ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Protein sparing

Hey there kiddo! Do you know that our body needs a lot of different things to work properly? One of those things is called "protein". Protein helps us grow big and strong, and it also helps our body repair itself when we get sick or hurt.

Now, sometimes our body doesn't have enough protein to do all the things it needs to do. That's where "protein sparing" comes in. Protein sparing means that our body is able to use other things instead of protein to keep our body working like it should.

For example, if we don't have enough protein to build new cells, our body can use fat or carbohydrates instead. That way, we don't use up all our protein and we can save it for the things that only protein can do.

Protein sparing is a really important thing for our body to be able to do, because it helps us stay healthy even when we don't have a lot of protein to eat. So remember, eat your protein so your body can use it for all the amazing things it does!