Main Page> Nutrition> Protein
Amino acids come together to make proteins. There are 20 different amino acids, of which 9 are considered essential. They are essential since our body cannot produce them on it's own and therefor they need to be provided by food sources. Animal proteins are considered complete since they contain all 9 essential amino acids. Vegetable proteins are considered incomplete since they are often lacking in 1 or 2 essential amino acids. For vegetarians to get all 9 essential amino acids, they must combine foods. For example, eating beans and brown rice would provide all 9 essential amino acids, since where beans lack in essential amino acids, rice makes up for it. For this reason, it is important for vegetarians to eat a wide variety of foods. Depending on our health condition and lifestyle, it is also possible for our bodies to experience a shortage on non-essential amino acids. For this reason, many athletes choose to take in additional non-essential amino acids. For example, when our body is under stress from a sickness or high activity, it may become short on glutamine. Therefor, some people choose to take a glutamine supplement. Supplements should only be taken when a medical doctor has advised you to take them. Taking supplements when your body already has taken in enough through other sources is not considered beneficial and in many cases it can even be dangerous. There has been much debate about the amount of protein a person needs. I believe that there is no universally correct answer to this. It depends greatly on activity level, current health condition and age. When choosing protein sources though, it is important to consider the amount of fat in the meal. Many people have experienced great weight loss results following a low-carb diet. However low-carb diets imply eating lots of protein, usually accompanied by a lot of fat. Eating a hamburger wrapped in lettuce may be low carb, but is still relatively high in fat. Our bodies do need some fat, but eating too much can cause serious health problems, such as clogged arteries. It is important to choose high quality protein sources that contain little fat, such as chicken, turkey and ultra lean cuts of beef.	The 20 Amino Acids Non-Essential Essential Alanine Methionine Arginine Histidine Asparagine Isoleucine Aspartic acid Leucine Glutamic acid Lysine Glutamine Phenylalanine Glycine Threonine Proline Tryptophan Cysteine Valine Serine Tyrosine
If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me at bestrong_ca@yahoo.com