Proteins are important for the amino acids they contain. Amino acids were at one time considered the building blocks of health. There are about 20 diverse amino acids, the presence of eight of them is vital and should be part of our diet. These are termed as the essential amino acids. The considered disadvantage of plant protein as opposed to animal protein is that it may not hold all the vital amino acids in the required proportions. However, a diverse vegetarian diet implies that a combination of proteins should be consumed, so that the amino acids in one protein recompense for the shortage of another.
Proteins and Amino acids
In essence, proteins are extremely intricate molecules consisting of connected amino acids. Amino acids are simple compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sporadically, sulphur. Proteins are broken down into their basic amino acids during the process of digestion which are then immersed and used to make fresh proteins in the body. A couple of amino acids can be manufactured by the human body. However, the essential amino acids cannot be produced and must be completed through the diet. The eight essential amino acids required by humans are: Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine, Threonine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, and Lysine. For children, Histidine is also considered to be an essential amino acid.