Any excess is excreted by the kidneys as urea. It’s converted into glucose or triglycerides and used to fuel energy or build up your energy reserves. Protein is a macronutrient like fat and carbohydrates, but unlike fat and carbs, protein cannot be stored in the body. Proteins help normalize fluid balance and pH levels, and even strengthen immune health by forming antibodies, or immunoglobulins, that defend against bacteria and viruses. Still others form hormones that transmit information between cells, organs, and tissues, while many play a part in the growth and maintenance of muscle. Others are used to make enzymes that catalyze the biochemical reactions in our bodies. Some proteins give structure to our hair, skin, nails, cartilage, and tissues. Proteins make up every cell in our bodies, but just as proteins are made up of a different mix of amino acids, they also perform different functions. That’s the simple how of it that will suffice for the moment. These 20 amino acids link together in varying combinations to form different types of protein. Scientists have identified approximately 500 naturally occurring amino acids, of which only 20 are used to make proteins in the human body, earning them the sobriquet proteinogenic amino acids. We’ll get into the structure of amino acids in detail later on, but to understand the role they play as the building blocks of protein it’s helpful to understand how they form proteins. We’ll review the importance of protein and amino acids, their structures, and all the different types, from essential amino acids to ketogenic amino acids and everything in between. We can’t live without them, so let’s spend some time understanding these biological heroes. Crucial to life, amino acids also synthesize hormones and neurotransmitters, and help protect us from infection and illness. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and proteins are, in turn, the building blocks of our muscles, cartilage, bones, skin, and blood.
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