Proteins are the second group of food ingredients. Unlike carbohydrates proteins are mostly used in body structure. Our muscles, skin, bones and internal organs like liver, kidney and lungs are mostly made by proteins.

Like carbohydrates, proteins are basically consisted of smaller elements that are called Amino acids. It is like making a house with smaller elements. Body combines these small amino acids to make more complex structures and eventually proteins.

Our sources of proteins are mainly animals. Red meat, poultry, sea food and so on. These foods are ingested and digested in stomach and intestine. Body breaks them down to the last point (Amino acids). They enter blood stream and then goes to liver (liver is a miracle and a complicated factory).

Liver has this amazing ability to convert almost everything to everything. It can convert fat and amino acids and carbohydrates to each other. Under healthy nutritional state body keeps amino acids and proteins for the best. In starving and unhealthy diets proteins are used for maintaining blood sugar and producing energy. To put it simple this process goes like this:

Protein (meat, egg white, soy…) —->stomach and intestine—> amino acids—> blood stream—> liver and other organs—> distribution and construction. Look at this picture:

Synthesis means making and viscera is what we have inside our belly. We have two important points here:

1- Our intestine can absorb 30 grams of protein every 4 hours. More than that cannot be used and is expelled from body or converted to fat.

2- Protein waste product is urea. It is excreted from kidneys. People with gout disease must limit their protein intake especially red meat.

For a healthy eating style and for a healthy diet we must have enough protein intakes. Dairy products, egg white, sea food, red and white meat and soy are excellent sources of protein we must have. As usual we must focus on breakfast and lunch and not the dinner. Take a look here:

Alcohol—>carbs—>protein—>fat

Body burn alcohol easier and fat harder. It means if you consume too much alcohol body will burn it first and then go to the next which is carb. Again, if you eat too much carb (like bread and rice) you can burn fat until carb is completely burned. By looking at the simple scheme a problem emerges…how can we get to fat without burning protein? We don’t want to burn our body protein at the same time we are losing fat.

That is when external proteins come into play. Many diets use protein powders or higher amount of food protein just to compensate for this problem. It is not always 100% but with some small tweaks and tricks we can manage that.

Diet speed also plays a role here. With only one exception speedy diets have more protein wasting. Slower ones preserve more body proteins. In treatment section I introduce the only method which you can lose fast very fast and leave your body proteins intact. No need to emphasize that protein depleted diets will destroy your body very soon.

I think now you can say why is it mandatory to have a protein source externally when we diet.

So these are the important point you must know about proteins in your eating and diet:

1- Never go on a diet without a source of protein. Water diet, tea diet, celery diet….they are all wrong.

2- Do not over eat protein specially the red meat. It increases your cholesterol and stresses the kidney.

3- Try to avoid processed meat at all cost. Click on the link below to see why.

Watch what you eat!!

4- We have 5 different body types. Different proteins are suitable for different body types.

Check the treatment section and related post to get more information.