Proteins - Who? How? What? Why?

Who are these proteins anyway?​

A protein is a biological macromolecule composed of amino acids through peptide bonds.
Proteins are found in every cell and usually make up more than half of the dry weight. They serve as molecular "tools" and, depending on their particular structure, perform different tasks, such as enabling cell movements, transporting metabolites, pumping ions, catalysing chemical reactions or recognising signalling substances. Muscles, heart, brain, skin and hair are also predominantly composed of proteins.
Proteins perform numerous different tasks in the human body and are important for all organ functions, in particular for healing wounds and diseases. In order to build, maintain and renew body cells, people need a diet that contains protein. In relation to body weight (KG), the need is highest in the growth phases at the beginning of life.
The protein ingested with food is digested in the stomach and intestines, broken down into smaller components and broken down into building blocks. Cells of the intestinal mucosa absorb these and release the individual amino acids into the (portal) bloodstream, which leads to the liver. The human organism cannot produce some of the amino acids itself, but needs them as a building block of its own proteins. Protein supplied with food must therefore be sufficient to cover the demand for each of these indispensable (essential) amino acids. (see Wikipedia: Proteins)

How & when is it best to take proteins?

Protein is best supplied via a balanced diet. Protein shakes & powders are a simple way to quickly meet your protein needs, but are not essential. Those who eat high-quality animal protein will be able to cover their daily requirements relatively easily. Who eats vegan is not completely lost, but should inform itself already a little bit more exactly (Small tip: Vegan cliché Ade! by Niko Rittenau)

"When is the best time to feed your body with proteins" is a very controversial topic.
I've just read some reports and many talk about different studies that say something different.
That's why I'll make it short:
We are a nutrition blog that should make it as easy as possible for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So we are not specialized in high performance sports or body building. There will be one or the other muscle building crösus that can make you an optimal plan and preach you the anabolic time window down and up. To be honest: I can well imagine that with the right implementation it will work.
We are of the opinion that everyone has to decide for himself, but in principle it doesn't depend on when he feeds his body with proteins, but that he feeds his body with sufficient proteins, preferably scheduled throughout the day. Protein fills the stomach, helps to regenerate our body and helps to build muscle. The amount depends entirely on what you want to achieve and what your physical starting point is. It is best to pay attention to your body, because nobody else can learn to understand your body as well as you do. If you have digestive problems, however, you should be careful not to eat foods with a very high protein content until the end of the meal, because our body digests fruit & vegetables (water-containing foods) faster than protein-containing foods that contain less water,

How much do you really need?

The following table shows the daily protein requirement recommended by the German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e. V.). According to the DGE, the need for protein does not increase during physical activity.
The values are related to the normal weight, not the actual body weight. Overweight people do not need more protein than people of normal weight.

Quelle: https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/referenzwerte/protein/

However, there are also other studies which want to prove that the daily protein requirement for us humans is higher than the value recommended by the DGE. They speak of a daily protein requirement for average adults of (0.91-1.2), i.e. significantly higher.

A reader asked the following question:
"Does one really need 90 g protein, as it is often recommended by athletes?
Take a 1.70 m tall woman with a normal weight of 62 kg. According to DGE she would need about 50 g protein per day. If we take the higher recommended value then we come to 74.4 g protein per day. If we were to adjust this to a 1.85 m tall man with a normal weight of 80 kg, we would reach 64 g according to DGE and with the higher recommended value even 96 g protein.

The statement is wrong insofar that everyone has an individual protein requirement. Women and smaller people usually need less protein than men, because they need less for their healthy body function. Whether the protein requirement does not increase during sporting activities is not confirmed by the DGE, but as can often be seen with body builders, an increased protein intake is helpful to build up muscles faster.

However, protein deficiency is very rare in industrialised countries and only occurs in extremely low-protein diets. The average German mixed diet contains 100 grams of protein per day, more than enough protein. Although in advertising protein powder is recommended as recommended for amateur athletes, "our usual diet [...] also covers the protein needs of athletes", as a report by the Ministry of Nutrition and Rural Areas of Baden-Württemberg states.

What contains high-quality proteins?

High protein foods (in alphabetical order):

• eggs
• fish
• meat
• pulses (soya and lupins approx. 40 %, beans and peas approx. 20 %) and other plant seeds such as rapeseed (approx. 40 %)
• Dairy products (cheese and curd) --> if you eat cow's milk products, please pay attention to quality and origin; at best Demeter-certified or from a farmer you can trust.
• nuts

Notable vegan sources:

• Black Bean Pasta (44/100 g)
• the quinoa plant, which contains all 9 essential amino acids in addition to its high protein content (about 14 g per 100 g - uncooked).
• Pumpkin seeds (35/100 g), cannabis seeds (30/100 g), peanuts (25/100 g), linseed (24/110 g), sunflower seeds (22/100 g), cashew seeds (20/100 g), almonds (19/100 g)
• Soya beans (15/100 g), solid tofu (13/100 g), Tempeh (14/100 g)
• Oat flakes (13/100 g), Red lentil pasta (11/100 g), Lentils (10/100 g)

--> some of the values are taken from the table on p. 32 of the book "Vegan-Klischee Ade" by Niko Rittenau

Insects as food:

The question is: "Do we really want this?" So I'm assuming that the majority of the German population has a hard time thinking about eating insects, BUT that's probably because our brains are playing a trick on us. If you've ever eaten insects, you know that it's not as bad as you thought.
To be honest, we both couldn't dare approach the big grasshoppers, but pulverized in a Superfood bar, you couldn't even taste it.
The advantage of proteins from insects is that you can produce a lot of protein in a simple way and thus better cover the protein needs of the constantly growing world population.

Value of proteins

The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) is accepted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/WHO) and the US Food and Drug Administration as "the best method" for determining protein quality. (see: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43411/WHO_TRS_935_eng.pdf) In addition, there is the concept of biological value. It serves as a measure of the efficiency with which dietary proteins can be converted into the body's own proteins. The more similar the dietary proteins are to the body proteins in their amino acid composition, the fewer dietary proteins are required for their composition. The content of essential amino acids is of particular importance here. The reference value is whole egg, whose biological value was defined as 100 or 1 (100 %), since it was the protein source with the highest known biological value at the time the definition was made. The amino acid index indicates the ratio of dietary protein, which is characterized by its biological value, to body protein.

Our conclusion

If you don't want to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, you don't have to consume protein shakes to stay healthy. On the contrary, the daily protein requirement can be met relatively easily with a wholefood diet. Vegans should be particularly careful to eat protein-rich plant foods. For this purpose, pulses in the form of beans, lentils and lupines are particularly recommended, as they have a relatively high protein content and less fat than, for example, pumpkin seeds, which have a very high protein content. Pulses are also very satiating and can be processed wonderfully to salads, stews, planters, sauces, spreads and much more.
We personally like to grab a sheep curd or eggs from the neighbor's chickens. Curd, eggs & Co. are said to have a good protein value, but of course you should also pay attention to the other nutrients of the food. These are only given with really good quality, i.e. at best from the farmer of confidence, or Demeter, Naturland and Bioland certified food.