We need protein for building muscles. We get calories from protein. Is the protein not burned to produce the calories or does the burning leave the amino acids we need intact?

Question

We cannot just have carbohydrates to burn for calories. We need protein and fat. Which presumably means we do not just burn them for calories but need some part of them intact.

So do we not burn them for calories? Do we burn part of them for calories and use other parts intact? Does the calorie count include just the part we burn or do we count the other parts we use for calories?

In: Biology

Answer 1

When you burn protein into calories you are destroying the amino acids. Each molecule of amino acid can be used to either build cells or to burn for calories. There are mechanisms in your body to regulate how much is burned. The body prefers to use glucose or fat but if you have too much of a type of amino acid or too little glucose then the body will not hesitate to use these amino acids as a source of energy. The body may even destroy cells to get enough energy to survive. But if you have enough energy the body will even make new amino acids, although the human body can not generate enough of every amino acid.