Importance of Protein in Nutrition

The word protein comes from the Greek term meaning “of prime importance”, which indicates its role in nutrition. Protein is the body’s primary building material, making up nearly one fifth of it’s structure. Since, as part of normal life, body tissue is constantly being lost and damaged (like skin and hair for example), we need a constant supply of protein in our diet to replace this loss. Protein is essential to the metabolic activities of every cell.
There are many popular misconceptions about protein. For example, many people believe that excess protein will not make them fat. In reality a gram of protein contains four calories (the same as carbohydrates or starches) and any excess calories from protein are converted to fat and stored.
Why is protein important to nutrition?

The body uses 20 amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in its metabolic activity. Nine of these amino acids have to be obtained from the diet and are known as the essential amino acids. The other eleven can be manufactured by the body itself from the essential ones and thus do not need to be consumed in the diet.
Proteins from the diet play a necessary role in the following:

• The repair and maintenance of body tissue
• The increase of height and weight in growing children
• Growth of hair and nails
• Production of certain hormones and enzymes
• Development of the human foetus and production of mothers milk.

They are also important components of the immune system and they help to transport nutrients in the blood. Muscles and other lean tissues are composed largely of proteins and constitute approximately 75% of the body’s solid material.

What happens if I eat too much protein?

In Britain many people eat an excess of protein-rich foods. Excessive protein intake makes the kidneys work harder to clear the body of the by-products of protein metabolism. Many high-protein foods (like meat, milk, cheese, and nuts) are also high in fats. So a diet high in animal proteins is likely to be high in fats and calories, and excesses of these components have been clearly implicated in obesity and in many diseases, especially hardening of the arteries and heart disease. Low-protein diets are recommended for people with kidney disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and certain metabolic diseases.

What happens if I do not get enough protein?

Protein malnutrition can cause a variety of disorders including poor growth in children, problems in development of the foetus, and a less efficient immune system.

…and finally

The average British diet provides more than adequate protein to meet your needs. If you are a strict vegetarian who does not eat dairy products ( a vegan), you can fulfil your protein requirements by balancing complementary vegetable proteins; for example pulses and/or nuts with grains.