NUTRITION BASICS PART 2

Today's topic is what is protein, fats and carbohydrates. I know this seems like basic stuff, but we are becoming so much of a malnourished country, I think the basics may be a good place to start.
Protein replaces a large variety of tissue in the body. The building blocks of protein are amino acids(AA). To date, their are 22 AA. Eight are considered essential amino acids (EAA). EAA are amino acids that can not be produced in the human body. They include tryptophan, lysine, methionine, phenyalanine, threonine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine. In children, histidine and arginine are also considered EAA. The different combinations of AA are how proteins are made. Their are literally thousands of different types of proteins. If you don't eat them the body has to break down other parts of the body to make them. It is sort of like stealing from someone to pay someone else. The result is malnutrition and disease.
Carbohydrates are the energy that runs the body, and the production of fats. Examples include sugars, starches, and cellulose. There are three types of carbohydrates. They include monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. I won't go into detail on these, except certain aspects as related to athletic development.
Fats are lipids that come in three types. These include polyunsaturated, monunsaturated, and saturated. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature. That is the type of fat that needs to be limited in one's diet. Overall, fats are for energy stores, source of tissues in the body, protects the organs, provides insulation, and transports the fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,and K. As in proteins there are essential fatty acids (EFA). There are two EFA, linolenic acid, and linoleic acid.
I know, I hope I haven't lost to many people. I am only giving an overview and will review things more in detail when necessary.
The calories in a gram of each of these very important areas of our existence are:
1)Protein 4 calories
2)Carbohydrates 4 calories
3)Fat 9 calories
When initially writing out a diet, I recommend people getting a simple book to look things up. Especially when they eat out at fast food restaurants. The book I use, but there are others, is "The Doctor's Pocket Calorie Fat and Carbohydrate Counter". There is a large section on over 100 different chain restaurants. Each of these probably has their own websites. I will be discussing this, and examples in next Friday's Nutrition Basics article.