When we are at the beginning of the story called – goal-oriented diet (increase in muscle mass i.e. reduction of fat deposits), we always mention a few important things – proper selection of foods, introduction to their nutritional value and principles for composing meals. If we reduce everything to the level of elementary logic, we come to the conclusion that in addition to the energy value of a food, we must be aware of its macronutrient composition, so what actually counts? In short, these would be digestible “ingredients” of our foods – proteins, carbohydrates (not counting fiber), fats.
The eternal controversy is over what actually counts when it comes to proteins? The “valid” position is that in the foreground – proteins of high biological value, i.e. complete proteins (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, whey). So, those are the proteins from food that have the highest degree of incorporation into tissue proteins, of course, at the level of the basic building blocks of proteins, i.e. amino acid. And of course, in addition to the complete profile of essential amino acids (the body cannot produce them on its own, so they must be ingested with food), an important item is the relationship between these essential amino acids, which dictates their biological value, ie. completeness.
Ok, we ate our chicken white meat, the digestion process is over and the amino acids taken into the bloodstream from our digestive tract reach the so-called. “Amino acid pool”. Yes, our body, unlike energy reserves in the form of glycogen and adipose tissue, does not have an initial reservoir for amino acids, but they are located in the so-called. “Pool”. From the mentioned “inn”, amino acids are directed to several sides depending on the needs of our body – energy, construction of enzymes, tissue proteins, transport proteins, etc. So, we understand this somewhat fictitious term (liver, blood…) as an imaginary “pool of trades of available amino acids”. Yes, some arrive (from food, breakdown of tissue proteins), and others “leave” by engaging in anabolic (protein building) or catabolic (energy production, for example) processes.
Where can all those amino acids end up?
– Production of tissue proteins (muscle proteins), plasma proteins (blood – albumins…), enzymes, antibodies, hormones (eg growth hormone, insulin… T4, T3), hemoglobin (red blood cells)
– Gluconeogenesis – created from amino acids – glucose (energy), glycogen, “reserve fat”… therefore, “excess protein” (amino acid) which is misused = energy reserves
– Creation of other amino acids (which may be in deficit – non-essential, and conditionally essential)
– Non-protein compounds – various amines and even neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin)
– Decomposition to urea, ammonia, water, carbon dioxide
Ok, and how are amino acids used to make proteins?
Simply, for all proteins in our body, information for their production is found in our DNA. So, here are two processes for us – transcription and translation. Thus, from the gene for the production of a protein, information about the amino acid sequence is transcribed into RNA (first into “messenger RNA”, and then into “RNA transfer”), from which the gene sequence is translated into the amino acid sequence in the peptide chain of a protein. As we can see, everything is in our genes (gene expression)… and there is also the influence of hormones – testosterone, insulin, growth hormone, cortisol, estradiol.
Certainly, the amino acids for synthesis are “delivered” from the “pool”. As long as there are “building blocks of amino acid blocks”, the process goes smoothly, but what happens if some of the essential amino acids fail?
It’s all nice, but what about incomplete proteins?
This is a question that vegans as well as vegetarians skillfully answer. Certainly, these incomplete proteins, most often of plant origin, are decomposed… Amino acids from them reach the amino acid “pool”, but the problem may be the relationship between amino acids in our amino acid “pool”. Thus, the fragile dynamic balance is disturbed, because if some of the critical essential amino acids are missing, the process of protein synthesis is stopped. Thus, by getting acquainted with the amino acid profile of foods according to the principle of complementarity (what is missing is compensated), an adequate ratio of amino acids necessary for normal synthesis (protein production) in our body can be provided. Eg. rice + legumes. Although, it is also mentioned that complementarity is possible on a daily basis, therefore, not only on the level of an individual meal, but in meals during the day.
It certainly seems complicated, but are there more and more vegan bodybuilders? Myth or truth? Judge for yourself!
