Proteins are the body’s essential building blocks, building up the cells in the form of amino acids. They are also the main component of muscle. The increased consumption of protein in a diet as a replacement for some carbohydrate and fat not only helps control body fat, but also controls appetite when dieting or maintaining normal body weight.
In this article, we will discuss the differences between proteins and also talk about the best sources, as well as how to consume them correctly.
What is complete protein?
Getting the right protein intake is important. However, when it comes to talking about the quality of protein provided, we must start by differentiating between complete proteins and incomplete proteins. You will remember that proteins are made up of amino acids which are used by the human body for its overall function. There are 22 so-called proteinogenic amino acids – which can go into the composition of protein. Nine of them are essential:
Valine
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Phenylalanine
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Phenylalanine
These are called essential because the human body cannot manufacture them, meaning the should be taken from external sources like food or dietary supplements. Thus the proteins which contain these nine amino acids are said to be complete, while those which do not contain one or more of these amino acids are said to be incomplete. Animal proteins contains all of these essential amino acids, and with these amino acids your body can make all the others (called non-essential). You can learn more in this article about amino acids.
If you are vegan on the other hand and do not consume an extra animal protein, then it is important to understand how to get all the essential amino acids into your body. For that, it is necessary to combine incomplete proteins to form a complete protein, quite simply. In the next paragraph we will explain how to do this and give specific examples.
Complete Protein: 12 Sources Highest In Protein