Protein - Why?, What?, When? and How Much?

When you think of protein, do you picture bodybuilders?
It's true that protein is an essential nutrient to build
lean muscle mass, but its primary role is as an all-purpose
nutritional building block to maintain your health and
vitality. Your entire body consists of protein; nerves,
bones and muscle are all created and maintained with the
help of protein. It is the principle component of your
skin, hair, nails, blood, and internal organs.

Protein has about 4 calories per gram. While your body's
primary fuel sources come from carbohydrates and fats,
protein can step in and take that role when there are
insufficient amounts of those macronutrients. When carbs
and fats are adequately provided for in the diet, protein
is used for tissue building and maintenance.

Some of the primary hormones are largely comprised protein
components called amino acids. Insulin and other critical
hormones are also of amino acids. They are responsible for
metabolic rate, growth rate, and sexual development.

Enzymes are the catalysts for a myriad of chemical
processes that take place in your body. They are also amino
acids, protein. Enzymes are required to perform digestion,
produce viral and bacterial antibodies, and a host of other
necessary processes.

Your digestive system's enzymes break down large protein
molecules, which are basically chains of amino acids, into
each individual amino acid. These amino acids are reserved"
by the body and used when we need the building blocks to
create complex tissue.

Proteins are classified into two categories:

* Essential Amino Acids<br> * Non-Essential Amino Acids

"Non-essential amino acids" are not really "non-essential."
The body needs them just as it does "essential" ones.
However, they are called "nonessential" because the body
can synthesize them itself. On the other hand, "essential"
amino acids cannot be synthesized and must be gotten from
the diet.

While it's true that the bodybuilding and fitness
communities tout a fairly high consumption of protein per
pound of bodyweight to be optimal, in fact, most
nutritionists now teach that our dietary level of protein
should be much lower. We should focus on "enough" protein,
and you can, indeed, get "too much protein."

Your protein sources should come from lean meats, such as
lean beef or skinless chicken, or fish. If you're a
vegetarian, you can get ample protein just from high
protein plant sources, such as beans and legumes. Even if
you're not vegetarian, it's a good idea to include beans
and legumes in your diet because of the soluble fiber they
provide. They're also high in essential nutrients besides
protein, like folic acid. It should also be noted that it
is not at all true that plant or vegetarian sources of
protein are inferior or "incomplete". Now we know that the
body does not need a full compliment of amino acids in each
meal to build tissue, and simply ingesting enough calories
and enough of these types of foods is enough. That's where
the concept of "amino acid pool" was developed.

In short, it's only of benefit to get a lot (or even all)
of your protein from plant-based foods, and not hard at
all. And give greens a try, too. They're chock full of
nutrition and fiber (and after all, that's how a bull grows
big and strong, with lots of greens, or grass).

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J. Lance Curtis is editor and contributor to The Nutrition
Guru! Discover why protein is the most important nutrient
and by making the right choice can improve your health by
visiting
http://www.TheNutritionGuru.com