The Importance of Carbs, Fat and Protein Part 3 Protein

In this final blog I am going to discuss;

1. What is Protein

2. Why our bodies need it

3. Cause and effect of not enough or too much

4. Tieing it all in with Carbs and Fat 


Protein is a substance containing nitrogen and is one of the most important elements for the maintenance of good health. It's primary importance is in the growth and development of all body tissues. It is the major source of building material for muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails, and organs, including the heart and brain. Protein is needed for the formation of hormones, which control a variety of body functions such as growth, sexual development, and rate of metabolism. Protein also helps prevent blood and tissues from becoming either too acid or too alkaline and helps regulate the body's water balance.

      Protein is found in various foods such as animal flesh, organ meats, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, quinoa and a various combination of other grains and legumes. The Institute of Medicine recommends our total caloric intake of protein should be 10-35%.

      Enzymes are substances necessary for basic life functions and antibodies help fight foreign substances in the body. They are also formed from protein. Protein is important in the formation of milk during lactation and in the process of blood clotting. Because protein is the biological structure for many vital substances in our makeup, a deficiency in protein can not only catabolize muscle tissue, but it can weaken the immune system, slow the metabolic rate, cause hormonal imbalance, increase hair loss, and cause an overall feeling of weakness. Aside from being the major source of building material for the body, protein may be used as a source of heat and energy, providing 4 calories per 1 gram. However, this energy function is spared when sufficient fats and carbohydrates are present in the diet. Excess protein that is not used for building tissue for energy will be converted by the liver and stored as fat.

      Under normal conditions, we derive only 1-2% of our total fuel from protein. Protein's contribution to energy only becomes significant under circumstances that the body recognizes as "survival". These situations are vigorous exercise for more then 1 hour without taking in any fuel during the exercise and during starvation, deprivation or very low-calorie diets. In these situations, the body will cannibalize its muscle tissue for emergency fuel instead of fat because muscle tissue is the largest consumer of energy. The results are: less energy to workout, less muscle tissue, lower metabolism, increased tendency to store calories as fat rather than burn as fuel.

      During digestion the large molecules of proteins are decomposed into simpler units called amino acids. These amino acids in their simple form are necessary for the synthesis of specific body proteins and many other tissue constituents. For example, the amino acid Tryptophan can be metabolized to form the tissue hormone, serotonin. There are 22 amino acids and 9 of these are essential in the diet. The body requires these 22 amino acids in a specific pattern to make human protein. The 9 Essential Amino Acids, they are: Phenylalanine, Valine, Threonine, Methionine, Tryptophan, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, and Lysine. The reason they are call Essential, is because our body can not produce them. We must get them from our diet and we should consume the daily. The nonessential amino acids are: Alanine, Aspartate, Asparagine, Cysteine, Glutamate, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine, and Tyrosine. These nonessential can be formed from carbs or fats and they can replace each other. However, not all proteins are created equal. Foods that lack or are extremely low in any one of the essential amino acids are called "incomplete protein". Therefore, if the diet is limited to just corn, rice or beans in which one essential amino acid is missing, even temporarily, protein synthesis will fall to a very low level or stop altogether. The reason that most plant proteins are inadequate is that their content of certain essential amino acids is lower in comparison with that of other sources, such as beef, whole milk or whole egg.

      Protein requirements differ according to the nutritional status, body size, and activity level. For optimal health, protein intake should not exceed 20% of the diet unless an individual is under the care of a nutritionist. A high protein diet can cause liver and kidney damage due to high ketone formation if the diet is low in carbohydrates.

      If you are a vegetarian or vegan you should pay close attention to your protein intake. It is important for you to get complete protein from your diet. If you are a novice, a good protein powder may be beneficial. Most vegetarians get enough protein from the diet to meet adequate requirements if they eat balanced wholesome meals. If you are a strict vegan, you would probably benefit greatly from taking vitamin B12  and possibly iron (if you are female) supplement.

      Now let's tie it all in. If you missed my previous blogs on Carbs and Fat, just click on them and they will take you to those. In most cases a person trying to watch their weight is protein and fat deprived. For example:

Vickie is trying to lose weight, she may have a bagel in the morning (bagels are anywhere from 200-400 calories) which breaks down very quickly into glucose, flooding the blood stream with sugar triggers the pancreas to release insulin to take up the flood of glucose and store it as glycogen or fat. When the blood has a flood of glucose, insulin tends to overreact and then the blood glucose levels are again too low. Therefore, her blood sugar is now low an hour after her bagel, leaving her hungry again. She then snacks on another carbohydrate, whether it is juice or a cookie which breaks down to glucose and enters the blood stream very quickly. Again the blood sugar peaks and then bottoms out. She feels light headed and ready for lunch. Unfortunately, she is "watching her weight" and typically eats readily available refined carbohydrate choices such as pasta with marinara sauce. Although pasta can be a healthy food choice, it is not going to do her much good because there is little to no protein or fat to balance out the meal. One or two hours later she is hungry and snacks again on some sort of carb. She is feeling her "willpower" defeated and her energy levels plummeting. She ends the day too tired to exercise and has yet another low fat, low protein, high carbohydrate meal for dinner.

      What is happening to Vickie's body? By the end of the day, she consumed 1200-1500 calories. At least 80% of those calories were from carbs. The lack of protein in her diet caused her body to catabolize her precious muscle tissue if not her vital organs as its source of protein to sustain itself. Catabolism of muscle tissue not only makes her weaker but it lowers her metabolism rate since muscle tissue requires more energy to sustain itself. It is the body's innate defense mechanism to conserve energy. Jackie's lack of fat diminished her ability to metabolize stored fat, especially since her insulin was busy clearing her blood sugar and storing it as glyocgen and fat. Again, this is another one of those innate defense mechanisms to conserve energy. Unfortunately, this is how low carbs get their bad reputation. She could have the same diet by integrating some protein and fat at each meal, sticking with complex carbs instead if simple sugars, and by "grazing" with smaller balanced meals and snacks, it is possible to keep blood glucose within an optimum zone all day. The result: a steady supply of energy and far less fat stored.