What do we know about proteins?

In this article I will summarize everything important that we should know about proteins and therefore I will refer to the characteristics when consuming both for excess or lack.

Possibly what most of us know, have heard or have explained to us, refers to the functions they perform and therefore the importance of consuming them in an appropriate proportion (this varies according to various characteristics, including physical exercise), so If there are deficiencies, one or several of the functions in which they intervene will not be carried out , I quote below:

• Structural (cellular structures, elasticity, resistance to organs and tissues)
• Enzymatic (biocatalysts)
• Hormone (insulin, glucagon)
• Regulator (cyclin)
• Homeostatic (PH balance)
• Defensive (immune system)
• Transport (oxygen, lipids, electrons)
• Contractile (actin, myosin)
• Reserve (ovalbumin, lactalbumin)

Beyond giving features of these functions, what I want you to understand is the great importance and role of this macronutrient and therefore we must pay special attention to our ability to assimilate the protein, to incorporate specific amounts and to not saturate the intestinal / immune environment causing that each time we reject it at the metabolic level in greater proportion when we incorporate it in excess for a long time.

Why does it happen?

One of the main factors and very easy to understand is the custom of the western population. Since we are kids we usually make a much more abundant consumption of meat than fish which means that we are exposed to a greater extent and for much longer to meat products that originate a metabolic saturation (receptors, signaling, etc ...) that lead to people who suffer gastro-intestinal discomfort when consuming meat and must go to diets where they are largely disregarded for a certain time to alleviate and/or balance that situation.

This excess of protein or its malabsorption, unlike what can often be heard about "the protein does not get fat," "the protein is the only macronutrient that is not stored and eliminated"; unfortunately it's not like that. While it is true that the protein is not stored as such, but it is in the form of fat, so that a person consumes only 3000kcal of protein it will mean that if your caloric expenditure is lower, you can safely store fat and additionally, , leads to dehydration problems (since the protein requires a large amount of water for its use and excretion) and calcium losses which can cause long-term osteoporosis.

Finally and something more complex, there is a monosaccharide called Sialic Acid that predominates in red and dairy meats and it has a great impact on the immune system, increasing the blood levels of IgA, IgM and IgG antibodies and causing more difficulties in maintaining the protein metabolism in good condition.

The images show at the end of the day how there is a real exposure of this monosaccharide of the proteins that we can consume in the environment of the immune system and as a consequence how antibodies are released to combat that exposure. This would be a matter of separate explanation, the antigen-antibody reaction, but as I said at the beginning with the functions of proteins the important thing is that we understand the need to balance the daily content of our protein intake according to the need of each person to be able to establish the threshold that will allow us to maintain a healthy environment and at the same time achieve the objectives that we propose in relation to the exercise/aesthetics.

Any recommendation?

To those who ask that question, I answer: "Yes, there are".

• Do not let yourselves be influenced by the typical quantitative orientation of ingesting so many grams of protein per kg of weight... This is very, very subjective, there are many factors that influence and determine this parameter.
• Attend to the biological value of the protein as it is what guarantees the completeness of your intake and therefore the optimization of its functions.
• Consume different sources of protein throughout the day / week, in this way you will avoid what we said at the beginning of the article about the excess of exposure and the negative reaction in the intestinal environment and immune system.
• In period of intestinal regulation, to restrict abundantly the protein of animal origin, this should not suppose an extensive time, sometimes with a week is enough to contemplate improvements and additionally if there are sporting purposes, the quality of the contribution can be assured in this phase incorporating essential amino acids in the form of supplement (important the choice of a good supplement).

And with this little article I hope you have understood the range of influence that this macronutrient has on the organism and help you to manage your food a bit better in terms of protein content or at least guide your state so that a professional can help you accordingly.