dieters who cut calories are likely not eating enough high quality protein.
2. People who cannot digest protein fully, so it does not enter their bodies. Protein digestion begins in the stomach with an enzyme called pepsin. Pepsin only works if the pH (acidity) of the stomach is very low, between 1-2. If the pH of your stomach is too high (from taking antacids or other medications for instance), your protein digestion will be compromised. So, you may be eating enough protein but not digesting or absorbing it.
Now let’s say that you ARE eating enough protein and you ARE absorbing it. What happens next?
One of two things will happen. Either the amino acids are used by your body to make protein, OR your body uses the amino acids for energy.
What determines whether the amino acids from your diet go down the “make protein” or “make energy” pathway?
The answer to this question was only recently discovered.
The route that a dietary protein takes is determined by the ratio and amounts of the eight essential amino acids in that protein. If the makeup of a protein has a ratio of essential amino acids that is correct to what your body needs, that will be a “quality protein.” If it is missing certain of the essential amino acids, or if they are in an improper ratio, it is considered a lesser quality protein.
Nutritionists measure the quality of a protein using an index called NNU or Net Nitrogen Utilization. Of the three major food groups, proteins, fats and carbohydrates, only proteins have nitrogen.
Scientists can measure how many grams of nitrogen go in the body when a certain amount of protein is eaten and then they collect the urine and stool to measure how much nitrogen came out. What didn’t come out is what the body used to make its own proteins. That’s the NNU of that food.
Here are some examples of the NNU in foods you commonly eat:
Beef, poultry, fish and eggs have an average NNU of 32%. This means that if you ate a can of tuna with 28 grams of protein, the actual amount of that protein that your body could use would be 32% of that or about 9-10 grams.
For dairy products and soy products the NNU is much lower at 17%. Remember when looking at the NNU you are measuring the quality factor of the protein.
Vegetables and nuts have much lower NNUs (under 10%). This is why it is more challenging to get adequate protein if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, since the NNU quality of those proteins is lower.
As active women you must get enough high quality protein in your diet.
You need enough quality protein to keep up with your body needs, and then some if you’re looking to improve performance and not break down.
Use this information to keep enhancing the quality of your protein intake so that you can improve performance and optimize your health.
If you feel you are eating enough quality protein and yet feel you are not digesting or absorbing it properly, seek the advice of a qualified health professional.
Keep the protein coming, and keep it of the highest quality possible!
shelli
Leave a Reply