I’m working out. I need to eat proteins. So I eat things like meat and beans. But who makes the proteins first and how? Why can’t I make them myself?
In: Biology
Proteins are made in every cell. But the cells need amino acids to build the proteins. When you eat proteins you are not after the actual proteins but rather the amino acids. There are various different types of amino acids, the sequence of the various amino acids is what gives proteins their shapes and therefore their function.
The cells can make their own amino acids. But this takes a lot of energy as well as the biological infrastructure. Plants can make all their own amino acids. And there is a difference in the amino acids made by herbivores and carnivores to complement their diet. So while humans can make enough of most of the amino acids we need we do need some protein in our diet. When we are growing though we often need to compensate with additional protein in our diet because the body is not able to make enough, even of the amino acids it normally produce enough of.
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