Macronutrients: Protein
- Rebecca
- Apr 16, 2020
- 4 min read
For the final dose of my macronutrient posts, I’ve saved the meatiest (haha) one til the end: PROTEIN.
In recent years, this food group has received an unbelievable amount of hype, with not only regular gym goers becoming more aware of its importance, but food manufacturers and restaurants even jumped on the bandwagon promoting their new “high protein” products…right down to protein water!
Now there’s no doubt it’s a vital constituent of our diet, but what exactly is it, where should you get it from and how much should we aim to eat? I shall outline some basic information below, but future posts will cover this hotly debated and well researched macro nutrient.
Structure:
Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids, all of which have the same chemical structure, except a unique R group which is different for each amino acid. Individual amino acids link together in a chemical reaction to form a peptide chain. The amino acids are joined by peptide bonds and the structure isn’t necessarily a straight chain; it starts to coil to form a globular or fibrous protein. Depending on it’s structure, the function of each protein will be determined. We usually associate protein with muscle building properties but this next section will inform you of some of the other vital roles it performs within the body.
Function:
As previously mentioned, proteins have a variety of functions in the body. They have several roles including structural, regulatory, protection, transportation, storage and contractile. The table below outlines some of the common ones- some of which you may have heard of!
So next time you’re downing your post workout protein shake, it’ll be contributing to more than just recovery for those tired muscles (Table taken from Future Fit Training).
Sources:
Of the 20 amino acids mentioned earlier, your body can produce 12 and the remaining 8 must be obtained from diet. It’s important to have all 20 as deficiencies will lead to problems such as muscle loss, reduced immunity, reduced coordination and prolonged recovery from injury/illness.
The 8 we must get from our diet are called essential and are as follows: Isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. (Histidine is also essential in children so can also be considered as another one)
So where do we get these crucial amino acids from that our bodies cannot synthesise?!
Dietary sources of protein can be classes as either complete, if they contain all of the essential amino acids the body needs to make proteins, or incomplete if they are low in certain amino acids.
First of all, let’s look at complete proteins which are high in essential amino acids
Animal sources: Red meat, chicken and other poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products.
That’s all well and good, but what about those of you that follow a “plant based”, vegetarian or vegan diet?
Plant sources are low in some amino acids so are called incomplete, HOWEVER, you can still obtain all of the essential amino acids if you consume a wide variety. This is known as protein combining or complementing. A good example is beans on toast. Beans are low in methionine but is not limited in others, whereas wholegrains are low in lysine and threonine. By combining the two, you can obtain a “complete” amino acid profile.
Plant-based and vegan diets is another topic I shall be covering too..
Plant proteins are found in beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, tofu and other soy based products, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables.
Phewf..looks like it’s pretty easy to get your protein then! But how much should we be consuming?
How much?
Again, this is another minefield and it varies quite a lot depending on age, gender, physical activity levels, genetics and so on..
The UK Government recommends for the average person 1g per kg of bodyweight per day, which equates to around 15-20% of daily energy intake.
However, more research is suggesting this is too low and in fact it should be closer to 1.2-1.6g /kg bodyweight per day, especially for those that are active. The Protein Summit 2.0 of 2013 involved more than 60 nutrition scientists, health experts, and nutrition educators who gathered to consider dietary protein’s role in optimal health. Findings supported the consumption at the higher end of the scale(1.2-1.6g/kg BW) and research is ongoing into the optimum amount to consume…
The table below is a guide from on the training I have received in relation to consumption of protein in relation to activity levels. Again, there are other factors to consider such as age, gender and fitness goals, but it is food for thought when planning out your diet and training.
To help visualise and related this to everyday foods here is a table of some common ones you may consume as part of your diet. You may be surprised at some levels found in certain foods, so why don’t you mix it up and try to incorporate a wider variety to get all those amino acids? Especially at the current time of lockdown, it may be the perfect time to experiment with plant-based sources!
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