Source of protein. Vegetable protein and animal protein

Protein is an organic substance consisting of amino acids bound by a peptide bond. Proteins in the human body are formed from 20 certain amino acids, some of which are irreplaceable and must come with food.

The role of protein in the body

Proteins are a source of energy, one of the three most important components and building elements. First of all - building elements: approximately 2/3 of the protein that gets into the body is used to build their own proteins, 1/3 is split to obtain energy.

In the human body, these substances perform many different functions: they are enzymes, and the building material (keratin, which consists of nails and hair - protein), and regulators of the reactions taking place in the body, and signal translators.

The proteins are in the shell and inside the cell, catalyze and accelerate the chemical reactions taking place in the body.

In addition, they perform protective, transport and reserve, receptor and motor functions (a separate class of proteins ensures the movement of leukocytes, muscle contraction, etc.). Of course, for each task there is a type of protein, but all of them are built from standard "bricks".

High-grade and defective protein

Proteins do not accumulate in the body, so they must regularly come from outside. And here the division into full and inferior proteins comes into play. Food sources of proteins produce either one type of protein or another.

Full-fledged - those that have in their composition all 20 "bricks" -amino acids. Deficient - proteins, which do not contain one or more desired amino acids, or are, but in too small a quantity. However, the body must necessarily receive from the outside 8 essential amino acids, which it can not synthesize itself. Hence the universal "race" for full-fledged proteins (which contain everything, including these eight amino acids).

Sources of protein: animal and vegetable

The source of protein for humans is animals and plants. And there, and there are protein substances. "Official" opinion of modern specialists says that every day you need to eat 45 to 100 grams of protein. Meat of animals is considered a good source of high-grade proteins, plants, according to many experts, do not contain high-grade proteins.

The conclusion of the WHO working group says this: even with full vegetarianism, the body still receives all the necessary substances. Why? Because there is a mutual addition of amino acids from different dishes and components.

Well-planned vegetarian menu - full, it delivers everything you need to the body, in addition, it can even be therapeutic and dietary. According to studies conducted at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, a sufficient amount of vegetables, fruits and nuts contain a high-grade protein. Thus, both vegetable protein and animal protein are suitable for nutrition.

Meat and semi-finished products from it

Animal protein can be obtained from meat of mammals, birds, fish. Chickens, rabbits, cows, pigs, sheep, various sea and river fish are not processed sources of protein. Sausages, sausages, stews - if these products are natural and made according to GOST, they also contain a suitable protein.

Products with high quality protein - eggs and dairy products. Chicken eggs give almost perfect protein, and they digest very well. They have very few drawbacks, but there are not any of them in the raw form - heat treatment promotes better assimilation of nutrients and disposal of microbes.

Almost everything is the same for dairy products. Whey proteins are digested very well, in terms of their amino acid composition, they are the closest to the amino acid composition of the human muscle tissue from all products. The main source of these proteins is milk whey, which is obtained by the production of rennet cheese.

Table of proteins "in products":

The Myth of the Protein

Until the end of the twentieth century it was believed that only meat and products from it contain a high-grade protein. On English-speaking resources this opinion is called "the myth of the squirrel". However, it was subsequently proven that soy beans also contain all the essential amino acids.

Source of vegetable protein

Among plants, a full-fledged source of protein is soy and products from it (for example, tofu). Also whole are the proteins of buckwheat, amaranth, coriander and cannabis seed, as well as alga spirulina. And if amaranth, coriander or hemp in these latitudes is difficult to find, then spirulina and additives from it are generally available and sold in pharmacies and health food stores.

In addition, plants with so-called defective proteins are also able to meet the need for protein. All that is needed for this is to combine them correctly.

For example, the table of proteins says that legumes and mushrooms are rich in isoleucine and lysine, and cereals and nuts are rich in tryptophan and sulfur-containing amino acids. By combining the various components, we end up with all that is needed.

Milk protein

In the "golden era" of bodybuilding, many stars and champions of this sport were drinking fresh milk. The strength of that time was called his elixir of strength and drank several liters a day. Doctors agreed with them in this, prescribing dairy products as a medicine to their patients.

In our time, the sources of proteins in the diet of athletes are industrially created supplements. Scientists have learned to create highly nutritious and balanced mixtures in which whey protein is present in the most accessible form. Some athletes are still trying to drink milk - but since the general fear of bacteria is gaining momentum, drink it boiled or pasteurized.

However, the way of the predecessors was good in the way they used it. Modern pasteurized, sterilized, processed many times the milk has little to do with the product that the Olympic champion in weightlifting John Grimek loved.

Eggs

To date, whey protein is considered the most easily digestible for humans, but the egg protein is inferior to it quite a bit. This protein source gives full-fledged "bricks" and is considered a reference - other proteins and products are evaluated in comparison with it.

This is one of the most useful products in bodybuilding and powerlifting. Vegetable protein and animal protein can not compete with it in efficiency. The egg protein is actively used for making food additives.

Eggs, like milk, can be consumed at any weight, during weight gain and during weight loss. Bodybuilders eat them in huge quantities - for example, Jay Cutler, four times Mr. Olympia, eats about 170 egg whites a week, he eats them twice a day.

Special sports nutrition

The usual sources of protein in the diet can be supplemented with special sports supplements, which are developed by the best scientists commissioned by the multimillion-dollar industry. These are specially developed complexes and additives made according to the latest achievements in the field of dietology and physiology.

The main protein base in sports supplements is casein or whey protein. The most serious difference between them is that the casein protein is digested in the body for 5-6 hours, the serum protein is 1.5-3 hours.

They are obtained in several different ways, having as a result a different purity of the protein and the presence or absence of extraneous fats. However, the technology already allows you to get a fairly cheap and easily digestible protein, which can be used not only for athletes, but also for "ordinary" people.

Artificial proteins

The first artificial protein was created more than ten years ago, and during this time scientists were able to reach the creation of complex structures. You can expect that sooner or later the market will appear products that can replace in this regard, both meat and plants. Artificial "meat" has already been created, which scientists grow on the basis of animal cells.

The source of the protein "from the test tube" can arrange everyone - and protectors of animals and producers, but this requires first to reduce the cost of the process, since now it is too expensive for mass production. And the taste of a piece of food should also meet expectations.

Unfortunately, for vegetarians this method is not good - they still have to look for high-grade proteins in plants. However, in the near future this may also change - science is moving ahead in huge steps, and creating a synthetic protein for a wide sale is only a matter of time and demand.