Ol argedco luciftias said:
I think you would benefit from a high-protein diet. It seems like you have had a deficiency, so a big surplus of protein will help balance that.
Only in special cases, if by 'big surplus' you mean taking more than the recommended amount.
Proteins are split into monopeptide fragments by means of intestinal ectoenzymes, which are then
transported to the liver.
A protein-heavy bolus of food will result in 57% being converted into urea; with only 25% circulating freely.
Another possible fate is that a really big surplus of your amino acids will be simply deaminated into their respective
α-ketoacids in order to create either glucose or acetoacetate. Amino acids can be glucogenic, ketogenic or both.
The only notable exceptions that circumvent the hepatic pathways are branched-chain amino acids: L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine.
Those three are directly transported to your skeletal muscles.
A surplus can be useful for chronic wasting, stress, exercise or other indeterminate catabolic states of your body.
In a healthy individual, I see no reason in eating more than necessary.
But you are right: Proteins are extremely important macronutrients.
HailMotherLilith said:
This is interesting.
But I am not very familiar with some of the things you mentioned to me, thank you for educating me!
My apologies. I'm currently dealing with a bronchitis right now, so I didn't really think this through.
I merely tried to provide some examples, otherwise it would look like unsubstantiated claims.
I will gladly explain what I meant! Here are some basic facts:
A protein is a chain of more than 100 amino acids.
If it's between 10-100 amino acids, it's a polypeptide. A peptide hormone is virtually just a chain of amino acids.
Glutathione is an antioxidant commonly found in every cell. Liver failure from acetaminophen / paracetamol happens as a result of gluthatione depletion; simply put.
A simple sketch of an amino acid looks like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amino_acid#/media/File:AminoAcidball.svg
COOH is the carboxylic group. It's an acid because it donates a proton.
C is the carbon atom. In this little sketch, it's called the α-C atom, since it's the first C atom in a long chain of hydrocarbons.
H is hydrogen
H2N / NH2 is the amino group. The N atom is called nitrogen. The amino group is basic / alkaline because it accepts one proton.
R indicates the rest. This is usually a chain of hydrocarbons ( CH2, CH3, or CH4 ). It's rather simplified now.
Amino acids are derivatives of α-carboxylic acid, because the α-C atom is connected with carboxylic acid.
Since an amino group is also added to the α-C atom, it's called a derivative. Hence the name 'amino acid', since it's no longer a true α-carboxylic acid.
If the NH2 is on the left, it's called an L-amino acid.
If it's on the right, it's called a D-amino acid.
The only exception to this rule is glycine.
D-amino acids only play a role in bacterial metabolism.
The amino group can be removed by means of aminotransferases, giving you an α-ketoacid:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keto_acid#/media/File:Ketocarboxylic_Acids_General_Formulae_V.1.svg
C = O is called a ketone group, ergo α-ketoacid. Theere still is a carboxylic acid connected to the α-C atom..
Amino transferases are enzymes required for transferring amino groups with the help pyridoxal-5‘-phosphate. Pyridoxal is one form of vitamin B6.
There are two steps:
1) amino acid #1 + α-ketoglutarate <-> L-glutamate + α-ketoacid #1.
The first step accepts any amino acid.
α-ketoglutarate is the α-ketoacid of L-glutamate.
2) L-glutamate + oxalacetate <-> L-aspartate + α-ketoglutarate
The second step only accepts oxalacetate, α-ketoglutarate or pyruvate.
Oxalacetate is the corresponding α-ketoacid of L-aspartate.
Pyruvate is the α-ketoacid of L-alanine, an amino acid required for providing the muscles with glucose.
L-aspartate is required for the urea cycle.
There is a whole plethora of other reactions and possible products. The take-home message was that proteins are more important
than one might believe. Most people are deficient in it, and some people simply overdo it.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'd be happy to help!