Proteins are made up of amino acids that join together to form long chains you can think of a protein as a string of beads in which each bead is an amino acid there are 20 amino acids that help. Proteins are large complex molecules that play many critical roles in the body they do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure function and regulation of the bodys tissues and organs proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids which are attached to one another in long chains. The amino acids that make up various proteins are therefore critical for the structure and regulation of cells and without adequate protein from our diet the body simply will not function protein can also help to reduce body fat levels due to the enhanced feeling of satiety and increase in fat utilisation that typically occurs. Proteins are very important biological molecules in cells by weight proteins are collectively the major component of the dry weight of cells they can be used for a variety of functions from cellular support to cell signaling and cellular locomotion examples of proteins include antibodies enzymes and some types of hormones insulin