Proteins are a vital part of every body cell. Muscle, bone connective tissue, teeth, skin, blood, and vital organs all contain protein. The term protein comes from the Greek proteins, meaning"of prime importance The name fits because without protein, life could not exist.
Proteins actually are made of chains of building blocks called amino acids. Just as letters of the alphabet are arranged to make different words, amino acids are arranged in countless ways to make different body proteins.
Your body can make all but 9 of the 20 different amino acids. These 9 are called essential amino acids, because they must come from food you eat. The rest your body can make if you eat enough protein-rich foods.