All living things contain proteins.  Proteins are long molecules made of
amino acids, the way a lego pirate ship is made out of lego building
blocks.  The amino acids are the blocks.  Amino acids come in different
types, some of which we can manufacture in our bodies (the non-essential
ones) from other amino acids and some of which we can't (the essential
ones).

Not all proteins have every type of building block, which is how you get the
so-called "incomplete" proteins - they are missing some of the essential
amino acids, so you can't get all the building blocks you need by ingesting
those proteins.

Some foods have proportionately more protein (and therefore more amino
acids) than others.  Beans are mostly carbohydrate.  Meat is mostly protein
and fat.  When people say beans aren't protein they either mean that you
don't get very much protein from eating them or that bean proteins are
incomplete - you couldn't live on beans alone, because not only would you
get a relatively small amount of protein altogether, but you wouldn't get
all the essential amino acids you need to live.  In theory you could get all
the essential amino acids you need from beans and rice together, but that
combination still doesn't provide very much protein, so I wouldn't recommend
it.


On 1/18/08, william <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I get the impression that there is confusion between amino acids and
> proteins, probably caused by a vegetarian agenda.
>
>
> William
>
>
>
> Todd Moody wrote:
> > william wrote:
> >> I spent some time trying to convince someone (probably vegetarian)
> >> that there are NO proteins in zuccini, beans etc., that they are in
> >> fact rich in amino acids which are components of proteins.
> >>
> >> Was I wrong? Do beans really have muscles?
> >
> > I guess this was answered, but I'm catching up.
> >
> > All living things are made of proteins, as well as other substances.
> > Even one-celled organisms are made of proteins.  We don't know what we
> > might find elsewhere, but on this planet, no protein means no life.
> >
> > Todd Moody
> >
> >
>
>


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