Proteins: what they are and where they go

Proteins are large molecules made up of a greater or lesser number of amino acids. These proteins enter the interior of our pet with the food and once inside and after the digestion processes, they break down and release the amino acids.

Amino acids, which are those smallest fractions of proteins, cross the intestinal walls and reach the bloodstream, which is the great highway of the body through which the necessary nutrients are transported.

The amino acids will reach all parts of the organism via the bloodstream and depending on how the cellular “pantries” are located or the different needs (disease, pregnancy, exercise …), the amino acids will be “deposited at the doors” of different types. of cells in different organs or structures.

The amino acids are 25 but we must know that only 12 are considered essential in the diet. We must also know the risks of excesses and defects of protein in the body of our best friend.

• Defects: less resistance to diseases, less growth in puppies … In general, if enough protein is not provided to the animal, it does not have the capacity to correctly maintain vital functions and therefore it will lack a minimum and adequate state sanitary.
• Excesses: both the dog and the cat, being carnivores, support protein excesses better than defects, but if excesses are maintained for a long time, they can be the origin of kidney problems of varying severity. What we can confirm is that animals that consume excessive amounts of protein in their diet consume more water and urinate more and more frequently.

Finally, comment that not only the amount of protein in the diet is important, the quality of the protein is a fundamental point of our friend’s nutrition. Therefore we must:

• Choose a quality food since it is usually indicative of containing good raw materials.
• Choose a quality food because this is usually an indication that a good system is used in the manufacture that does not alter the quality of the nutrients.
• Assess the components that make up the food and their biological value. What is the biological value? Well, we can say that it is the data that measures the quality of proteins and that we can define as the part of the proteins that are digested and retained (used) by the body.

The biological value depends mainly on the essential amino acids that are present in the protein of the food.