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Lecture Notes

The first macronutrient that we'll talk about are proteins. And the major function of proteins in our body are growth and maintenance of tissues. And so oftentimes people think only of muscle growth when they think of protein, but the reality is the role of proteins in our body goes well beyond building muscle. So, for example, proteins are integral in building hemoglobin and antibodies in your body.

There are four calories per gram of protein, four units of energy. Remember that that calorie is simply a unit of energy, and proteins are made up of amino acids. And although there are over 20 amino acids that are important for our bodies, only nine of those are essential, meaning that they must be obtained from food because they can't be made in the body.