Protein is one of the three macronutrient compounds--the other two are carbohydrate and fat--which are molecules that you need in large quantities each day to help provide your cells with energy and the building blocks to make other molecules. Protein serves many purposes in the body, including allowing for muscle growth.
Proteins
Proteins are large molecules made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. When you consume proteins, you break them down using digestive enzymes into their constituent amino acids, which you absorb into the bloodstream. Your cells take them up from there, and use them for a variety of purposes, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Biochemistry." Uses of amino acids include making your own cellular proteins, providing cells with energy and synthesis of neurotransmitters and other small molecules.
Muscle Growth
Protein is a major structural and functional part of every cell in your body, but muscle cells in particular are very rich in protein. Muscle cells contain long chains of proteins that interact with one another to produce contractions. These chains, called myosin and actin, slide past one another during a contraction, shortening the muscle cell, explains Dr. Gary Thibodeau in his book "Anatomy and Physiology." To build additional muscle, you need enough protein to generate more myosin and actin.
ATP
Another critical aspect of the chemistry of muscle proteins and muscle growth is ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. This is an energy-providing molecule--a sort of "chemical currency"--that cells break down to provide them with energy. The reason it takes energy to contract a muscle is that the process of sliding myosin and actin past one another--literally, the process of muscle shortening--burns large quantities of ATP. You generate ATP when you break down macronutrient compounds.
Growing Muscles
To grow muscles, you need several things. Of course, you need plenty of protein in your diet, which provides the amino acid building blocks you use to make myosin, actin and other muscle cell proteins. You also need to stress your muscles, which stimulates them to build additional fibers. Without stress, even consuming large amounts of protein won't cause your muscles to grow. Finally, you need enough energy in the form of macronutrients so that you can build additional muscle--protein production is an energy-intense process.
References
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D.; 2004
- "Anatomy and Physiology"; Gary Thibodeau, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
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