Protein!

Let’s talk about protein. It’s truly the most important, yet most often overlooked macronutrient. Humans are quite literally made up of proteins…think muscles, bones, hormones, neurotransmitters, they’re all derived from proteins. Let’s start with the basics.

Proteins are composed of chains of amino acids. There are many amino acids, however, the human body only requires 20 which can be categorized as either essential or nonessential. Essential amino acids are called “essential” because they must be consumed in the diet. On the contrary, nonessential amino acids are created within the body via synthesis from other amino acids. They are “nonessential” because they aren’t acquired from the diet. There are 11 nonessential and 9 essential aminos. Of those 9 essential aminos, there are three known as branched chain amino acids (or BCAA’s) which are the most abundant in skeletal tissues. This is super important because these are the amino acids that are key for muscle building! BCAA’s are typically found in food sources such as meat, dairy, fish, and eggs. They can also be found in some plant sources such as legumes, some nuts, and whole grains. However, these plant sources don’t contain ALL of the essential amino acids or BCAA’s, so they must be combined with other foods. This brings me to my next topic.

When foods such as legumes, nuts, and whole grains are combined either with each other or other foods, they become complete proteins. Complete proteins contain all of the essential amino acids. This is helpful to know for people who are vegetarian/vegan because you can’t just eat a ton of beans and expect to build muscle. One of the easiest ways to turn beans into a complete protein is by pairing them with rice. These two foods on their own are incomplete protein sources, however, when you put them together they contain all of the essential amino acids, making them complete. 

So, WHY is protein so important and how do you know if you’re getting enough of it? Protein is responsible for repairing and building cells, tissues, and structures in the body. As stated earlier, proteins are what make humans! When it comes to working out, protein is what is responsible for building muscle. You can work out like a maniac but it won’t do much if you don’t have enough protein to feed the muscles that have been worked. In fact, muscle can begin to deteriorate when undernourished. So, you can begin to understand the importance of fielding your muscles properly and upping your protein intake. One last important piece of information is that simply eating a lot of protein is not going to build muscle, you must also be participating in some form of resistance training. Pairing resistance training with a solid protein intake is where the magic happens. I hope you all have a protein-filled day! See ya next time!