There is no doubt that any living organism needs good nutrition, containing all types of useful substances. Without downplaying the importance of carbohydrates and fats, we still pay more attention to proteins. This component of food, of course, is very important. Where is protein found in the human body and other animals? in all tissues of the body. Also, enzyme proteins control all biochemical reactions.
Besides this, proteins perform a large number of other functions. One of the first questions about them is: “Where is the protein found?” Namely, we are interested in what foods are rich in protein.
It should be said that proteins are vegetable and animal in origin. It is clear that we get the first from plant foods, the second - from animal products. By the way, they differ in composition, that is, they are synthesized from different amino acids and “assembled” in a different order. But for our body it does not matter what protein comes from food, any protein is broken down in the digestive tract into “component” parts - amino acids. These are organic acids that build a complex protein molecule. They areare transported after absorption in the intestine to organs and tissues, and each cell synthesizes its own proteins unique to a particular organism. That is why it is so important which set of amino acids a given protein contains.
The fact is that about 2/5 of them are irreplaceable. This means that the body cannot synthesize them from other amino acids. Therefore, we must get them with food. According to the presence of essential amino acids, proteins are divided into complete and incomplete. Accordingly, the former contain all the necessary structural units of the protein, the latter do not.
Essential amino acids are found in meat, chicken, fish, dairy products, eggs, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Our body has its own set of these substances (in contrast to their totality for other animals). Some amino acids are partially replaceable by others with a similar structure, for example, phenylalanine deficiency can be replenished with tyrosine, and arginine deficiency with glutamic acid.
So where is the protein found? In what foods can we find it? In almost all the food we consume on a daily basis. No wonder, because a significant part of the body of an animal or plant consists of proteins. However, it is better to clarify: “What foods are high in protein?”
First let's talk about animal proteins. They are present in record high quantities in meat of any kind, including poultry and anygame, in fish, liver, cheese, eggs, cottage cheese, milk. It is also important that the meat contains essential amino acids: lysine, methionine and tryptophan in an ideal proportion - 5, 5:3, 5:1.
Where is the protein in terms of plant foods? Most of all it is in legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, soybeans, Brussels sprouts, cereals (wheat, rye, buckwheat).
