Proteins, amino acids, animal proteins, plant proteins, nutrients, muscle, enzymes, haemoglobin, hormones, receptors , immunoglobulins, nitrogen, soy, meat

Proteins

Proteins make up one of the three large families of nutrients, together with carbohydrates and lipids.

They have many functions in the human body.
· they have a structural role and take part in renewal of muscle, integument (scalp hair, nails, body hair), bone matrix and skin tissues, etc.
· they have many physiological functions, such as in the form of digestive enzymes, haemoglobin, hormones, receptors and immunoglobulins.

They are also the body’s only source of nitrogen.

Proteins can be considered schematically as long chains, more or less folded onto themselves and consisting of variable sequences of amino acids.

Foods rich in animal proteins

Animal proteins are very similar to human proteins. Because of the fact that their amino acid composition is well balanced in terms of human needs – they are of very good biological quality.
>Foods with high level of animal proteins (pdf - only in French)

Foods rich in plant proteins

Different food sources need to be combined in order to achieve a diet of good quality proteins made up of plant proteins. Because none of these are entirely balanced in terms of human needs, supplements will increase the biological value of plant proteins. By combining leguminous proteins (listed in the column “fruits, legumes and other vegetables”) and cereals, we can therefore benefit from this complementarity.
>Foods with high level of plants proteins (pdf - only in French)