Natural foods were used and energy content was calculated by proximate composition and Atwater factors. Results and Discussion Table 3 shows the nitrogen intake, urinary and faecal nitrogen losses and nitrogen balances on four different levels of protein intake. The mean nitrogen balance values were negative in both periods. Decreases in body weight and serum total protein and albumin levels were also observed. Regressions of nitrogen output on nitrogen intake are shown in table 4.
Vegetable protein constitutes the main source of protein in the Turkish national diet.
This may explain why the figure obtained in our study for minimal protein requirement is higher than the values obtained in other studies in which subjects were fed protein of mostly animal origin. The objective of this study was to examine the nitrogen balance response of adult rural workers fed different levels of protein derived from traditional diets of rice and beans. Experimental Details Subjects and Methods Nine migrant male workers, aged 18 to 28, without disease, were the subjects of this study. Their physical and biochemical characteristics are shown in tables 1 and 2. They were all admitted to our metabolic unit at the university hospital, where they stayed for three periods of eleven days each.