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excess, the cholesterol level increased. This may plete” proteins, such as in tofu made from soy- Whenever an
also happen in people eating unbalanced amino beans, do not have large enough amounts of all
acid diets, although to verify such a study today the essential amino acids. essential
is not possible in the human population. It has The amino acid profiles of a variety of amino acid
been assumed that Americans consume more complete and incomplete proteins are shown in was
than an adequate amounts of protein, although Figures 3 to 16. The white bars on each of the
we do not know whether this happens every day figures indicate the food source that contains the missing or
and in the right amounts. An adequate amount greatest amount of the nine essential amino acids even a

of essential amino acids must be supplied every in grams out of one hundred grams. In looking non-essential
day of the week for optimum nutrition. at the figures, keep in mind that the longer the
For the body to function properly we also bar, the higher the amount of that amino acid. amino acid
need to take in considerably more protein than A protein source that contains two grams of an was fed in
the amount we use. The rate of protein use or essential amino acid is more nutritious than one excess, the
destruction in the body is about 0.33 grams of that contains one gram of an essential amino
protein for each kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body acid. These graphs were constructed from the cholesterol
weight per day. The RDA amounts in Table 1 percentage of essential amino acids in food items level
4
refer to the protein itself, not the food it is found listed by the USDA nutrient Data laboratory. 1 increased.
in—the actual weight of the protein-containing each of the essential amino acids is numbered
food needs to be much higher since foods con- in the figures for easy reference.
taining protein also contain other nutrients. We’ve discussed how mother’s milk is
nature’s most perfect food, and Figure 5 shows
UneqUAl PRoTeIn SoURceS the egg to be in second place because its amino
The goal in any diet is to consume an ad- acid content mimics the levels in mother’s milk.
equate amount of each essential amino acid to Moreover, the egg is also inexpensive and read-
satisfy the recommended daily requirement. ily available. If you doubled the portion to two
3
However, just because various foods contain whole eggs, these would contain even more
protein does not mean that those proteins are essential amino acids than one quart of human
equal in nutritional value. Different proteins milk, although our data here is based only on a
contain differing amounts of essential amino one-egg comparison.
acids, and some, when eaten in a regular serv- Figure 6 compares some common sources of
ing, do not contain enough to satisfy the body’s animal proteins along with a common vegetar-
requirements. Some sources, such as meat and ian source, tofu. As you can see, pork provides
eggs, are called “complete” proteins since they the highest levels of amino acids of all of these
contain all nine essential amino acids. “Incom- sources, and tofu, the least. It is a myth that eat-

FIGURE 5: Essential amino acids in human milk FIGURE 6: Comparison of the essential amino acids of pork, beef,
compared to one egg. 1 chicken, salmon and tofu. 1

g/946 g human milk g/50 g eggs Tofu Salmon Chicken Beef Pork
g/946 g human milk 4 kg infant requirement g/kg/day

g/946 kg human milk g/50 g eggs

1. Histidine; 2. Isoleucine; 3. Leucine; 4. Lysine; 5. Methionine g Cystine; 6. Phenylalanine g Tyrosine; 7. Threonine; 8. Tryptophan; 9. Valine g/100g
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