How Protein Helps With Muscle Contractions

About 12 percent of your entire body mass is protein. All types of protein are made from amino acids. Some of these are essential, meaning they cannot be made by the body and therefore must be eaten. Others are produced in the body, so they are still very important; just not essential. Without protein, many body functions would not occur, such as muscle contractions.

Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscle is striated and is found in our biceps or triceps as opposed to cardiac muscle, which is found in the heart or smooth muscle in the gallbladder. Skeletal muscle is created from a grouping of muscle fibers. Each fiber is made up of smaller entities or sarcomeres. These form a linear grouping. Like grains in wood, the sarcomeres line up in the same direction to pull a muscle in a specific fashion. Proteins, specifically actin and myosin, work together to interact with the sarcomeres and contract a muscle.

Proteins and Muscle Contraction

Muscle cells, in particular, are loaded with protein; in fact about 20% of their total weight comes from it. In particular, myosin, actin, troponin and tropomyosin are the major proteins. For a muscle to contract or shorten, two important structural proteins work together. Actin and myosin filaments, which are structural proteins, move past each other to make a specific muscle contract. Troponin and tropomyosin regulate how much muscles contract.

Muscle Protein

The protein in your connective tissue is not the same as the protein in your muscles. Muscle protein is not fixed and can be recruited and metabolized for energy, if needed. That is why not eating enough carbohydrates can cause the body to use protein for energy. After some time, this can result in a loss of protein and therefore muscle wasting.

Eating Protein for Muscle Building

There are situations in which eating extra protein can be beneficial. For example, those who regularly engage in weight-lifting need slightly more protein than the average person. The American Dietetic Association recommends .63 to .77 g of it per pound of body weight. According to Dr. Mirkin.com, adding more protein to your diet on the day of a particularly hard workout will cause less muscle damage and more muscle building. Keep in mind that extra protein does not mean a high-protein diet, which can lead to health consequences. Lean meats, low-fat dairy, eggs and beans and rice are good sources of protein.