We live perhaps in him historical context of greater food abundance. It is difficult to find an era in which we have had a greater variety of food at our disposal. This is especially true for meat and fish, two of the main sources of protein.
In general, today We consume more proteins than we needbut the general does not always apply and The lack of protein It can also occur in some people, for example cases of certain diets or between people suffering from certain autoimmune diseases. That is why we can ask ourselves, how can we know if we are not consuming enough proteins?
Proteins are one of the three macronutrients considered basic for the proper functioning of our body, the other two fats or lipids, and carbohydrates. We associate these nutrients to meatfish, milk products, but are present in one way or another (in their constituent blocks, for example) in a multitude of foods such as legumes or soy.
Proteins, although we put them in the same group are not a homogeneous group of compounds: our body has thousands of protein types. Of course, all of them are composed of a series of amino acids chained 20 of these “blocks” are enough to form this myriad of proteins in our body.
Our body is able to synthesize 11 of These amino acids But for the other nine, called essential amino acidswe must obtain them from food. For this we need proteins: our digestive system breaks them down in amino acids so that our body can rebuild them according to their need.
We call “Complete proteins“To foods containing all essential amino acids. A list of food with complete proteins would include meats such as beef or chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, soy or quinoa.
If our body does not consume enough proteins or other amino acid sources, we can fall into the lack of any of these nine essential amino acids, so that our body can lose the ability to generate its own proteins which results in problems such as the Hypooproteinemiathe lack of protein in the blood.
Symptoms
Before the lack of proteins becomes a problem, we can pay attention to some symptoms that alert us to lack. Health experts from the University of California in Los Angeles They prepared a time ago a list With six indications that can help us detect the lack of protein.
In the article they explain that fragility in hair and nails is sometimes the first sign of a protein deficiency. Another sign is in the feeling of weakness and hunger. Hunger usually indicates the lack of food, sometimes it can also indicate a more concrete nutritional lack.
A third indication is in our immune system. The lack of protein can limit our body’s ability to defend against external threats so we can find ourselves more sickly due to this lack.
The lack of protein can also manifest in changes in humor or difficulties in thinking. This is due to fluctuations in blood sugar levels and the effect of proteins in brain neurotransmitters responsible for regulating our mood.
The fifth indication indicated by these experts is muscle weakness. Proteins are indispensable to build and repair muscle mass, without it we can end up losing it. The last of these symptoms is in the Appearance of fractures by stress in the bones. The integrity of these also depends on this type of compounds.
Proteins are fundamental to our body and the difficulty in creating new molecules can cause us problems of very diverse type. As usual in nutrition, excess can also be linked to some problems. Some estimates calculate that excessive protein consumption may appear if we take more than two grams daily per kg of body mass.
A varied and healthy diet is key to avoiding problems both by excess as defaultin regards to proteins and with regard to any other nutrient. This is especially important for those who, by their own or for health, must eliminate some usual piece of their menu. No food is essential but there are nutrients that they are.
In Xataka | Proteic fever has invaded supermarkets. The problem is how they suggest that we take proteins
Image | Shayda Torabi
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