Understanding The Science Behind Food

With constantly changing information about what and how we should be eating, it’s time to understand how our bodies are built and fuelled by food

- Caitlin Geng

PROTEIN: the building blocks

Protein is made up of amino acids, which are often referred to as the body’s building blocks. Our bodies aren’t able to produce all of these naturally, which means we need to source these ‘essential amino acids’ from food, in roughly the correct proportions, to remain healthy. Protein is vital to our wellbeing, as it can be found in neurotransmitters (like serotonin and dopamine), hormones (like insulin), cells, enzymes, muscles and even our bones.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Our bodies break down proteins into amino acids and then use them to build new proteins for important functions, such as transporting biological molecules throughout the body and promoting communication between different cells. We often associate protein with athletes and body-builders due to its crucial role in muscle-building and healing. It’s a common misconception that exercising and lifting weights strengthen and build muscles – in fact, the opposite is true. Working out causes breaks and tears in the muscles; it’s protein that heals them and creates more muscle mass post-exercise.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED?

In their book The Hybrid Diet (Piatkus), nutrition experts Patrick Holford and Jerome Burne recommend eating around either 15g of protein three times a day, or 25g twice a day, noting that it should form about 10-15% of your total caloric intake – visually, this should take up about one-quarter of your plate. They add, however, that the amount of protein you require depends on the amount and type of exercise you do and what you hope to achieve with your body. While endurance athletes should be eating 1.2-1.4g of protein per kilogram of body mass daily, strength athletes require 1.2-1.7g of protein per kilogram.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH?