Nutrition and Diet Therapy – Lecture

STUDENT ACTIVITY SHEET BS NURSING / SECOND YEAR

Session # 4

LESSON TITLE: Proteins Materials:

Pen and notebook
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the lesson, you can:

1. Describe the chemical structure of proteins and the
difference between nonessential and essential amino
acids;
2. Identify some of the roles of body proteins;
3. Describe the health effects of protein deficiency and Reference:
excess; and, DeBruyne, L.K., Pinna, K., & Whitney E., (2016).
4. Explain the differences between high-quality and Nutrition and diet therapy: Principles and practice
low-quality proteins, including notable food sources of (9th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning.
each.

LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
Let us have a review of what you have learned from the previous lesson. Kindly answer the following questions on the
space provided. You may use the back page of this sheet, if necessary. Have fun!

Instruction: Expound the following fatty acids:

MAIN LESSON
You will study and read their book, if available, about this lesson.

PROTEINS

Proteins are chemical compounds that contain the same atoms as carbohydrates and lipids—carbon (C), hydrogen (H),
and oxygen (O)—but proteins are different in that they also contain nitrogen (N) atoms. These nitrogen atoms give the
name amino (nitrogen containing) to the amino acids that form the links in the chains we call proteins.

The Structure of Proteins

About 20 different amino acids may appear in proteins. * All amino acids share a common chemical “backbone,” and it is
these backbones that are linked together to form proteins. Each amino acid also carries a side group, which varies from
one amino acid to another.

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Protein Chains. The 20 amino acids can be linked end to end in a virtually infinite variety of sequences to form proteins.
When two amino acids bond together, the resulting structure is known as a dipeptide. Three amino acids bonded
together form a tripeptide. As additional amino acids join the chain, the structure becomes a polypeptide. Most proteins
are a few dozens to several hundred amino acids long.

Protein Shapes. Polypeptide chains twist into complex shapes. Each amino acid has special characteristics that attract it
to, or repel it from, the surrounding fluids and other amino acids. Because of these interactions, polypeptide chains fold
and intertwine into intricate coils and other shapes. The amino acid sequence of a protein determines the specific way the
chain will fold.

Protein Functions. The dramatically different shapes of proteins enable them to perform different tasks in the body.
Some, such as hemoglobin in the blood are globular in shape; some are hollow balls that can carry and store materials
within them; and some, such as those that form tendons, are more than 10 times as long as they are wide, forming stiff,
sturdy, rod like structures.

A. Nonessential and Essential Amino Acids

B. Roles of Proteins in the Body

⎯ Structural components. Proteins form integral parts of most body tissues and confer shape and
⎯ strength on bones, skin, tendons, and other tissues. Structural proteins of muscles allow movement.
⎯ Enzymes. Proteins facilitate chemical reactions.
⎯ Transporters. Proteins transport substances such as lipids, vitamins, minerals, and oxygen
⎯ around the body.
⎯ Fluid and electrolyte balance. Proteins help to maintain the distribution and composition of
⎯ various body fluids.
⎯ Acid-base balance. Proteins help maintain the acid-base balance of body fluids by acting as buffers.
⎯ Antibodies. Proteins inactivate disease-causing agents, thus protecting the body.
⎯ Hormones. Proteins regulate body processes. Some, but not all, hormones are proteins.
⎯ Energy and glucose. Proteins provide some fuel, and glucose if needed, for the body’s energy needs.
⎯ Other. The protein fibrin creates blood clots; the protein collagen forms scars; the protein opsin
⎯ participates in vision.

C. Protein in Health

Protein Deficiency - The most recognizable consequences of protein deficiency include slow growth in children, impaired
brain and kidney functions, weakened immune defenses, and impaired nutrient absorption from the digestive tract.

Malnutrition. In clinical settings, the term protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) has traditionally been used to describe the
condition that develops when the diet delivers too little protein, too little energy, or both. PEM can be a consequence of
many different conditions.

Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM): malnutrition caused by recent severe food restriction; characterized in children by
underweight for height (wasting). The form of malnutrition manifested in a child’s condition depends partly on the
nature of the food shortage. About 10 percent of the world’s children suffer from SAM, which most often occurs when food
suddenly becomes unavailable, such as in drought or war.

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Chronic malnutrition: malnutrition caused by long-term food deprivation; characterized in children by
short height for age (stunting).

Kwashiorkor is a Ghanaian word meaning a “sickness that infects the first child when the second child is born.” When a
mother who has been nursing her first child bears a second child, she wears the first child and puts the second one on the
breast. The first child, suddenly switched from nutrient-dense, protein-rich breast milk to a starchy, protein-poor gruel,
soon begins to sicken and die.

With too little nutritious food, concentrations of the blood protein albumin fall, causing fluids to shift out of the blood and
into the tissues— edema, some muscle wasting may occur, but it may not be apparent because the child’s face, limbs,
and abdomen become swollen with edema—a distinguishing feature of kwashiorkor.

Marasmus, appropriately named from the Greek word meaning “dying away,” reflects a prolonged, unrelenting
deprivation of food observed in children living in impoverished nations. Children living in poverty simply do not have
enough food. They subsist on diluted cereal drinks that supply scant energy and protein of low quality; such food can
barely sustain life, much less support growth. Marasmic children look like little old people— just skin and bones.

Without adequate nutrition, muscles, including the heart muscle, waste and weaken. Because the brain normally grows to
almost its full adult size within the first 2 years of life, marasmus impairs brain development and learning ability. Reduced
synthesis of key hormones leads to a metabolism so slow that body temperature drops below normal.

Kwashiorkor and marasmus are clinical expressions of malnutrition

D. Protein in Foods

The protein quality of the diet determines, in large part, how well children grow and how well adults maintain their health.
Put simply, high-quality proteins provide enough of all the essential amino acids needed to support the body’s work, and
low-quality proteins don’t. Two factors influence protein quality: the protein’s digestibility and its amino acid
composition.

A high-quality protein contains all the essential amino acids in amounts adequate for human use; it may or may not
contain all the others. Generally, proteins derived from animal foods (meat, seafood, poultry, cheese, eggs, and milk and
milk products) are high quality, although gelatin is an exception. Proteins derived from plant foods (legumes, grains, nuts,
seeds, and vegetables) tend to be limiting in one or more essential amino acids. Some plant proteins, such as corn
protein, are notoriously low quality. Others, such as soy protein, are high quality.

Complementary Proteins are two or more proteins whose amino acid assortments complement each other in such a way
that the essential amino acids limited in one are supplied by the other.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

You will answer and rationalize this by yourself. This will be recorded as your quiz. One (1) point will be given to the
correct answer and another one (1) point for the correct ratio. Superimpositions or erasures in your answer/ratio is not
allowed.

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1. The basic building blocks for protein are:
a. side groups.
b. amino acids.
c. glucose units.
d. saturated bonds.
ANSWER: ________
B.
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
Proteins are made up of chemical molecules called amino acids. They are frequently referred to as the
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components of protein. In addition to helping to make proteins, they also contribute to the production of
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hormones and neurotransmitters.

2. Enzymes are proteins that, among other things:

a. defend the body against disease.
b. regulate fluid and electrolyte balance.
c. facilitates chemical reactions by changing themselves.
d. help assemble disaccharides into starch, cellulose, or glycogen.
ANSWER: ________D.
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
Disaccharides are put together by enzymes to form starch, cellulose, or glycogen.
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3. Functions of proteins in the body include:

a. supplying omega-3 fatty acids for growth, lowering serum cholesterol, and helping with weight control.
b. supplying fiber to aid digestion, digesting cellulose, and providing the main fuel source for muscles.
c. protecting organs against shock, helping the body use carbohydrate efficiently, and providing triglycerides.
d. serving as structural components, supplying hormones to regulate body processes, and maintaining fluid and electrolyte
balance.
ANSWER: ________C.
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
Protein serves as structural components in the body, as well as delivering hormones to control physiological
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functions and maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance. Furthermore, albumin and globulin are proteins found in
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the blood that assist regulate the body's fluid balance by retaining water in the blood.

4. The swelling of body tissue caused by the leakage of fluid from the blood vessels into the interstitial spaces is called:
a. edema.
b. anemia.
c. acidosis.
d. sickle-cell anemia
ANSWER: ________A.
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
Edema is characterized as a swelling of the body tissues brought on by a fluid buildup. This frequently occurs in
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a person's hands, feet, ankles, legs, and other areas.
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5. Marasmus can be distinguished from kwashiorkor because in marasmus:

a. only adults are victims.
b. the cause is usually an infection.
c. severe wasting of body fat and muscle are evident.
d. the limbs, face, and belly swell with edema.
ANSWER: ________C.
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
Malnutrition of the kind known as marasmus is distinct from kwashiorkor, which is characterized by a significant
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loss of body fat and signs of muscles. The majority of affected kids might not grow as quickly as healthy kids do.
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RATIONALIZATION ACTIVITY
The instructor will now provide you the rationalization to these questions. You can now ask questions and debate among
yourselves. Write the correct answer and correct/additional ratio in the space provided.
1. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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LESSON WRAP-UP

You will now mark (encircle) the session you have finished today in the tracker below. This is simply a visual to help you
track how much work you have accomplished and how much work there is left to do.

You are done with the session! Let’s track your progress.

AL Activity: GUIDED DISCOVERY

This strategy leads you through practices that will help you develop deeper understanding and mastery. By posing one
question, you have the free will to answer it based on your own understanding in the Main Lesson. The more you dig
deeper, the more comprehensive the information you will relay. Here’s the question and enjoy! You can use the back page
of this sheet.

How would you describe the roles of the proteins in the human body?
Give at least three realistic scenarios in the clinical setting.
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