Common Misconceptions About Protein and Calories
In this article, we will be challenging common conceptions about protein and calories that you may have been told. There are 3 things you have to know about protein, calories and amino acids if you want to achieve Ultimate Health:
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Not all proteins are created equal. Different proteins, when digested and absorbed, provide varying amounts of usable protein to our bodies, gram for gram.
Example: consuming 1 gram of protein from whey doesn't provide the same amount of usable protein for building muscle, bone, etc., as 1 gram of protein from whole eggs does.
- Usually, we get four calories for every gram of protein consumed; however, this is not always the case.
A calorie is a measurement of energy production. It is not an object that stays in your body. Carbohydrate, protein, and fat molecules are broken down and used as fuel. But How much energy is produced?
Most of the carbohydrates we eat are broken down to produce immediate energy or to make glycogen or body fat for future energy storage.
Proteins and fats work differently. Many fats are used to create new cells or hormones, with only some being stored as body fat.
Not all protein consumed is used as fuel. Some are used for building or repairing muscle, cells, hormones, bones, skin, etc. Since this process doesn't produce energy, it doesn't result in calories, which measure energy production.
If a gram of carbohydrate is entirely used for energy it would yield 4 calories. For protein and fat, it would yield 4 calories and 9 calories, respectively. But this complete conversion rarely happens.
Moreover, the energy produced from any gram of protein varies depending on the protein source—whether it's eggs, soy, meat, fish, whey, pea, or collagen. Each source provides a different amount of energy measured in calories.
- Ultimate Amino Acid Supplement offers pure essential amino acids. Nearly all of this is utilized by the body, resulting in highly usable "protein" by the body with almost no calories.
We'll talk about these claims here. To begin, let's explore what protein is and what happens to it once it enters our body:
What Is Protein? How do Amino Acids Synthesize New Proteins?
Proteins are complex molecules composed of smaller units called amino acids. These amino acids are linked together by peptide bonds to form proteins. Collagen, for instance, is just one type of protein, not a distinct entity.
Among the 500 known amino acids, only about 20 are utilized in the human body to create proteins. To synthesize a protein, these amino acids are assembled into long chains consisting of hundreds or even thousands of different amino acids. These chains then coil up, with additional bonds securing the coils in place, much like a coiled rope.
Each protein can contain various types and quantities of amino acids, making each protein unique. These variations are essential because different proteins perform different functions within the body.
The human body contains approximately 20,000 distinct proteins, each with a specific combination and sequence of amino acids. The specific amino acids that make up a protein are referred to as its amino acid profile.
What Happens to Protein after Digestion and Absorbed by the Body
A common misconception is that consumed proteins remain in their original form and are directly sent to where they are needed in the body. In reality, by the time protein is digested, absorbed, and utilized, it has been completely broken down and rebuilt into whatever the body requires at that moment.
You don't have egg protein molecules in your muscles or whey protein molecules in your skin. Instead, the protein undergoes a detailed breakdown process.
Initially, your stomach begins to break down the protein. Stomach acid and digestive enzymes separate the proteins into smaller, uncoiled chains of about 20-40 amino acids.
These smaller chains then move into the small intestine, where additional enzymes are released to break them down further until all the bonds holding the amino acids together are dissolved. At this point, each amino acid is free-floating and unconnected to any other amino acid.
From complex proteins in foods like meat, eggs, soy, or collagen, we now have tens or hundreds of thousands of individual amino acids. These free amino acids are then absorbed through the walls of the small intestine, pass through the liver, and enter the bloodstream.
Once in the bloodstream, these amino acids can be absorbed by cells throughout the body and synthesized into new proteins as needed. Each cell uses these amino acids to create over twenty thousand different forms of protein, depending on its specific requirements.
The exact needs of these cells influence how much of the protein we consume is actually used, and this is where the concept of calories comes into play. Cells don't require just any type or amount of amino acids; they have exact needs for synthesizing new proteins.
Essential Amino Acids vs Non-Essential Amino Acids
Amino acids are classified into two main types: Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) and Non-Essential Amino Acids. EAAs cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from dietary sources. Non-essential amino Acids can be produced by the body and do not need to be sourced from the diet.
The critical point is that non-essential amino acids are made using essential amino acids. It would be best if you had all of the essential amino acids to synthesize any protein in the body. If even one essential amino acid is missing, the body cannot create new proteins. This is called the limiting amino acid, which restricts the usage of other amino acids for protein synthesis.
You may have heard about BCAAs as they are often reported to create muscle and are used by many gymgoers.
The Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are leucine, isoleucine and valine.
Unfortunately, these three essential amino acids cannot build new proteins on their own. The body requires all essential amino acids in the correct ratios to build new proteins. Extra non-essential amino acids are not required as the body produces them as needed for protein synthesis.
Moreover, the body needs each essential amino acid in specific ratios. Scientists have been studying these ratios for decades.
The correct ratio of essential amino acids is crucial. If the body receives all essential amino acids but is low on a specific one, it limits the utilization of the others. This is known as the limiting amino acid concept. For example, if a protein source allows for the synthesis of ten grams of new protein but lacks enough of one essential amino acid to make only three grams of protein, the body can only produce three grams of new protein, regardless of the abundance of other amino acids.
Different types of proteins contain varying ratios of essential amino acids. For example, while whey, pea, soy, meats, and eggs may contain all the EAAs, their ratios differ. The amount of new protein your body can synthesize from a specific protein source depends on the correct ratio of essential amino acids within that source.
If a protein source like whey has only 18% of its EAAs in the correct ratio to make new protein, with the remaining 82% being excess individual EAAs or non-essential amino acids, only 18% of the consumed whey can be used to synthesize new protein. The excess 82% cannot be used for new protein synthesis.
This is where calories become relevant. The excess amino acids are not stored for later use; the body must process them somehow.
Gluconeogenesis: Converting Protein to Energy (Calories)
When your body has an excess of sugar (carbohydrates) that it doesn't immediately need, it stores this surplus for future use by connecting individual sugar molecules into chains called glycogen, which are stored in your muscles and liver. When your cells need more energy, and there's no sugar in the bloodstream, the body breaks down these glycogen chains back into individual sugars, releasing them into the bloodstream for cellular use.
If the body has more sugar than it can store as glycogen, the excess is converted to triglycerides by attaching the sugars to fatty acids, which are then stored in fat cells as body fat. Similarly, any excess fat consumed is stored by converting fatty acids into triglycerides.
However, the body lacks a similar storage mechanism for amino acids. They are either used to synthesize new proteins or are discarded. When proteins are consumed, and they break down into amino acids, they are released into the bloodstream for cellular use. They remain in the bloodstream for only a few hours. If not utilized within this time, the body must convert or eliminate them.
Excess amino acids are broken down because the body cannot store them. Thus, these amino acids are converted into glucose or ketones, or they are decomposed.
An amino acid molecule consists of an amine group, a carboxylic acid group, and a side chain specific to each amino acid. Most of the amino acid's carbons go through multiple complex cycles and turn into glucose.
This process explains why protein has calories. Calories measure the potential energy released by breaking down amino acids in a protein, or by breaking down carbohydrates or fats. Calories represent the energy released when food is digested and absorbed.
If amino acids are used to build new proteins, they are not broken down, and no energy is released. Only the excess amino acids that cannot be used for protein synthesis undergo gluconeogenesis. This process breaks them down, releasing glucose (sugar) and ketones or directly oxidizing them as fuel, which is the energy measured in calories.
Therefore, when you consume protein and build muscle, at least some of the amino acids from the protein are converted to new protein rather than being used as energy.
Amount of Protein being Used Converted to Calories
This next part is going to be a bit in-depth on some of the chemical terms. Feel free to skip to the next section if you don't want that level of detail.
Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. The nitrogen component is critical to understanding protein utilization.
When amino acids are broken down, they produce hydrocarbons and nitrogenous waste. High concentrations of nitrogen are toxic. Because nitrogen produces ammonium ions. The urea cycle processes nitrogen, facilitating its excretion from the body.
The nitrogen component of amino acids is critical in measuring their utilization. When an amino acid is deaminated, nitrogen is released, which can be measured primarily through urine and, to a lesser extent, through feces and sweat. This allows accurate measurement of amino acid utilization.
Amino Acids can follow two pathway. Anabolic (protein synthesis) and Catabolic (deamination). When amino acids follow the anabolic pathway, nitrogen remains a constituent part of the amino acid, now part of a protein structure in the body. However, when amino acids are in excess, they follow the catabolic pathway, breaking down and releasing nitrogen.
The molecular weight of an amino acid is 110 Dalton, with nitrogen accounting for 16% of its weight. By measuring the total nitrogen in a protein source before consumption and the nitrogen output after consumption, we can determine how much of the protein was synthesized into new proteins versus how much was broken down into constituent parts.
Example: if 10 grams of protein contain 1.6 grams of nitrogen (since nitrogen is 16% of the protein), and we find that half of this nitrogen (0.8 grams) was released through excretion, we know that half of the amino acids in this 10 grams of protein were used to create new proteins, while the other half was deaminated and used as an energy source—calories. Thus, from 10 grams of protein consumed, 5 grams are used for building new proteins, and 5 grams are converted to energy, resulting in 20 calories (since each gram of protein has a potential energy of 4 calories).
However, for the Ultimate Essential Amino Acid Supplement, we tried to have a precise ratio of essential amino acids needed for near-zero excess protein synthesis, resulting in minimal possible calories per gram.
By comparing the amino acid profiles of the Ultimate Essential Amino Acid Supplement, whey, and whole hen eggs, we can calculate the exact amount of amino acids each protein source contains that will be used for protein synthesis versus what will be deaminated and converted to energy.
Example, Suppose a food has 45% of essential amino acids in the correct ratio for protein synthesis, with 55% in excess. So, half of the protein in is used for building new proteins, and over half is converted to energy.
Branched-chain amino Acids (BCAAs), consisting of only three essential amino acids, cannot be used alone to synthesize new proteins and are, therefore, entirely subject to deamination. Studies have shown that BCAAs, when infused intravenously, decrease muscle protein synthesis and breakdown, resulting in a catabolic state where muscle protein breakdown exceeds synthesis.
In Summary
Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are categorized into essential amino acids (EAAs) that must be obtained from food sources and non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) that our bodies can synthesize.
To synthesize new proteins, our bodies require all essential amino acids in specific ratios. If even one EAA is missing, a new protein cannot be made.
The essential amino acids must be present in an exact ratio. Any amino acid above this level results in an excess that cannot be utilized alone.
When we consume protein, the body breaks it down into its individual amino acids. The essential amino acids that are in the correct ratio are then used to make new proteins. Excess amino acids, whether essential or non-essential, are converted to glucose (sugar), ketones, or directly oxidized as fuel.
Calories measure the energy released when food is broken down (catabolized) and used for energy. The extra amino acids in a protein source that cannot be used for protein synthesis are the actual source of calories. The amount of excess amino acids differs from protein to protein based on their exact amino acid profiles.
There is an optimal ratio of amino acids that allows for maximum utilization by the body to synthesize new proteins, resulting in nearly zero excess amino acids. But there are still some calories by the laws of thermodynamics. Deviations from this ratio result in excess amino acids, which are then converted to energy measured in calories.
These findings are measurable through the nitrogen output of any given protein source. Amino acids have a specific amount of nitrogen, and when excess amino acids are deaminated, this nitrogen is released and can be measured. The measured nitrogen output compared to the protein consumed indicates the percentage of unused, excess amino acids converted to sugar or fat. This shows the percentage of amino acids utilized to build new proteins and allows for the measurement of individual protein sources.
What is the Ultimate Essential Amino Acid
Ultimate Amino Acid is THE amino acid supplement that has the perfect ratio of essential amino acids needed by the body to create new proteins and collagen without any excess amino acids.
Our unique amino acid profile is designed with essential amino acids in the perfect amount so nearly all of it can be utilized by the body for protein synthesis. Try it for yourself and discover the difference!
