Protein (nutrient)

Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body.[1] They are
one of the building blocks of body tissue and can also serve as a
fuel source. As a fuel, proteins provide as much energy density as
carbohydrates: 17 kJ (4 kcal) per gram; in contrast, lipids provide
37 kJ (9 kcal) per gram. The most important aspect and defining
characteristic of protein from a nutritional standpoint is its amino
acid composition.[2]

Proteins are polymer chains made of amino acids linked together Amino acids are the building blocks
by peptide bonds. During human digestion, proteins are broken of protein.
down in the stomach to smaller polypeptide chains via
hydrochloric acid and protease actions. This is crucial for the
absorption of the essential amino acids that cannot be
biosynthesized by the body.[3]

There are nine essential amino acids which humans must obtain
from their diet in order to prevent protein-energy malnutrition and
resulting death. They are phenylalanine, valine, threonine,
tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and
histidine.[2][4] There has been debate as to whether there are 8 or 9
essential amino acids.[5] The consensus seems to lean towards 9
since histidine is not synthesized in adults.[6] There are five amino
acids which humans are able to synthesize in the body. These five
are alanine, aspartic acid, asparagine, glutamic acid and serine.
There are six conditionally essential amino acids whose synthesis
can be limited under special pathophysiological conditions, such
Amino acids are necessary
as prematurity in the infant or individuals in severe catabolic
nutrients. Present in every cell, they
distress. These six are arginine, cysteine, glycine, glutamine, are also precursors to nucleic acids,
proline and tyrosine.[2] Dietary sources of protein include grains, co-enzymes, hormones, immune
legumes,[7] nuts,[8] seeds,[7] meats, dairy products, fish, eggs, response, repair and other
edible insects, and seaweeds.[9] molecules essential for life.

Protein functions in human body

Protein is a nutrient needed by the human body for growth and maintenance. Aside from water, proteins
are the most abundant kind of molecules in the body. Protein can be found in all cells of the body and is
the major structural component of all cells in the body, especially muscle. This also includes body organs,
hair and skin. Proteins are also used in membranes, such as glycoproteins. When broken down into amino
acids, they are used as precursors to nucleic acid, co-enzymes, hormones, immune response, cellular
repair, and other molecules essential for life. Additionally, protein is needed to form blood cells.[1][2]

Sources

Some sources of animal-based protein

Nutritional value and environmental impact of animal products, compared to

agriculture overall[10]
Contribution of farmed animal product
Categories
[%]
Calories 18
Proteins 37
Land use 83
Greenhouse gases 58
Water pollution 57
Air pollution 56
Freshwater withdrawals 33

Protein occurs in a wide range of food.[11][12] On a worldwide basis, plant protein foods contribute over
60% of the per capita supply of protein.[9] In North America, animal-derived foods contribute about 70%
of protein sources.[12] Insects are a source of protein in many parts of the world.[13] In parts of Africa, up
to 50% of dietary protein derives from insects.[13] It is estimated that more than 2 billion people eat
insects daily.[14]
Meat, dairy, eggs, soybeans, fish, whole grains, and cereals are sources of protein.[11] Examples of food
staples and cereal sources of protein, each with a concentration greater than 7%, are (in no particular
order) buckwheat, oats, rye, millet, maize (corn), rice, wheat, sorghum, amaranth, and quinoa.[12] Game
meat is an affordable protein source in some countries.[15]

Plant sources of proteins include legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, and some vegetables and fruits. Plant foods
with protein concentrations greater than 7% include (but are not limited to) soybeans, lentils, kidney
beans, white beans, mung beans, chickpeas, cowpeas, lima beans, pigeon peas, lupines, wing beans,
almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts, cotton seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds,
and sunflower seeds.[12]

Photovoltaic-driven microbial protein production uses electricity from solar panels and carbon dioxide
from the air to create fuel for microbes, which are grown in bioreactor vats and then processed into dry
protein powders. The process makes highly efficient use of land, water and fertiliser.[16][17]

People eating a balanced diet do not need protein

supplements.[8][12][18]

The table below presents food groups as protein

sources.

Plant sources of protein.

Sulfur-containing
Food source Lysine Threonine Tryptophan
amino acids

Legumes 64 38 12 25
Cereals and whole grains 31 32 12 37

Nuts and seeds 45 36 17 46

Fruits 45 29 11 27
Animal 85 44 12 38

Colour key:

Protein source with highest density of respective amino acid.

Protein source with lowest density of respective amino acid.
Protein powders – such as casein, whey, egg, rice, soy and cricket
flour– are processed and manufactured sources of protein.[19]

Testing in foods
The classic assays for protein concentration in food are the
Kjeldahl method and the Dumas method. These tests determine
the total nitrogen in a sample. The only major component of most
food which contains nitrogen is protein (fat, carbohydrate and
dietary fiber do not contain nitrogen). If the amount of nitrogen is
multiplied by a factor depending on the kinds of protein expected Protein milkshakes, made from
in the food the total protein can be determined. This value is protein powder (center) and milk
known as the "crude protein" content. The use of correct (left), are a common bodybuilding
conversion factors is heavily debated, specifically with the supplement
introduction of more plant-derived protein products. [20] However,
on food labels the protein is calculated by the nitrogen multiplied
by 6.25, because the average nitrogen content of proteins is about 16%. The Kjeldahl test is typically used
because it is the method the AOAC International has adopted and is therefore used by many food
standards agencies around the world, though the Dumas method is also approved by some standards
organizations.[21]

Accidental contamination and intentional adulteration of protein meals with non-protein nitrogen sources
that inflate crude protein content measurements have been known to occur in the food industry for
decades. To ensure food quality, purchasers of protein meals routinely conduct quality control tests
designed to detect the most common non-protein nitrogen contaminants, such as urea and ammonium
nitrate.[22]

In at least one segment of the food industry, the dairy industry, some countries (at least the U.S.,
Australia, France and Hungary) have adopted "true protein" measurement, as opposed to crude protein
measurement, as the standard for payment and testing: "True protein is a measure of only the proteins in
milk, whereas crude protein is a measure of all sources of nitrogen and includes nonprotein nitrogen, such
as urea, which has no food value to humans. ... Current milk-testing equipment measures peptide bonds, a
direct measure of true protein."[23] Measuring peptide bonds in grains has also been put into practice in
several countries including Canada, the UK, Australia, Russia and Argentina where near-infrared
reflectance (NIR) technology, a type of infrared spectroscopy is used.[24] The Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends that only amino acid analysis be used to
determine protein in, inter alia, foods used as the sole source of nourishment, such as infant formula, but
also provides: "When data on amino acids analyses are not available, determination of protein based on
total N content by Kjeldahl (AOAC, 2000) or similar method ... is considered acceptable."[25]

The testing method for protein in beef cattle feed has grown into a science over the post-war years. The
standard text in the United States, Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle, has been through eight editions
over at least seventy years.[26] The 1996 sixth edition substituted for the fifth edition's crude protein the
concept of "metabolizeable protein", which was defined around the year 2000 as "the true protein
absorbed by the intestine, supplied by microbial protein and undegraded intake protein".[27]
The limitations of the Kjeldahl method were at the heart of the Chinese protein export contamination in
2007 and the 2008 China milk scandal in which the industrial chemical melamine was added to the milk
or glutens to increase the measured "protein".[28][29]

Protein quality
The most important aspect and defining characteristic of protein from a nutritional standpoint is its amino
acid composition.[2] There are multiple systems which rate proteins by their usefulness to an organism
based on their relative percentage of amino acids and, in some systems, the digestibility of the protein
source. They include biological value, net protein utilization, and PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility
Corrected Amino Acids Score) which was developed by the FDA as a modification of the Protein
efficiency ratio (PER) method. The PDCAAS rating was adopted by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations/World Health
Organization (FAO/WHO) in 1993 as "the preferred 'best'" method to determine protein quality. These
organizations have suggested that other methods for evaluating the quality of protein are inferior.[30] In
2013 FAO proposed changing to Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score.

Digestion
Most proteins are decomposed to single amino acids by digestion in the gastro-intestinal tract.[31]

Digestion typically begins in the stomach when pepsinogen is converted to pepsin by the action of
hydrochloric acid, and continued by trypsin and chymotrypsin in the small intestine.[31] Before the
absorption in the small intestine, most proteins are already reduced to single amino acid or peptides of
several amino acids. Most peptides longer than four amino acids are not absorbed. Absorption into the
intestinal absorptive cells is not the end. There, most of the peptides are broken into single amino acids.

Absorption of the amino acids and their derivatives into which dietary protein is degraded is done by the
gastrointestinal tract. The absorption rates of individual amino acids are highly dependent on the protein
source; for example, the digestibilities of many amino acids in humans, the difference between soy and
milk proteins[32] and between individual milk proteins, beta-lactoglobulin and casein.[33] For milk
proteins, about 50% of the ingested protein is absorbed between the stomach and the jejunum and 90% is
absorbed by the time the digested food reaches the ileum.[34] Biological value (BV) is a measure of the
proportion of absorbed protein from a food which becomes incorporated into the proteins of the
organism's body.

Newborn
Newborns of mammals are exceptional in protein digestion and assimilation in that they can absorb intact
proteins at the small intestine. This enables passive immunity, i.e., transfer of immunoglobulins from the
mother to the newborn, via milk.[35]

Dietary requirements
Considerable debate has taken place regarding issues surrounding
protein intake requirements.[36][37] The amount of protein required
in a person's diet is determined in large part by overall energy
intake, the body's need for nitrogen and essential amino acids,
body weight and composition, rate of growth in the individual,
physical activity level, the individual's energy and carbohydrate
intake, and the presence of illness or injury.[3][19] Physical activity
and exertion as well as enhanced muscular mass increase the need
for protein. Requirements are also greater during childhood for
growth and development, during pregnancy, or when breastfeeding
in order to nourish a baby or when the body needs to recover from
malnutrition or trauma or after an operation.[38]

Dietary recommendations
According to US & Canadian Dietary Reference Intake guidelines, An education campaign launched by
the United States Department of
women ages 19–70 need to consume 46 grams of protein per day
Agriculture about 100 years ago, on
while men ages 19–70 need to consume 56 grams of protein per
cottage cheese as a lower-cost
day to minimize risk of deficiencies. These Recommended Dietary protein substitute for meat.
Allowances (RDAs) were calculated based on 0.8 grams protein
per kilogram body weight and average body weights of 57 kg (126
pounds) and 70 kg (154 pounds), respectively.[2] However, this
recommendation is based on structural requirements but
disregards use of protein for energy metabolism.[36] This
requirement is for a normal sedentary person.[39] In the United
States, average protein consumption is higher than the RDA.
According to results of the National Health and Nutrition
Average protein supply by region
Examination Survey (NHANES 2013–2014), average protein and origin
consumption for women ages 20 and older was 69.8 grams and for
men 98.3 grams/day.[40] According to research from Harvard
University, the National Academy of Medicine[41] suggests that adults should consume at least 0.8 grams
of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, which is roughly equivalent to a little more than 7 grams for
every 20 pounds of body weight. This recommendation is widely accepted by health professionals as a
guideline for maintaining muscle mass, supporting metabolic functions, and promoting overall health.

Active people
Several studies have concluded that active people and athletes may require elevated protein intake
(compared to 0.8 g/kg) due to increase in muscle mass and sweat losses, as well as need for body repair
and energy source.[36][37] Suggested amounts vary from 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg for those doing endurance
exercise to as much as 1.6-1.8 g/kg for strength exercise[37][39] and up to 2.0 g/kg/day for older
people,[42] while a proposed maximum daily protein intake would be approximately 25% of energy
requirements i.e. approximately 2 to 2.5 g/kg.[36] However, many questions still remain to be
resolved.[37]
In addition, some have suggested that athletes using restricted-calorie diets for weight loss should further
increase their protein consumption, possibly to 1.8–2.0 g/kg, in order to avoid loss of lean muscle
mass.[43]

Aerobic exercise protein needs

Endurance athletes differ from strength-building athletes in that endurance athletes do not build as much
muscle mass from training as strength-building athletes do. Research suggests that individuals performing
endurance activity require more protein intake than sedentary individuals so that muscles broken down
during endurance workouts can be repaired.[44] Although the protein requirement for athletes still remains
controversial (for instance see Lamont, Nutrition Research Reviews, pages 142 - 149, 2012), research
does show that endurance athletes can benefit from increasing protein intake because the type of exercise
endurance athletes participate in still alters the protein metabolism pathway. The overall protein
requirement increases because of amino acid oxidation in endurance-trained athletes.[44] Endurance
athletes who exercise over a long period (2–5 hours per training session) use protein as a source of 5–
10% of their total energy expended. Therefore, a slight increase in protein intake may be beneficial to
endurance athletes by replacing the protein lost in energy expenditure and protein lost in repairing
muscles. One review concluded that endurance athletes may increase daily protein intake to a maximum
of 1.2–1.4 g per kg body weight.[19]

Anaerobic exercise protein needs

Research also indicates that individuals performing strength training activity require more protein than
sedentary individuals. Strength-training athletes may increase their daily protein intake to a maximum of
1.4–1.8 g per kg body weight to enhance muscle protein synthesis, or to make up for the loss of amino
acid oxidation during exercise. Many athletes maintain a high-protein diet as part of their training. In fact,
some athletes who specialize in anaerobic sports (e.g., weightlifting) believe a very high level of protein
intake is necessary, and so consume high protein meals and also protein supplements.[3][19][44][45]

Special populations

Protein allergies
A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to proteins in food. The signs and symptoms may range
from mild to severe. They may include itchiness, swelling of the tongue, vomiting, diarrhea, hives,
trouble breathing, or low blood pressure. These symptoms typically occurs within minutes to one hour
after exposure. When the symptoms are severe, it is known as anaphylaxis. The following eight foods are
responsible for about 90% of allergic reactions: cow's milk, eggs, wheat, shellfish, fish, peanuts, tree nuts
and soy.[46]

Chronic kidney disease

While there is no conclusive evidence that a high protein diet can cause chronic kidney disease, there is a
consensus that people with this disease should decrease consumption of protein. According to one 2009
review updated in 2018, people with chronic kidney disease who reduce protein consumption have less
likelihood of progressing to end stage kidney disease.[47][48] Moreover, people with this disease while
using a low protein diet (0.6 g/kg/d - 0.8 g/kg/d) may develop metabolic compensations that preserve
kidney function, although in some people, malnutrition may occur.[48]

Phenylketonuria
Individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU) must keep their intake of phenylalanine – an essential amino
acid – extremely low to prevent a mental disability and other metabolic complications. Phenylalanine is a
component of the artificial sweetener aspartame, so people with PKU need to avoid low calorie beverages
and foods with this ingredient.[49]

Excess consumption
The U.S. and Canadian Dietary Reference Intake review for protein concluded that there was not
sufficient evidence to establish a Tolerable upper intake level, i.e., an upper limit for how much protein
can be safely consumed.[2]

When amino acids are in excess of needs, the liver takes up the amino acids and deaminates them, a
process converting the nitrogen from the amino acids into ammonia, further processed in the liver into
urea via the urea cycle. Excretion of urea occurs via the kidneys. Other parts of the amino acid molecules
can be converted into glucose and used for fuel.[39][50][51] When food protein intake is periodically high
or low, the body tries to keep protein levels at an equilibrium by using the "labile protein reserve" to
compensate for daily variations in protein intake. However, unlike body fat as a reserve for future caloric
needs, there is no protein storage for future needs.[2]

Excessive protein intake may increase calcium excretion in urine, occurring to compensate for the pH
imbalance from oxidation of sulfur amino acids. This may lead to a higher risk of kidney stone formation
from calcium in the renal circulatory system.[2] One meta-analysis reported no adverse effects of higher
protein intakes on bone density.[52] Another meta-analysis reported a small decrease in systolic and
diastolic blood pressure with diets higher in protein, with no differences between animal and plant
protein.[53]

High protein diets have been shown to lead to an additional 1.21 kg of weight loss over a period of 3
months versus a baseline protein diet in a meta-analysis.[54] Benefits of decreased body mass index as
well as HDL cholesterol were more strongly observed in studies with only a slight increase in protein
intake rather where high protein intake was classified as 45% of total energy intake.[54] Detrimental
effects to cardiovascular activity were not observed in short-term diets of 6 months or less. There is little
consensus on the potentially detrimental effects to healthy individuals of a long-term high protein diet,
leading to caution advisories about using high protein intake as a form of weight loss.[54][48][55]

The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends that men and teenage boys
increase their consumption of fruits, vegetables and other under-consumed foods, and that a means of
accomplishing this would be to reduce overall intake of protein foods.[56] The 2015 - 2020 DGA report
does not set a recommended limit for the intake of red and processed meat. While the report
acknowledges research showing that lower intake of red and processed meat is correlated with reduced
risk of cardiovascular diseases in adults, it also notes the value of nutrients provided from these meats.
The recommendation is not to limit intake of meats or protein, but rather to monitor and keep within daily
limits the sodium (< 2300 mg), saturated fats (less than 10% of total calories per day), and added sugars
(less than 10% of total calories per day) that may be increased as a result of consumption of certain meats
and proteins. While the 2015 DGA report does advise for a reduced level of consumption of red and
processed meats, the 2015-2020 DGA key recommendations recommend that a variety of protein foods
be consumed, including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian sources of protein.[57]

Protein deficiency
Protein deficiency and malnutrition (PEM) can lead to variety of ailments
including Intellectual disability and kwashiorkor.[59] Symptoms of kwashiorkor
include apathy, diarrhea, inactivity, failure to grow, flaky skin, fatty liver, and
edema of the belly and legs. This edema is explained by the action of
lipoxygenase on arachidonic acid to form leukotrienes and the normal
functioning of proteins in fluid balance and lipoprotein transport.[60]

PEM is fairly common worldwide in both children and adults and accounts for
6 million deaths annually. In the industrialized world, PEM is predominantly
seen in hospitals, is associated with disease, or is often found in the elderly.[2]

A child in Nigeria

See also during the Biafra War

with kwashiorkor –
one of the three
Food portal protein energy
malnutrition ailments
Azotorrhea affecting over 10
Biological value million children in
developing
Bodybuilding supplement
countries.[58]
Leaf protein concentrate
Low-protein diet
Ninja diet
Protein bar
Single-cell protein
List of proteins in the human body

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