Protein GapFill

Proteins are organic macromolecules built from  adipose tissueamino acidspeptidesfatty acids, bound together into long chains.There are about 20 different amino acids which can combine to make a molecule of protein. Some of the amino acids can be built by the body from scratch – for this reason they are called 'dispensable'. If an amino acid cannot be built by the body from scratch, it is called  a completean essentiala high biological valuea miso amino acid and has to be provided as a part of a healthy diet.

There are  twoelevennineone hundred essential amino acids and if they are all present in a molecule of protein, such protein is called a complete protein and has a  high energy valueincomplete valuelow biological valuehigh biological value. If one or more of the amino acids is missing, the protein is considered  a stablean unstablea low biological valuean essential protein.

Protein  complementationcoagulationkwashiorkorcorrelation allows us to combine two or more sources of low biological value proteins to make a   completetextured vegetablehigh energyadequate protein. An example of this is  hot dogbeans on toastspaghetti bolognesecheese on toast. Complete proteins occur mostly in  animal-derived foodscerealsfruits and vegetablesplant foods, but also in  breadgherkinscouscousquinoa and  soyolive oilsweetcorngreen peas.

Proteins are necessary to build  unsaturated fatadipose tissueall cells in the bodytooth enamel , enzymes and hormones. They can also be used as a  essential minorfreeprimarysecondary source of energy – this means that they are only used as a source of energy if other sources (carbohydrates and fats) are not available.

If a person eats too little protein, they may develop a disease called  kidney stonesscurvyberiberikwashiorkor. Too much protein can also be harmful for the body, causing harm to the liver and the kidneys.