Protein and Amino Acid for endurance athletes
Introduction: A protein is any one of a large number of organic compounds that make up living organisms and are essential to their functioning. First discovered in 1838, proteins are now recognized as predominant ingredients of cells, making up more than 50 percent of the dry weight of animals. The word protein is coined from the Greek proteios, or “primary.”
Protein molecules range from the long, insoluble fibers that make up connective tissue and hair to the compact, soluble globules that can pass through cell membranes and set off metabolic reactions. Humans are made up of an estimated 30,000 different proteins, of which only about 2 percent have been adequately described. Proteins in the diet serve primarily to build and maintain cells, but their chemical breakdown also provides energy, yielding approximately 4 calories per gram, similar to carbohydrates.
Proteins are composed of about 20 different amino acids which in turn, are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur. In a protein molecule, these acids form peptide bonds between amino and carboxyl (COOH) groups in long strands (polypeptide chains). The numerous combinations, in which the acids line up, and the helical and globular shapes into which the strands coil, help to explain the great diversity of tasks that proteins perform in living matter.
By Sally Warner MA PhD
