The 411 on Proteins! (Part 1)

Did you miss me Nutrinutters? I hope so  ;)

I apologize for going missing for a couple of weeks, but I am back! and here to talk about protein.

This usually is a topic that interests more people looking to build muscle, but bare with me on this...we all could benefit.

First, here's a little 411 on protein:

It comes from the Greek word protos meaning "first". I confess that part was new to me...see, we learn something new everyday ;)
You may have heard that protein is important if you want to build muscle but the truth is it has other quite amazing functions as well! You see, your body needs protein to build new cells, maintain tissues and make new protein for your body to use. Does this give you flashbacks of biology class and migraines with it too? Don't be afraid, I'll further explain..

The reason why we need protein is because our bodies are full of it!
Wanna see some of the neat places where protein makes an appearance?

• hair, nail and outer layer of skin are made of a protein called keratin that cannot be digested by our bodies, which is why it can be harmful to bite our nails
• Muscle contains quite a number of different proteins.
• The inner structure of bones
• Ever heard of hemoglobin? It's in our red blood cells. This is a protein that carries oxygen throughout our bodies
• Don't get scared of this next one: enzymes. These are very special proteins that do specific jobs such as digesting or breaking down food (not to be confused with the movie "Breaking Dawn" ;) ). These are so important that about 1/2 of the protein that you eat each day goes into making these.
• DNA
• and the list goes on!

As we can see, protein is quite important in our body not only to develop Johnny Bravo muscles...

In case you are not from his time, meet Johnny:

So where can I get me some?? Should I order one of those protein shakes? 

NOPE! say NO to these shakes little nutrinutters. I won't get into those today because I wanted to simply introduce protein in this post. But what better way to get your protein needs than through eating delicious foods? Never had those shakes, but I've heard their taste is not that great.

To create the suspense for the week, I'll continue this on next week's post...so DON'T MISS OUT! ;)

Coming soon: How much protein do I need? What are good sources? What's wrong with protein supplements? What should I have before and after a workout?

 -The Nutrinut-