As HIITer’s we’ve been taught that we need to consume large quantities of protein to build muscle.

Some people even advising that you should consume upwards of 1g per pounds of bodyweight.

Of course we here at HIIT HART don’t subscribe to that belief.

You can hear our protein intake recommendations here.

However, we do acknowledge that we do need to consume protein as it’s an essential macronutrient.

But is that the only reason and role it plays in the human body?

Why is protein important?

Protein is an essential macronutrient

It’s easy to think of protein as a simple macronutrient, but the reality is that it’s comprised of 20 amino acids.

Some of which are essential, meaning that you have to get them through consuming food, and some are non essential, meaning that your body naturally produces them.

Essential Amino Acids	Non-essential Amino Acids
BCAA’s (Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine)	Alanine
Histidine	Arginine
Lysine	Asparagine
Methionine	Aspartate
Phenylalanine	Cysteine
Threonine	Glutamate
Tryptophan	Glutamine
	Glycine
	Proline
	Serine
	Tyrosine

It helps repair muscle tissue

This is, in fact, the primary of protein.

To help repair damaged muscle tissue; indifferent of whether the damage is intentional like the muscle tears you create from working out, or unintentional like you cut yourself n the kitchen.

It helps with digestion

With regard to digestion theres two types: chemical (e.g. stomach acids, saliva, etc.) and mechanical digestion (e.g. chewing, stomach contraction, etc).

And it plays a major role in chemical digestion.

But how you ask?

In a nutshell the human body uses amino acids you just ate to make new amino acids in a process called protein turn over.

We won’t go too in depth here but know that some of the amino acids you eat each day get used to make food digesting enzymes and other necessary bodily chemicals.

It helps reduce hunger levels

Of the three macronutrients, fat has the slowest digestion rate, followed by protein and, lastly, carbohydrates.

These rates of digestion are important with regard to hunger as the longer it takes for a meal to break down, the longer it’ll take for you to feel hungry again.

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