You've probably heard it before how important it is to consume enough protein if you want
to build muscle.
But how does it is actually work?
Protein is one of three energy sources of your body known as macronutrients, the other
two being carbohydrates and fats.
It is made up of little organic compounds known as amino acids.
Besides water, 75% of your body is made up of amino acids.
Want healthy brain function?
You'll need amino acids.
Build muscle?
Amino acids.
Maintain immune system?
Amino acids.
Healthy heart, regulate stress, prevent certain diseases, produce cells.
Amino acids.
Ehh, you probably get the point.
Amino acids are pretty important.
There are over 500 different types of amino acids, but the human body only uses 21 known
as proteinogenic amino acids.
Of the 21, the body can create 12 of them by restructuring other amino acids.
The other 9, known as essential amino acids, can only come from food you eat, specifically
from protein.
And unlike fats and carbs, your body cannot store these essential amino acids away.
When it comes to building muscle, providing the body with enough leucine, isoleucine and
valine, which are essential amino acids, is pretty important.
These 3 are known as branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs for short.
And of these 3 BCAAs, by the far the most important is leucine.
It's directly linked to the activation of mTOR, which activates multiple enzymes in
the body that promotes muscle protein synthesis.
Wonder how muscles become stronger?
When your muscle fiber proteins actin and myosin act on one another, muscle contraction
is produced.
The more actin and myosin protein filaments you have, the stronger the muscle becomes.
And this is where getting enough protein in your diet becomes important to not only maintaining
or building muscle, but also preventing your body from breaking muscle down.
But how much is enough?
It's typically recommended to get about .8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight
per day.
That's roughly 65 grams for men and 50 grams for women.
If you're an athlete, add about 20 grams more.
Take this with a grain of salt, though, since there's no absolute consensus on the right
amount of protein intake.
But regardless of the actual amount, it doesn't take away the importance of having protein
in your diet.
And continuing with macronutrients, the following video will be covering another vital energy
source, carbohydrates.
Have lingering fitness questions you want answered?
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