What are proteins?

Proteins ("pro-teens") are essential to life and are found in all living things. Proteins are contained in every part of your body: skin, muscles, hair, blood, body organs, eyes, fingernails, and bones. Next to water, protein is the most plentiful substance in your body.

Protein is primarily used to build, maintain and repair body tissues, but there are thousands of different proteins that carry out a variety of jobs in your body. The structure of a protein determines its function.

Loose strings of amino acid are the "building blocks" of proteins. These strings then fold and curl into complex three-dimensional shapes that allow the protein to do its job. Two common shapes are an alpha helix (looks like a spiral staircase) and a beta sheet (a flattened out shape).

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