Proteins

Proteins are the building blocks and the builders of your body. Muscles, ligaments, organs, blood vessels, skin, hair and nails are all proteins.

The proteins in our foods are broken down during digestion into small pieces called amino acids.

There are 20 amino acids which are rebuilt into the 100,000 proteins we need. 8 (for children) and 9 (for adults) of these amino acids cannot be built by the human body so must be present in our food.

Each protein can be defined by its name or chemical formula, but it is the shape of the protein which is important, and each protein has a binding site which is where the magic occurs.

All proteins contain Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. Some proteins also contain Sulphur or Phosphorus or other trace elements.

The process of building proteins is by our DNA splitting open then binding to a starter molecule and building the whole proteins one molecule at a time.

Proteins come from meat, milk, cheese, eggs, soy, fish, whole grains, and cereals, beans and of course, protein powder or protein bars.

The average human needs 1-2 grams per kilogram of body weight each day. Overconsumption can lead to proteins being used as a fuel source at 4 Calories per gram, the same as carbohydrates.