Diet and nutrition

What are proteins and why do we need them?
Proteins are astonishing nutrients because they are so fundamental to our very architecture as humans. Our cells and organs, our muscles, our connective tissue, and even our bones could not hold together as the key body parts they are without the help of protein. This importance of protein to our very structure is only one function played by proteins, however. Proteins are equally important to our metabolism because all enzymes in our body that help trigger chemical reactions are proteins. Many of our most important regulatory hormones, like insulin, are also proteins. So are many of the key molecules in our immune system as are the major molecules used to carry nutrients around our body. Whether they are structural proteins, immunoproteins, hormonal proteins, transport proteins, or enzymes, proteins are of utmost importance to our health. The importance of protein to our life is reflected in the term itself: protein is derived from the Greek term protos, which means "taking first place."

Proteins are made up of smaller molecules called amino acids that are strung together by chemical bonds like beads on a chain. To become an active, functional protein, this string of amino acids folds in on itself forming a twisted and entwined three-dimensional structure. Proteins come in many sizes. Some chains of amino acids are quite small, like the hormone insulin that is only 51 amino acids long. Most proteins, however, are larger. Most of proteins in your body contain between 200-400 amino acids.

Amino acids are similar to simple sugars, insofar as they serve as the building blocks for all other molecules found within their nutrient category. Just as carbohydrates are composed of monosaccharides, proteins are composed of amino acids. And, in a manner similar to the digestion of carbohydrates, your body can break proteins down to amino acids during the digestion process, taking in only the small single amino acid unit, or sometimes a two or three amino acid unit. Like carbohydrates, amino acids are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. However, unlike carbohydrates, amino acids also contain nitrogen. In fact, amino acids are your body's primary way of getting nitrogen.

What are proteins and why do we need them?
Proteins are astonishing nutrients because they are so fundamental to our very architecture as humans. Our cells and organs, our muscles, our connective tissue, and even our bones could not hold together as the key body parts they are without the help of protein. This importance of protein to our very structure is only one function played by proteins, however. Proteins are equally important to our metabolism because all enzymes in our body that help trigger chemical reactions are proteins. Many of our most important regulatory hormones, like insulin, are also proteins. So are many of the key molecules in our immune system as are the major molecules used to carry nutrients around our body. Whether they are structural proteins, immunoproteins, hormonal proteins, transport proteins, or enzymes, proteins are of utmost importance to our health. The importance of protein to our life is reflected in the term itself: protein is derived from the Greek term protos, which means "taking first place."

Proteins are made up of smaller molecules called amino acids that are strung together by chemical bonds like beads on a chain. To become an active, functional protein, this string of amino acids folds in on itself forming a twisted and entwined three-dimensional structure. Proteins come in many sizes. Some chains of amino acids are quite small, like the hormone insulin that is only 51 amino acids long. Most proteins, however, are larger. Most of proteins in your body contain between 200-400 amino acids.

Amino acids are similar to simple sugars, insofar as they serve as the building blocks for all other molecules found within their nutrient category. Just as carbohydrates are composed of monosaccharides, proteins are composed of amino acids. And, in a manner similar to the digestion of carbohydrates, your body can break proteins down to amino acids during the digestion process, taking in only the small single amino acid unit, or sometimes a two or three amino acid unit. Like carbohydrates, amino acids are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. However, unlike carbohydrates, amino acids also contain nitrogen. In fact, amino acids are your body's primary way of getting nitrogen.

Structure Edit

The filaments of myofibrils, myofilaments, consist of two types, thick and thin:

Thin filaments consist primarily of the protein actin, coiled with nebulin filaments. Actin, when polymerized into filaments, forms the "ladder" along which the myosin filaments "climb" to generate motion
Thick filaments consist primarily of the protein myosin, held in place by titin filaments. Myosin is responsible for force generation. It is composed of a globular head with both ATP and actin binding sites, and a long tail involved in its polymerization into myosin filaments.
The protein complex composed of actin and myosin is sometimes referred to as "actinomyosin."

In striated muscle, such as skeletal and cardiac muscle, the actin and myosin filaments each have a specific and constant length on the order of a few micrometers, far less than the length of the elongated muscle cell (a few millimeters in the case of human skeletal muscle cells). The filaments are organized into repeated subunits along the length of the myofibril. These subunits are called sarcomeres. The muscle cell is nearly filled with myofibrils running parallel to each other on the long axis of the cell. The sarcomeric subunits of one myofibril are in nearly perfect alignment with those of the myofibrils next to it. This alignment gives rise to certain optical properties which cause the cell to appear striped or striated. In smooth muscle cells, this alignment is absent, hence there are no apparent striations and the cells are called smooth.[2] Exposed muscle cells at certain angles, such as in meat cuts, can show structural coloration or iridescence due to this periodic alignment of the fibrils and sarcomeres.[3]

EGGS-actly What You Need To Build Muscle!
By Contributing Writer
Last updated: May 25, 2016
How many of you bodybuilders out there enjoy your eggs? Learn why eggs are so important to your diet and how it can help you build muscle!
How many of you body builders out there enjoy your eggs? Good, as a matter of fact that's great, keep it up and continue to read on because you may very well be on the road to increasing your egg intake and thus increasing your muscle mass. But what about all you muscle heads out there that are neglecting eggs because of the taste or simple because you're lazy and couldn't be bothered cooking, so you ultimately opt for a tasty whey shake instead. Well after reading this article, I'm confident that eggs will be the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning.

An egg is one of the most complete and versatile foods available. It has a valuable role in providing a healthy diet for all and especially bodybuilders. We all know the importance of protein in the muscle-building process, without protein, your muscles will simply not grow.

Excluding water protein, it is the next most abundant element that makes up the majority of our bodies, so with all this protein in the body, wouldn't you say that protein should be a very important part of anyone's diet? Bodybuilders need to take this a little further by damaging those protein fibers with heavy weight training in order for the protein fibers to regrow stronger and bigger. A bodybuilder's diet must be much higher in protein than the average persons.

Eggs contain about 6 grams of high quality protein, so high that it is used as the standard by which other foods are measured. Eggs are also a rich source of vitamins, including A, E and K and a range of B vitamins such as B12 (energy), riboflavin and folic acid. Eggs also contain all eight essential amino acids needed for optimal muscle recovery and building valuable minerals like calcium, zinc and iron.

Now before you get scared and say what about the fat that eggs contain, let me break it down for you. The white part of the egg contains no fat what so ever, on the other hand, the yolk of an egg (yellow) contains about 5 grams of fat BUT only a small proportion of this is saturated fat (Bad Fat) - about 1.6 grams. Bodybuilders seeking to bulk up muscle are in particular need for fat in foods at a time when they have high-energy requirements for growth but limited appetites. Eggs contain cholesterol but it is generally accepted that dietary cholesterol does not raise blood cholesterol levels. Eggs are easily digested and absorbed and are extremely useful in ensuring a balanced diet for us bodybuilders.

EGGS-actly What You Need To Build Muscle!
By Contributing Writer
Last updated: May 25, 2016
How many of you bodybuilders out there enjoy your eggs? Learn why eggs are so important to your diet and how it can help you build muscle!
How many of you body builders out there enjoy your eggs? Good, as a matter of fact that's great, keep it up and continue to read on because you may very well be on the road to increasing your egg intake and thus increasing your muscle mass. But what about all you muscle heads out there that are neglecting eggs because of the taste or simple because you're lazy and couldn't be bothered cooking, so you ultimately opt for a tasty whey shake instead. Well after reading this article, I'm confident that eggs will be the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning.

An egg is one of the most complete and versatile foods available. It has a valuable role in providing a healthy diet for all and especially bodybuilders. We all know the importance of protein in the muscle-building process, without protein, your muscles will simply not grow.

Excluding water protein, it is the next most abundant element that makes up the majority of our bodies, so with all this protein in the body, wouldn't you say that protein should be a very important part of anyone's diet? Bodybuilders need to take this a little further by damaging those protein fibers with heavy weight training in order for the protein fibers to regrow stronger and bigger. A bodybuilder's diet must be much higher in protein than the average persons.

Eggs contain about 6 grams of high quality protein, so high that it is used as the standard by which other foods are measured. Eggs are also a rich source of vitamins, including A, E and K and a range of B vitamins such as B12 (energy), riboflavin and folic acid. Eggs also contain all eight essential amino acids needed for optimal muscle recovery and building valuable minerals like calcium, zinc and iron.

Now before you get scared and say what about the fat that eggs contain, let me break it down for you. The white part of the egg contains no fat what so ever, on the other hand, the yolk of an egg (yellow) contains about 5 grams of fat BUT only a small proportion of this is saturated fat (Bad Fat) - about 1.6 grams. Bodybuilders seeking to bulk up muscle are in particular need for fat in foods at a time when they have high-energy requirements for growth but limited appetites. Eggs contain cholesterol but it is generally accepted that dietary cholesterol does not raise blood cholesterol levels. Eggs are easily digested and absorbed and are extremely useful in ensuring a balanced diet for us bodybuilders.