Question

Discuss what proteins are used for and how it is processed in your body. What are sources of protein? Why do we need proteins?

Answer 1

Protein are an essential part of human diet. It is found in a variety of foods like eggs, dairy products, meats, legumes, seafood, seeds and nuts. Regardless of the source the protein that we eat gets broken down and reformed in our bodies. These proteins do everything from fighting infection to helping cells divide. Simply, protein is a chain is a chain of amino acid bound to one another by peptide bonds. These bonds gets twisted and folded to get into the final shape. When we eat protein, it gets broken down into it's individual amino acids. There are five types of amino acids that we get from food but we can also make ourselves. These are called non-essential amino acids. Then there are six type of amino acids that we call conditionally essential because healthy bodies can make them under normal circumstances but we can not make them in case of starvation or certain metabolism errors. Finally, there are nine of them that we only get form food and we call them essential amino acids.

Through a process called proteolysis, we break the dietry protein in our body. It begins when the food reaches the stomach. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach denatures the amino acid chain making it more accessible to the enzymes. Then pensin splits it into smaller oligopeptide chains which moves into duodenum where second set of enzymes made by pancreas further divides oligopeptides into tridepeptides, dipeptides and individual amino acids.After that some amino acids remains in these cell use to synthesize intestinal enzymes while majority are circulated to other parts of the body through blood stream.

We need proteins for a number of reasons. Our body need protein to build and repair damaged tissues. They are also used for making enzymes, hormones, and other essential chemicals for the body. They also help in growth and development of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.