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Here's What Actually Happens in Your Body When You Eat Protein - Self
Besides help you make those #gains at the gym, of course.
While carbs and fat get alternately praised and punished, protein is basically the golden child among the macronutrients. That’s totally unfair to carbs and fat, first of all, but protein certainly does enough to earn its reliably good reputation. We know protein is a great thing to have, but why exactly do we need it, and what does our body even do with it? Here’s a rundown of what actually happens when you eat protein.
What protein actually is
Like we mentioned, protein is one of the three macronutrients (i.e. nutrients the body needs in sizable amounts). Unlike carbs and fat, protein is not usually a major energy source, although we definitely get some of that from it—protein provides 4 calories per gram. But protein is often referred to as a building block in the body because of its central role in growth and development.
Almost all animal-derived products—meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish—contain a significant amount of protein, so they get labeled as “proteins” when we’re talking about our diets and nutrition. But protein is also present in a lot of plant-based foods. There’s a good amount in beans, peas, nuts, and seeds, for instance, while vegetables and grains generally contain smaller amounts, according to the FDA. (Whole grains will have more protein than refined grains, though, which are missing the part of the grain that often supplies a lot of the protein content, as SELF previously reported.)
Besides help you make those #gains at the gym, of course.
While carbs and fat get alternately praised and punished, protein is basically the golden child among the macronutrients. That’s totally unfair to carbs and fat, first of all, but protein certainly does enough to earn its reliably good reputation. We know protein is a great thing to have, but why exactly do we need it, and what does our body even do with it? Here’s a rundown of what actually happens when you eat protein.
What protein actually is
Like we mentioned, protein is one of the three macronutrients (i.e. nutrients the body needs in sizable amounts). Unlike carbs and fat, protein is not usually a major energy source, although we definitely get some of that from it—protein provides 4 calories per gram. But protein is often referred to as a building block in the body because of its central role in growth and development.
Almost all animal-derived products—meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish—contain a significant amount of protein, so they get labeled as “proteins” when we’re talking about our diets and nutrition. But protein is also present in a lot of plant-based foods. There’s a good amount in beans, peas, nuts, and seeds, for instance, while vegetables and grains generally contain smaller amounts, according to the FDA. (Whole grains will have more protein than refined grains, though, which are missing the part of the grain that often supplies a lot of the protein content, as SELF previously reported.)