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Diploma in Nutrition, food

science and menu planning

Proteins
Summary Notes

Diploma in Nutrition, food science and menu planning

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Contents
3 Introduction
Objective 1: Structure & function of protein
Energy in protein
Amino acids
Essential amino acids
4 High biological value protein
Low biological value protein
Functions of protein
5 Objective 2: Understanding various protein recommendations
Objective 3: Protein food sources
Flesh foods
6 Lean meat:
Poultry:
Fish and shellfish
Eggs
7 Dairy
Milk
Cheese
Plant-based protein foods
Legumes and pulses
8 Alternative plant protein sources
Ways to incorporate plant proteins in your diet
Conclusion
References

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Introduction
Protein has been a hot topic nutrient for several years, from a weight loss diet super star to the nutrient many vegetarians and
vegans may be concerned about. Today’s lesson is geared at understanding what protein is, why it is essential for life, how
much we actually need to eat on a regular basis to stay healthy and which food sources you should be choosing on the regular
to get your daily dose.

Objectives
• Structure & functions of protein
• Protein recommendations
• Sources of protein

Objective 1: Structure & function of protein

A little bit of background is always fun, did you know that protein derives its name from the Greek word proteos (or ‘Prime
importance’). The body can manufacture most necessary nutrients, but when it comes to protein, your body can only
synthesize only about half the compounds needed to manufacture proteins. (Brown, 2004)

Energy in protein
Protein is a calorie (or energy) containing macronutrient (remembering that it contributes 9kCal or 17kJ per gram). (Mahan &
Raymond, 2017) To understand protein in more detail we first must understand what the smallest component of protein is.

Amino acids
If we go back to the analogy of macronutrients being built up out of their smallest components (like a brick builds up to form
a house) we can see that amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. One of the key ways that protein is different to
carbohydrates and lipids is that it contains nitrogen atoms while CHO and lipids only contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
atoms. These nitrogen atoms give the name ‘amino’ meaning ‘nitrogen containing’.

To understand various amino acids a little better, I want you to imagine a train. Each train is made up of an engine pulling
several train cars, just like protein is made up of a string of amino acids. When the train reaches the station, the cars are
separated and attached to other engine’s where they can be taken to different stations (where they are needed). When protein
foods are eaten, the amino acids are separated and are carried in the blood to different parts of the body. The type of protein
is determined by the order and type of the car. Each little train car represents a different type of amino acid. There are 9 amino
acids that are especially important because our body cannot make them on its own and we must get them from the diet. We
call these amino acids, essential amino acids.

Essential amino acids

We also have conditionally essential amino acids (which become essential under certain circumstances like during illness or if
injured) and lastly, we have non-essential amino acids which are amino acids our bodies can make on their own.
The 9 essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and
valine.

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Image 2: Essential, conditionally essential, and non-essential proteins

(Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

High biological value protein

When a protein food is called a high biological value protein (or HBV) it means that it contains all 9 essential amino acids and
are commonly referred to as being ‘complete’ proteins. These are mainly animal proteins but some plant proteins as well, like
quinoa, hemp, and soy. (Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

Low biological value protein

When a protein food is called a low biological value protein (or LBV) it means that while it does contain some essential amino
acids, it does not contain all 9. These are most of our plant-based protein sources. Commonly some may refer to these
proteins as ‘incomplete’ proteins. Previously it was believed that it was vital to get all 9 essential amino acids in one meal
(with food pairings like rice and beans. This was also known as complementary food pairings) We now know that this is not
true and that the body uses the various essential amino acids throughout the day. So, what is more important now is focus
on a variety of vegetarian protein sources regularly to get all you need in the diet. Although they are ‘incomplete’, vegetarian
protein sources also contain other greatly beneficial nutrients like fibre and phytonutrients and are considered an important
part of a healthy diet. (Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

Functions of protein
Protein is the second most abundant substance in the human body. It is the building blocks of each one of your cells. And
remember that cells are the building blocks of all the tissues and organs in your body. Think of all the millions of cells in your
body- Each one of them is made up of protein. The bottom line is that protein is vital to life.

Proteins help to:

• Build and repair tissue
• Create important hormones (e.g. insulin)
• Makes up our messenger cells (e.g. growth hormone)
• Create enzymes which help you digest the food you eat (e.g. lactase)
• Building blocks of transport cells (e.g. ferritin for iron)
• Form the basis of immune cells (e.g. antibodies)
(Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

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An important function of protein containing foods is that they help to keep us feeling fuller for longer. When you eat, the rate
of your stomach emptying the food will affect your feeling of fullness (or satiety). When we eat carbohydrate foods they are
rapidly cleared from the stomach with protein, fats and fibre rich foods being cleared more slowly.
As we said, protein is the building block for each one of the cells in our body. This is one of the reasons why protein is so
important for muscle growth. What happens is that with certain exercise (like resistance exercise) small microtears occurs.
Protein is then used to repair these small tears and this repair causes the muscle to grow.

Objective 2: Understanding various protein

recommendations
There are a few ways we can look at this:
• Firstly, we can look at our protein recommendations as a % of our total daily intake. Here we recommend between 10 and
35% of total calories can come from protein.
• Secondly, we can look at the Recommended Daily Allowance or RDA. The RDA is the average daily dietary intake level;
sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97-98%) healthy individuals in a group.
• A simplistic method of calculating protein requirements is to ensure that there is about 25g protein at each meal (where
a person eats 3-5 times per day). This recommendation is usually implemented in active individuals and is geared to
maximum muscle growth (especially after exercise). The research shows that any less than this may impair muscle growth
while any more than this will not confer additional benefits.
(Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

Consuming more protein than the recommended amount will not yield any additional benefits and whatever is not used for
growth and repair will be converted to energy or stored as fat.

The amount of protein you need daily is determined by many factors like your age, gender and even your activity levels. Most
people get enough protein in their diet, even if they don’t eat any animal proteins. Here we have the RDA for protein for males
of varying ages. During infancy and childhood, protein needs are much higher per kg than as a person ages. However, because
a baby is so small (in terms of weight with the average newborn baby weighing anywhere from 2.5kg to 4kg) the total amount
of protein needed per day is a low number. Children younger than 6 months only need about 9.1g protein per day vs a child
who would need about 19g. As the child ages, the amount of protein needed increases until about the age of 19- After this,
most children have stopped growing (with some exceptions) and the ideal body weight remains constant. The amount of
protein an adolescent needs depends on their degree of physical maturation.

The Recommended Daily Allowance (or RDA) for protein for adults over the age of 19 years is 0.8g/kg (which equals 56g protein
for the ‘average’ reference male who weighs 70kg). Now it’s not that every male weighs 70kg and so it is important for you to
remember this is an average calculation.

Objective 3: Protein food sources

Protein rich foods include animal proteins, dairy and plant-based proteins.

Flesh foods
Animal proteins includes lean meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs

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Lean meat:
Lean meat can come from various sources, the most common sources include beef cattle, sheep (with older sheep being
called mutton and younger sheep being called lamb), swine or pork is also commonly eaten.
Other sources of lean meat (depending on what country you are in) include goat, rabbit, deer, elk, moose, horse, possum, and
squirrels and even camels, Llama, kangaroos, and various buck. (Brown, 2004)

Poultry:
The term poultry refers to all domesticated birds raised for their meat. Chicken is the most popular poultry consumed and
other poultry includes turkey and duck. Less common poultry includes goose, guinea fowl and pigeon. Game birds commonly
eaten include pheasant, wild duck, and quail.

Certain lean meat is red in colour (for example beef, lamb, and even certain parts of poultry like the drumstick. This is due
to the protein pigments called myoglobin. The more myoglobin, the darker the meat. Myoglobin provides muscles with the
oxygen they need for movement. Thus, the more reliant the animal is on the muscle, the darker that meat will be.
When these protein pigments are exposed to oxygen or fluorescent light, they will turn brown in colour. Next time you go
shopping, don’t fear that the browner meat is old or ‘off’, but rather understand that it is the pigment that has caused this
colour change.

Both lean meat and poultry are comprised of water, muscle, connective tissue, fatty tissue and often bone. The muscle or flesh
of the animal is where most of the protein is found and in general there is approximately 7g of protein in 1oz or 30g of flesh.
Interestingly, the dark meat of the poultry is somewhat higher in fat than the white meat the higher fat content that this cut is
juicier and often tastier. (Brown, 2004)

Fish and shellfish

Seafood is currently the only major food source that is still hunted. There are approximately 250 species that are harvested
commercially in the United States. Fish and shellfish are broadly divided into vertebrates (which have a backbone) and
invertebrates (which do not have a backbone).
• Vertebrates are then further divided into finfish which can either be classified as salt or freshwater fish and they can be
classified according to their fat content as either lean or fatty. Sea mammals are also considered to be vertebrates, but
they are not commonly consumed.
• Invertebrates that are commonly eaten include shellfish which can then be further broken down into crustaceans (like
crabs, prawns, or lobster) or molluscs (like mussels, clams, and oysters).
• Fish and shellfish also contain approximately 7g of protein per oz (or 30g) but where they differ is that they are often much
lower in fat than either lean meat or poultry (with exceptions) and this means that overall they are often lower in calories.
Some of the fatty fish are a good source of omega 3 fats (specifically EPA and DHA) which we will be talking about in detail
in lesson 4.
(Brown, 2004)

Eggs
Eggs are an interesting protein source. While they are animal proteins, they are not flesh foods. The eggs that we purchase are
usually unfertilized, so there is minimal risk of finding a baby chicken in your supermarket eggs.
An egg consists of the egg white (or the albumen) which contributes approximately 4g protein and the egg yolk which
contributes approximately 3g protein (as well as various forms of fats and various micronutrients).

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Interestingly, an egg contains dozens of different proteins each with their own characteristics and functions. The quality
of protein found in an egg is so exceptional that it is used as the golden standard to compare the quality of other proteins
against.

Have you ever seen the ropey, twisted strands of albumen which anchor the egg yolk to the centre of the thick egg white? Did
you ever stop to wonder if it had a name? Well, as it turns out it is called the chalaza.
(Brown, 2004)

Dairy
The dairy group includes milk and milk products like fermented milk, yoghurt and even cheese.

Milk
Milk (which is probably the most consumed dairy product) contains all 9 essential amino acids. It contains approximately 8g
protein per cup (which is about 8 fl oz, ½ pint or 240mL).
And while it contains many complex proteins (which we will be covering in later lessons), the dominant proteins are whey and
casein. From an absorption point of view, whey is absorbed relatively quickly, while casein is absorbed more slowly. Due to
this (and other factors) milk is a popular choice of recovery drink for a variety of athletes. (Brown, 2004; Mahan & Raymond,
2017)

Cheese
Cheese is also an extremely popular dairy food product, it is a preserved food made from the curd portion of milk (this is
mainly the casein protein) usually through the addition of rennin, lactic acid or other enzymes or acids. Cheese is essentially a
very concentrated form of milk where 1 pound of cheese contains the equivalent amount of protein and fat of approximately
1 gallon of milk! Due to this high level of concentration, cheese is particularly energy dense, but it is also a good source of
protein, packing about 7g protein per oz/ 30g. There are only a handful of cheeses that are produced from the whey portion of
milk and ricotta is one of them. It is traditionally made by coagulating whey with an acid over a high heat. (Brown, 2004)

Plant-based protein foods

Last, but certainly not least, we have plant-based proteins such as legumes, high protein seeds and grains like quinoa, hemp,
and chia seeds as well as soy/ soya.

Currently there is a worldwide shift towards eating a more plant-based diet which can potentially be beneficial for one’s health
as well as be more sustainable for the planet. Plant-based protein foods can provide more fibre and less saturated fat than
other types of protein foods.

Legumes and pulses

Legumes grow as a seed within a pod and some legumes have been an important dietary staple since the Bronze age. It’s
not difficult to see why, as commonly eaten legumes like beans all types of peas and lentils are not only are they a source of
protein, but they are also a source of carbohydrates, fibre, and iron. The one essential amino acid that is missing in legumes
is unfortunately methionine, but as I mentioned at the start of today’s lesson, this can be taken in through a variety of other
plant sources. (Brown, 2004)

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Alternative plant protein sources

A quick fun fact on quinoa- Quinoa is not actually a grain, like rice, but it is what we call a pseudo-cereal. It is a seed but is
eaten like a grain. Therefore, it is so much higher in protein to your regular grains/ cereals.

Besides legumes and high protein seeds like quinoa. Protein products like seitan (which is a gluten protein product) are
gaining popularity.

Soya in various forms like edamame beans (which are young, raw soya beans), more mature soya beans, tofu (which is soya
bean curd), tempeh (which is a fermented soya product) and soya milk are also very popular plant protein choices. Soya is
also commonly used in texturized vegetable proteins; however, peanuts and cotton seeds are also commonly used.
Meat analogs are also often made from soy and there act as imitation meat products and are often mixed with other vegetable
proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, colouring, and flavourings and as such are considered to be highly processed
food products.
(Brown, 2004)

Ways to incorporate plant proteins in your diet

Now that you have a good idea of a variety of plant-based proteins, here are my favourite ways to incorporate them in your
everyday diet.
• A novel way of creating a plant based, yet creamy smoothie is to add tofu! It adds a velvety creaminess and thickness
which is simply delicious!
• You can also go ahead and add legumes (whichever is your favourite- Mine is chickpeas) to extend or complement any
soup, stew or minced meat dish or casserole.
• Lastly, you can made hummus from chickpeas and use this as a health, high fibre spread or dip.

Conclusion
In conclusion, consuming protein is essential for health. This being said, there is a wide variety of proteins that you can
choose from that will suit your taste, lifestyle, and budget. However, variety is key and with any of our macronutrients,
overconsumption ill not yield additional benefits.

References
• Brown, A., 2004. Understanding Food. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
• Mahan, L. and Raymond, J. (2017). Krause’s food & the nutrition care process.
• Ndb.nal.usda.gov. (2019). Food Composition Databases Show Foods List. [online] Available at: https://ndb.nal.
usda.gov/ndb/search/list [Accessed 23 Aug. 2019].

Diploma in Nutrition, food science and menu planning