What are Proteins?

Protein promote growth, repair and the maintain the body tissues as well as hormones. The richest sources of proteins are Meat, Dairy Products, Eggs, Grains, Legumes, Nuts and Seeds.

Each protein has a unique shape based on the structure of amino acids. The Amino acids may link in a variety of fashions. This leads to a wide variety of proteins. There are 20 standard amino acids, ten are essential, and the remaining 10 are nonessential

Essential Amino Acids

There are 10 essential amino acids. Human body can not synthesize them from other sources. They have to be obtained from the food. Arginine and Histidine are only needed in children.

Leucine

Methionine

Threonine

Valine

Histidine

Non Essential Amino acids

Asparagine

Cysteine

Glutamine

Proline

Tyrosine

Dietary Sources

Quality of protein is determined by total protein and the ratio of each essential amino acid. The protein structure of egg is used as a benchmark for this purpose. Meats and dairy products come close to the egg bench mark. Too much of Meat and Dairy products can raise the acid level in blood. In return, the body uses its Calcium from bones for pH balance. This Calcium winds up in the kidneys. Net result could be osteoporosis and or kidney stones.

The proteins found in plants lack one or more essential amino acids. However if you eat a combination of plant foods, you can get all the essential amino acids. This is called complementing. Two of the essential amino acids, Lysine and Tryptophan, are not readily available in plant proteins.

Proteins in Vegetarian India