Proteins: Quality and Quantity
There are many dietary protein sources ; the foods that contain the most are: eggs , milk + cheese derivatives and all types of meat (including fishery products ); then we find legumes and cereals ; finally, there are low amounts of protein in vegetables and fruit .
Recommended intake
How much protein in the diet?
Dietary proteins represent a portion of macronutrients that are, to say the least, essential for maintaining health. Their “quantity” is still the subject of numerous discussions but the most important scientific institutions state that the protein intake with the diet should remain on 12-13% of the total kcal; to define the quantity more precisely, it is also possible to use a coefficient of g/kg to be multiplied by the desirable physiological weight of the subject (from 0.75 to 1.5). Obviously the aforementioned coefficient changes according to age , therefore according to the stage of development; rarely it can also undergo important percentage variations based on the level of sporting activity.
In the eyes of many people, whether they are laymen or professionals, the “recommended” protein intake is scarce or at least insufficient. In fact, taking a balanced diet for granted, normocaloric and characterized by high biological value proteins, the amino acids introduced should have the task of replacing the oxidized or deteriorated ones already present in the body; having said this, it is natural to think that the greater the metabolic commitment (sport, growth, pyrexia, other pathologies…) and the greater the protein intake with the diet should be. In reality, the variables to consider are decidedly more numerous and this statement can only be partially confirmed. Notwithstanding the fact that, as much as we can generalize when discussing dietary application, there are always big intra- and inter-individual differences, in my opinion it would be appropriate to specify an absolutely essential detail:
The structurally intact amino acids, as if they were “lego bricks”, are reused for the synthesis of essential proteins. Ultimately, there are certainly situations for which it is necessary to modify the protein intake but not as much as one might imagine; rather, in my opinion, the distribution of proteins in the daily meals and the quality of the same evaluated through the estimate of the Biological Value is more important .
