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Proteins
Ghina Assaf Chedid, MSc
Fundamentals of Human Nutrition
+Guiding questions

 Role of proteins in the body?

 What is an amino-acid?

 Are all amino acids essential?

 Food sources of protein?

 What is protein denaturation?

 Issues with protein and malnutrition

+Proteins: definition

Proteins are the primary material for life. They are versatile
and vital cellular working molecules. Without them, life
would not exist. In Greek, proteios: “of prime importance”.

Structural Proteins Working Proteins

(Tendons, ligaments, (enzymes, antibodies,

muscles, hair, nails, some hormones, etc…)
scars, etc…)
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Protein characteristics

 Constitute more than half of the dry weight of living

organisms.

 Unique among the energy nutrients in that they

contain C, H, O, and N atoms.

 Last to be used as energy source in they body; they

are spared.

 NO protein storage in the body. Proteins are available

as active working/structural molecules.
+Amino acids

 Building blocks of protein molecules

- 20 different amino acids occur in nature, of which 9 are

essential (the others can be derived from fat and CHO in
the body)

- Each has an amine group at one end (NH2), an acid group

at the other (COOH), and a distinctive side chain

- Side chain differs in size, shape and electrical charge

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Amino acid
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Protein structure

- Strands of different amino acid units connected

together by peptide bonds
- Each protein is unique in that it has a special amino
acid sequence determined by heredity.
- Given the 20 different amino acids found, an infinite
number of proteins can be made
- The amino acid sequence contributes to the protein’s
3-dimensional folding or shape
+Protein shape
The different shapes of proteins enable them to perform
different tasks in the body

Fibrous protein Globular protein

(Tendons, Muscle fibers) (Hemoglobin, Albumin)
+Protein Denaturation

= loss of protein’s 3-dimentional shape or coil. The protein

unfolds and opens up, thus losing its activity/function.

Desirable Undesirable
(food digestion) (body proteins)
Denaturation can occur under conditions of:
- Extreme pH conditions (stomach pH =1.5)
- High temperatures (cooking)
- Alcohol
- Salts of heavy metals (mercury and silver)
+Protein Denaturation
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Protein denaturation (Cont’d)
 Changing a protein’s shape often destroys its ability to function normally,
such that it loses its biological activity.

 It’s useful for some body processes, especially digestion. The heat
produced during cooking denatures some proteins.

 Food ingestion secretion of stomach acid  denaturation of some

bacterial proteins, many active enzymes and other forms of proteins in
food safer to eat.

 Digestion is enhanced by denaturation because the unraveling increases

exposure of the polypeptide chain to digestive enzymes.

Digestion is
Unraveling of Exposure of the polypeptide enhanced by
the 3D form chain to digestive enzymes denaturation
+ Role of proteins
a- Growth and repair material: teeth & bones ,
material in scar tissue and blood clots, ligaments & tendons.
b- Enzymes: regulation of biochemical reactions.
c- Hormones: chemical messenger molecules. Many
hormones are proteins such as insulin, glucagon and the thyroid
hormone.
d- Antibodies: body defense mechanism against foreign
substances = proteins secreted from white blood cells.
e- Transport molecules: Hemoglobin carries Oxygen;
Lipoproteins carry lipids, etc…
f- Fluid balance regulation: Edema, a disease condition, is
swelling of body tissues caused by fluid leakage. Can be seen
in protein deficiency.
g- Acid-base balance: act as buffers to maintain the pH of
the blood constant.
h- Energy source: proteins can be used for energy (4 kcal/in
case there is insufficient fat and CHO.
+ Role of proteins
 Fluid balance concept:
 NORMAL blood pressure in the arteries forces blood into capillary beds that
irrigate tissues.
 The blood fluid then moves from the capillary beds into spaces between nearby
cells (extracellular spaces) to provide nutrients to those cells.
 Proteins in the bloodstream are too large to move out of the capillary beds into
the tissues.
 The presence of these proteins in the capillary beds attracts the proper amount
of fluid back to the blood, Partially counteracting the force of blood pressure.
 Blood proteins < normal excessive flui builds up in the surrounding tissues
because the counteracting force of these proteins is too weak to pull enough
fluid back from the tissues to the bloodstream
+Protein and energy

 When energy is not present from CHO and fat, the body
must dismantle its tissue proteins to obtain amino acids for
energy.

 By the same token – and since there is no protein storage

in the body- when proteins are in excess of body needs,
they get converted to glycogen or fat for storage (they get
wasted).

 When amino acids are degraded for energy or stored as

glycogen and fat, their amine groups (NH2) are stripped
off, converted to urea and excreted as urine by the
kidneys.
+Food sources

Plant Animal
+Protein food sources
+Protein quality

The quality of a food protein depends largely on its amino

acid content = if it contains all the essential amino acids
or is missing some

 Animal proteins (except Gelatin) = higher quality,

contain all the essential amino acids
Complete Proteins

 Plant proteins = lower quality (except Soybean), do not

contain all the essential amino acids
Incomplete Proteins
+ Protein quality

 Protein quality is very important in poor countries

where people rely on plant proteins as the main source
of proteins in the diet.

 Hence the concept of complementation/mutual

supplementation: plant proteins can provide enough
amounts of all essential amino acids if combined to
complement each other.
+Protein complementation / mutual
supplementation
Plant proteins can provide enough amounts of all essential amino acids
if combined to complement each other - important in poor countries
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Protein-energy malnutrition
 Protein deficiency symptoms are always observed when
either protein or energy is deficient. This results in
Protein-Energy-Malnutrition (PEM).

 It is the most widespread form of malnutrition in the

world today.

 PEM strikes early in childhood (Marasmus and

Kwashiorkor), although can touch many adult lives as
well (AIDS, Cancer patients, Alcoholics, etc…)
+ Protein-energy malnutrition

Afflicts > 500 million children

+Body protein needs
Depend on:
- Age (requirements decrease with age)
- Body size (increase with body size/weight)
- Pregnancy and lactation (higher than adults)
Sickness or being immuno-compromised (higher)

• RDA for Adults: 0.8g/kg/day (15-20% of total daily calories)

• RDA for Children: 2.2g/kg/day
 Protein recommendations for athletes are somewhat higher than
those for the general population.
 Most people in the USA and Canada receive much more proteins
than they need. Even athletes in training don’t typically need to
increase their protein intakes because the additional foods they eat
to meet their high energy needs deliver protein as well.
+Fact or fallacy?

Eating more protein without

exercising does NOT lead to
muscle building

Fact!!
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Fact or fallacy?

Protein supplementation can lead to better results than

getting the protein from the food.

Fallacy

Protein supplementation offers NO advantage over

getting the protein from the food, not to mention that
they are expensive.
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Protein digestion and
absorption
 Food proteins arriving to the highly acidic stomach
environment get denatured and unfold (makes it easier for
enzymes to do their work).
 Then protein digestion starts under the action of stomach
pepsin enzyme.
 It continues in the small intestine through the action of
protein-digesting enzymes from the pancreas and intestine
to yield single amino acids.
 The intestinal cells absorb and transfer single amino acids
to the bloodstream.
+High-protein diets

• High protein diets are being used to induce rapid weight loss
• They act by curbing the appetite and causing water loss
+ High-protein diets

Lifetime of excess protein intake (more than twice the RDA) is

associated with many health risks:

- Increased blood acidity (Ketosis)

- Kidney stones & renal failure

- Cardiovascular disease (high in saturated fat)

- Accelerated bone loss

- Decreased vitamins, minerals, and fiber intake

- Increased risk of colon cancer

- Etc…
+High-protein diets

In addition, the person on a high protein diet might

experience the following:
 Nausea
 Fatigue
 Constipation
 Elevated uric acid
 Bad breath

Studies have shown that people who have lost

15 kg and maintained it for five years are those that
ate more, not less, CHO, with substantially less fat.
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Vegetarian diets

People who opt to become vegetarian can still meet their daily protein
requirement by carefully planning their meals and by knowing about
protein complementation
+ Vegetarian diets

Vegetarian diets have many positive health aspects

associated with them:

- Lower incidence of obesity & diabetes

- Lower blood pressure

- Lower cardiovascular disease

- Lower cancer risks

- Lower incidence of diverticulosis & constipation

 Why are vegetarian diets associated
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with lower disease risks?

 Lower fat and cholesterol intake

 Higher fiber intake

 Lower calorie intake

 Increased vitamins, minerals antioxidants and

phytochemicals consumption*

* However possible deficiencies: Vit B12, Ca, Fe could be low in that

kind of diet