Proteins as a primary diet are essential in healthy living. They have always been ranked at the top when considering the most effective macronutrients for consumption. Bodybuilders, athletes, laborers and even school going children find it quite beneficial when they include some bit of protein foods in their lunch pack. With this in mind, it is also important to note what happens when there is, therefore, lack of enough proteins, or when proteins decide to go “bad” within the body. This paper thus gives a short insight into what proteins are all about.

Considering the idea that proteins are at topmost ranked macronutrients, they do not come cheap as they play various kinds of essential roles in the body (Palfreman, 2015, p. 174). Some of their functions include:

Transportation of elements around the body

Boost the body’s immune system

They help in building tissues

Enzymes, special proteins, help in the body’s metabolism process.

Despite animal proteins being recognized as the major source of proteins, plant proteins are today on the rise as more and more people are being encouraged to consider them as an alternative. According to insights from the Innova market, plant-derived protein consumption has seen an increase of about 62% since 2013 (Feder, 2018, p. 47). Legumes, for instance, are the most abundant sources of plant proteins (they include beans, peas, and lentils).

Having some bit of knowledge of how proteins are derived is essential in understanding their functions to the body. Right from high school, we get to learn about amino acids which form the building blocks of proteins. Insulin, for instance, is considered as the smallest form of protein, consisting of about 51 amino acids. Titin, on the other hand, is the largest form of protein, comprising of about 33,423 amino acids (Palfreman, 2015, p. 175). These amino acids are known to chain themselves together, forming strands of molecules that eventually fold up into three-dimensional shapes that will determine the function of the protein that they create. Nobel prize winner Anfinsen came to find out that this folding could also, however, be undone (Palfreman, 2015, p. 175). The insulin protein needs to fold up correctly for it to be able to inform the body to store sugar. Given that correct folding of these proteins are what enables them to perform their primary functions in the body, it was important for scholars also to try to understand what happens in the event of a misfolding – when the proteins go “rogue.”

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s are some of the diseases that have been associated with misfolding of specific proteins in the body (Palfreman, 2015, p. 180 – 183). When proteins go rogue, the body has been known to take care of itself by destroying them, but, with age, this mechanism tends to weaken. Old age can prevent the body from ridding itself of such unwanted proteins thus causing them to build up into dangerous amounts. When the Hunington protein, for instance, misfolds and is left to build up, it will cause the Hunington disease. This disease can be identified by symptoms such as memory loss, irritability, and muscle difficulties. The fact that some proteins can also remain unfolded to enable their interaction with other proteins has also been proven to increase the spread of neurodegenerative disorders. Parkinson and Alzheimer’s have shown the movement of misfolded proteins from cell to cell (Palfreman, 2015, p. 182-184).

Proteins, therefore, need to stay checked if their adverse effects are to be avoided in the body.

 
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