What is protein???
Protein is a large molecules consisting of one or more chains of amino acids.Normally proteins are made up of amino acid.Amino acid are joined together in chains by linkage known as peptide linkages.A large number of amino acid such as in hundreds or in thousands are linked together to form protein.Protein are build up of 22 amino acids.The amino acids are of two categories which are essential and non-essential amino acid.Essential amino acid are those amino acid which we cannot produce through our own metabolism and we need to obtain them from the food containing such amino acid.
The non-essential amino acid are those amino acid which we produce by our own body.When the non-essential amino acid required then our metabolism produce the amino acid which are important for our survival.
The essential.amino acid are obtained from the animal and also from the plant based food but the animal based protein source contain the complete set of all amino acid.The protein obtained from all source of animal based food like meat,fish,egg and also dairy product like milk, paneer etc.and also plant product like all nuts and pulses.
The function of protein are-:
(a) Body building-:Protein supply amino acids for building of new body tissues and for the replacement of the damaged one.So,they help in the growth and the maintenance of the body.For the proper growth of human being from birth to older age,a regular supply of protein is required.At the older age,the body tissue also need to continuous replacement.So, the protein are required throughout the life for the proper growth and maintenance of the body.
(b) Protein as a regulatory and protective substances-:Protein are also a part of some chemical substances essential for the regulation of body processes.All enzymes are protein in nature.Like the enzymes,hormones are also the chemical substances vital for the regulation of metabolism as well as some other body processes.Some of the hormones such as insulin are also proteins.The antibodies,which protect the body from illness are also the proteins.
(c) Protein also as a carriers-:Some of the proteins act as a carriers to transport certain substances from one place to another in the body.The example of such type of protein is hemoglobin,the red coloured protein containing substances present in blood.The haemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to various body tissues and carbon dioxide from body tissues to the lungs.
(d) Energy giving when required -: Sometime protein is used as a energy giving food when the glucose is not provided to the body then the protein deviates from its basic role.Each gram of protein provides 4 kcal for the body.
How can we improve the protein quality of plant food-:The protein are obtained from both animals and plant foods.The proteins in animal foods are of good quality because they contain all essential amino acids.The proteins in plant food are generally lack one or two essential amino acids and so are not of good quality.Such as cereals are poor in lysine and rich in methionine and the pulses are poor in methionine and rich in lysine.So,at that time we used to mix it with each other to improve its(protein) quality.In Indian diet there are many dishes which are in such type of combination to improve the protein quality such as cereal pulse combination as in dosa,dal roti,rice dal etc.So,this method can be used to improve the quality of protein by the combination of different foods.
(b) Protein as a regulatory and protective substances-:Protein are also a part of some chemical substances essential for the regulation of body processes.All enzymes are protein in nature.Like the enzymes,hormones are also the chemical substances vital for the regulation of metabolism as well as some other body processes.Some of the hormones such as insulin are also proteins.The antibodies,which protect the body from illness are also the proteins.
(c) Protein also as a carriers-:Some of the proteins act as a carriers to transport certain substances from one place to another in the body.The example of such type of protein is hemoglobin,the red coloured protein containing substances present in blood.The haemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to various body tissues and carbon dioxide from body tissues to the lungs.
(d) Energy giving when required -: Sometime protein is used as a energy giving food when the glucose is not provided to the body then the protein deviates from its basic role.Each gram of protein provides 4 kcal for the body.
How can we improve the protein quality of plant food-:The protein are obtained from both animals and plant foods.The proteins in animal foods are of good quality because they contain all essential amino acids.The proteins in plant food are generally lack one or two essential amino acids and so are not of good quality.Such as cereals are poor in lysine and rich in methionine and the pulses are poor in methionine and rich in lysine.So,at that time we used to mix it with each other to improve its(protein) quality.In Indian diet there are many dishes which are in such type of combination to improve the protein quality such as cereal pulse combination as in dosa,dal roti,rice dal etc.So,this method can be used to improve the quality of protein by the combination of different foods.
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