Complete
Protein
A complete protein is a food protein containing all of
the essential amino acids in the right balance to meet
human needs.
How do you know which food proteins are complete and
which are incomplete?
In order to determine if a food protein is complete
or incomplete, protein quality must be evaluated by:
- determine the amino acid content of the food protein.
- calculate the food protein's digestibility-what
proportion of the protein consumed is digested, keeping
in mind that only the protein that is digested is
of benefit.
- compare the food protein's amino acid content, corrected
for the digestibility of individual amino acids, with
the reference amino acid requirement pattern for the
population age group (preschool age children, school-age
children, young adults, elderly).
The amino acid content used as the standard should
reflect the amounts of the various indispensable amino
acids needed to carry out the tasks of growth, repair,
and maintenance of living tissues in humans. The FAO/WHO
Expert Consultation, for example, uses the amino acid
requirements of a 2- to 5-year old child as the standard.
This age group has the most demanding amino acid requirements
of any group except infants.
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