Medical Conditions Triggered by Amino Acid Deficiency

When protein is consumed and digested it is broken down into its fundamental building blocks called amino acids. These are small molecules and are effective in carrying out several vital functions in your tissues and cells. You must consider consuming a protein-rich diet for obtaining amino acids in adequate quantities in order to stay healthy. Lack of adequate and ongoing supply of amino acids could result in serious disorders.

Role of Amino Acids

When a protein is broken down by your body into amino acids, these molecules would be moving into your blood and traveling to all the cells in your body. Cells are known to use amino acids for building new proteins that are required by your body. These proteins would be including hormone receptors, enzymes, and transport proteins which transport nutrient into cells, components of DNA, and many such functional compounds. There are twenty types of amino acids. If you are fit and healthy, your body would be manufacturing 11 types of amino acids. The remaining 9 amino acids known as essential could be actually obtained from food.

Protein-Energy Under-Nutrition

The protein-energy under-nutrition actually is a kind of malnutrition that features lack of dietary proteins over an extended period of time that would be leading to a shortfall in amino acids. Protein-energy under-nutrition is known to occur rarely in adults but it might take place in the event of a rigorous weight-loss program which would be lacking sufficient protein. You could find a protein for research use only that gives you an opportunity to learn about the various symptoms of a lack of adequate protein supply.

Kwashiorkor

Protein deficiency could lead to a medical condition referred to as kwashiorkor that is related to sudden malnutrition, for instance when a mother is compelled to wean a child to start feeding another. In the poverty-stricken regions of the developed countries and also in the less developed countries, it is often noticed that the weaned child would be receiving an insufficient diet than when the kid was relying on the mother’s nutrient-dense breast milk. So the child would have to deal with protein deficiency. The sudden disruption in the fluid supply, therefore, inconsistent fluid balance, plus the patient is susceptible to infestations and infections and bacterial growth because of inadequate protein supply, all this leads to a swollen belly. The liver is sometimes affected due to insufficient proteins for carrying the lipids away from the liver and for synthesizing the enzymes required for liver detoxification.

Marasmus

Protein scarcity that extends over a long time could lead to a serious clinical condition called Marasmus. This is pretty common and prevalent in infants and the occurrence of this sort of illness is an indicator that the kid is gradually starving to death. The distinctive characteristics of a child suffering from Marasmus are that he would be having insignificant flesh covering his body. He would be having spindly legs and arms. Because of an inadequate supply of proteins, the muscles gradually waste away. Muscle wasting would be including heart muscle leading to weakness and in some cases, death eventually.

Stunted Growth

If you do not address the protein deficiency issue, your child would fail to develop and grow properly. The stunted growth is because of insufficient supply of fundamental materials required for growth. There is an even lack of hormones and enzymes that are required for numerous body processes. Protein deficiency could be self-perpetuating and with time your body would not be able to absorb and digest whatever proteins are available.

Conclusion

Timely intervention is essential to take care of protein deficiency. The clinical issues could be resolved if the problems are efficiently addressed promptly before things get out of control. In serious cases, it would be requiring very careful and gradual protein introduction into the patient’s diet. You must include proteins in very small quantities at first, and go on increasing slowly until the body has recovered enough to tackle larger servings.