Joe Kozma

Protein Builds Muscle and Burns Fat



Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2009

by Joe Kozma
Personal Trainer Fort Lauderdale

Everyone knows (or should know) that muscles are made out of protein. In order to build muscle and fuel the metabolism it is necessary to consume protein. Protein is easliy found in meat, fowl and fish for example as well as dairy products like cottage cheese and milk or in supplements like protein powders.

To appreciate the importance of proteins in your body, you have to understand that your body cells are constantly being replaced by new ones. The tissue, which is made of protein, is constantly being turned over as old cells die and new ones are synthesized as first to replace them. Rheo Blair states, "your body is a house which is being rebuilt brick by brick every year. If you keep the same blueprint then it will still look like the same building. But it won't be the same in actuality. The human body is in a constant state of flux, it loks the same from day to day, but through multiple biological processes, it is always rebuilding itself."

Science has proven that 99% of the atoms in your body are replaced within one year. Every cell in your body is always being recycled. New cells are formed of protein. It is the building blocks of your body. From the skin to hair to bones to hormones and antibodies protein is crucial in their development. Save for water, protein is the most abundant substance in your body. Like other nutrients, proteins are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. But unlike other nutrients, proteins are the only nutrients that bring nitrogen into the body. Thus by measuring the amount of nitrogen in ones excreta, compared to the amount taken in, one can estimate the amount of protein used for muscle growth. If the difference is positive, then muscle is being made. But if the difference is negative, there is a negative nitrogen balance, and the body literally begins feed on its own muscle to produce energy. Proteins are broken down by digestive acids like protease to smaller units called peptides. This occurs in the stomach where there are acidic conditions necessary for the digestion of proteins. The peptides are in turn are digested by peptidase, found in the duodenum, into amino acids. These are what the body actually absorbs and utilizes to form body tissue, including muscle.

There are 20 amino acids that are required for the normal growth of the body. Eleven of these are naturally made in the body and thus are called non-essential amino acids. The other nine have to be ingested into the body as it cannot synthesize them and are thus called essential amino acids. Foods containing both types of amino acids in the exact amounts as they are needed by the body are called complete proteins. Only when all the essential amino acids are available can the body grow muscles. Otherwise it starts breaking down body tissue to suffice the amount of essential amino acids for growth and repair purposes. Thus lack of these amino acids actually leads to muscle loss.

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Fort Lauderdale Personal Trainer Joe Kozma is a former national bodybuilding champion and college football player. Joe is a master trainer who has been training people for over twenty years. Joe's fitness and weight loss service provides extreme body makeovers, strength gain, and more. See his clients at his Fort Lauderdale Fitness website.
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