Question

A popular brand of protein powder states on its label,

RAW Matters

Heat and processing can denature protein, reducing its availability to your body. Our USDA Certified Organic plant proteins are produced at low temperatures, preserving their complete amino acid integrity.

Although this powder is probably a good source of protein, and while it’s true that heat and processing can denature proteins, the rest of this statement is nonsense in several ways.

Use what you’ve learned about protein structure and the functioning of the stomach to explain at least one of the ways this statement is inaccurate or misleading.

Answer 1

The protein structure itself has four levels; namely the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary levels. The main function of the stomach is to break down and digest food in order to extract essential nutrients from what have been eaten. In order for this to happen, it is necessary that the stomach, the digestive glands and the intestines must produce various types of enzymes, which includes pepsin, and hydrochloric acid.

One way that given statement can be considered inaccurate or misleading is because proteins are chains of amino acid folded in particular ways. Heat and processing often causes the proteins to change their folding pattern, which sometimes ends up being easier to digest. The complex proteins are broken down into simple amino acids. Just because it alters the shapes, it doesn’t reduce the availability of proteins to our body, it is actually the same but it just becomes harder or easier to digest. The body can produce non-essential amino acids but it cannot produce essential amino acids. Animal sources are generally known to be complete sources of protein because they contain all of the essential amino acids needed in order for the body to function effectively. However, plant proteins are generally incomplete in this aspect. Plant protein sources lack one or more of the essential amino acids that the body needs. Therefore, the statement is incorrect.