-1
$\begingroup$

According to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSKPgaSGSYA (created by one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK), different proteins have different roles in human body:

(Group 1) They’re like building blocks of you body, they help grow and repair your muscles, skin, hair, and nails.

(Group 2) They help protect you from getting ill by attacking germs of bacteria that might make you unwell.

(Group 3) They help you breathe by carrying oxygen around your body.

The following food is rich in proteins: meat (e.g. chicken, ham, beef), fish (e.g. salmon), eggs, tofu, lentils, beans, etc. but I couldn't find out which food is rich in which specific group of proteins, e.g. "eggs - Groups 1 & 3".

$\endgroup$
5
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ It does not really matter what “protein groups” are in a food, as during digestion they are broken down into smaller peptides. The main thing is to make sure you are getting the correct amount of the different amino acids for the body to then make those proteins you are describing. $\endgroup$
    – Hawkeye
    Commented Apr 23, 2018 at 4:06
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for your answer! My question was purely out of scientific curiosity as I'm a quantum chemist and would love to learn more when it comes to nutrients. I'm trying to explain proteins to my little daughter. $\endgroup$
    – aygul
    Commented Apr 23, 2018 at 4:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Hawkeye perhaps you should expand your comment into an answer. $\endgroup$
    – WYSIWYG
    Commented Apr 23, 2018 at 8:05
  • $\begingroup$ I@WYSIWYG — wouldn't it be better if this question was migrated to a nuitrition/health list, as it is incredibly naive and, as pointed out, is based on the misconception that the proteins in one's food preserve their functions after human consumption. The poster is as well reading her daughter the blurb on the back of cereal packets. $\endgroup$
    – David
    Commented Apr 23, 2018 at 12:59
  • $\begingroup$ Possible duplicate of How a vegan can consume all the needed varied proteins / amino acids? $\endgroup$
    – Bryan Krause
    Commented Apr 25, 2018 at 21:48

1 Answer 1

2
$\begingroup$

Having watched the video listed I see the confusion. Actually protein from different sources is interchangeable.

The video FIRST talks about what foods are high in protein like meat, fish, eggs and tofu THEN about the different ways we use proteins in the body which it lists a few of not meant as a formalised 3 group system.

These two sections of information are meant separately. All the proteins are made up from only 20 discrete amino acid building block types (sometimes with a few modifications), when digested the body returns the proteins to their amino acids building blocks and reuses them. This effectively cycles left to right and back in the diagram below.

Diagram of amino acids building to proteins

Amino Acid building block makeup is not identical between different foods but is usually roughly comparable. So all the sources of protein are interchangeable like a pile of 20 different colours of Lego brick, especially in a western diet it is very unlikely you would run short of any of them. The body uses spare amino acids as a food source and or can switch their types for reuse.

For more info and an interesting read on the amino acid make up of different foods have a look at the USDA database here https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

And a more detailed look at the protein digestion itself in a good video "Protein Digestion and Absorption" by Armando Hasudungan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL7-fYBtJ1Y

$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .