What is Protein Deficiency?
Protein deficiency occurs when your body does not get enough protein. Protein is essential for your muscles, for your skin, enzymes, for hormones. Apart from this, it is also very important for the tissues of the body.
Your body uses protein daily for various body activities. Protein is used in the development of the body and to keep every part balanced. Protein is needed for skin, hair, digestion, and immunity. Proteins convert from one form to another.
How much protein does the body need daily?
Protein requirement depends on your weight and your caloric intake, as 20 to 35 percent of your total calories should come from protein. If you consume 2,000 calories per day, 600 of those calories should come from protein.
Symptoms of Protein Deficiency:
Not taking enough protein reduces the build-up of fluid present in the joints, which reduces flexibility and increases the problem of muscle pain along with stiffness in the joints.
Lack of protein leads to low levels of sugar in the blood, which causes problems like tiredness along with feeling physical weakness. Apart from this, the reason for frequent hunger can also be a lack of protein.
Due to the lack of protein in the body, the number of white blood cells decreases, and hemoglobin can also decrease. Due to these reasons, your immunity also decreases.
Protein is also very important for your beauty. If protein is not taken in the right amount, then its effect is also negative on your hair and nails.
If you are falling sick frequently and going through the problem of physical pain, then the reason for this can also be a lack of protein, because this is also a major reason for the decrease in your immunity.
Functions of proteins in the body:
The main function of protein is to build the body. In terms of quantity, after water, the presence of protein is the highest in the body. Protein is present in all parts of the body like hair, nails, skin, glands, bones, muscles, etc. Proteins are especially essential during the growth stages, such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, etc., because new tissues are formed rapidly in these stages.
In addition to the formation of new tissues, protein is also necessary for the repair of wear and tear in the body.
There is another protein in the blood called fibrinogen which acts to block the blood flow that occurs during injury.
Formation of essential bodily compounds – i. Hormones such as insulin, epinephrine, and thyroxine are produced by proteins. ii. All enzymes are made of proteins. But co-enzymes are combined with vitamins. iii. Hemoglobin is a protein-based substance found in the blood. iv. Rhodopsin, a substance found in the eye that aids in vision, is made from a protein. v. The protein tryptophan acts like niacin. In the brain, it acts like a sirorim. Tyrosine acts like norepinephrine.
Control of water balance – Fluid levels on both sides of the body cells are fixed. This balance is maintained by blood proteins and electrolytes. The protein particles present in the blood cannot come out through the wall of blood vessels and exert osmotic pressure from there. Due to this the fluid again comes into the blood circulation by osmosis method and fluid starts collecting in the intercellular space due to which the tissue becomes spongy this condition is called edema and mainly occurs due to a deficiency of protein.
Proteins act as buffers that have the ability to cleave both acids and bases. It prevents the accumulation of excess acids and bases in the body.
Formation of immune cells – antibodies that protect the body from infectious diseases. Produces proteins by itself.
Transport of nutrients – Proteins help in the transport of nutritional elements in the blood of the intestinal tract and help in transporting them from the blood to different cells. There are different protein carriers for different elements whose surface attaches to the nutrients to reach the blood through the intestinal tract.