matières plastiques

17:04 Jan 2, 2021 

discussion entry on Dec. 31, 2020.

11:38 Jan 2, 2021 

Hello Laura,
Nice to read your comments.
Happy New Year to you!

11:37 Jan 2, 2021 

@ Daryo
Happy New Year! Life is too short:)

02:29 Jan 2, 2021 

What are you talking about???
Liz's suggestion is "building blocks" and is therefore clearly not limited to proteins.
Her references too speak of "Proteins. Carbohydrates. Vitamins. &. Minerals. Water. Fats" and not just proteins

21:31 Jan 1, 2021 

you are confusing a sub-class with the whole class.

This text does mention proteins as (an example of) "matières plastiques = materials used to build the body of various animals" but that doesn't mean that animal bodies are made ONLY of proteins, that all and any "matières plastiques" are proteins.

Just two examples to illustrate this: body fat is definitely NOT any kind of protein, and bone contains bound minerals (about 70%). So there you have two materials that are "bâtisseurs ou plastiques" but are not proteins. CQFD.

Ah well - instead of scraping what I remember of anatomy and physiology, there is your own reference saying in effect the the same:

Les substances plastiques sont:
- les protes,
- les glucides,
- les lipides,
- les minux,
- les vitamines,

15:07 Jan 1, 2021 

True, "nos lecteurs" here is "our readers." The tone of the article is somewhat conversational.

12:50 Jan 1, 2021 

Complete Proteins: 10 Sources for Vegans and Vegetariansgreatist.com › health › complete-vegetarian-proteins
The term “complete protein” refers to amino acids, the building blocks of protein. ... by fermenting the beans, but tofu is probably the best-known soy product. ... are combined with grains like wheat, rice, and corn, a complete protein is born.

12:46 Jan 1, 2021 

Les principes alimentaires (les nutriments)technologiepatisserie.blogspot.com › ...
Translate this page
Glucides ou sucres (nutriments énergétiques); Lipides ou matière grasses (nutriments énergétiques); Protides ou protéines (nutriments bâtisseurs ou plastiques) ...

12:42 Jan 1, 2021 

The text says

Ce sont les protides ou protéines ou corps azotés.

23:47 Dec 31, 2020 

a big fat red herring.

You have to go "back to basics".

The key characteristic of something that is "plastic" is that it can be made easily into any shape.

Some common synonyms of plastic are adaptable, ductile, malleable, pliable, and pliant.

The reason why first polymers got named "plastic" was that they could be made in any shape imaginable - far more easier than wood or metal.

The word "plastic" existed ways before first man made polymers.

As in "arts plastiques" / "plastic arts".

So "les matières plastiques" in a living organism are materials/ matter used to give a form / a shape to the body of this organism (as opposed to matter used to produce energy to move the body)

Literally it would be "matter than can be used to create (/ be put in) various shapes".

But "building blocks" makes no sense, unless you want to call individual molecules "building blocks".

More something along the lines of "matières plastiques"="body building matter / materials" - i.e. most literally used to "build the body" of a living organism (not like the "body building" in a gym, obviously ...)

As for "nos lecteurs" it's simply "our readers / our audience".

15:26 Dec 31, 2020 

Just read Liz's references. They looks good. I've found some more references on nutrition that back this up and equates "plastique" with "bâtisseur" and "constructeur" when talking about the roles of different food groups.
https://sa.maxime-cruzel.fr/sa_mc_bp_bl/co/besoins_nutrition...
https://www.slideshare.net/carlosalbertosolisherrera/les-gro...

13:29 Dec 31, 2020 

I'm uncertain of how the term "lecteurs" is being used here.
As for "plastic" and so on, note that the source term is "matières" and not "matériaux" so the intention may be closer to "matter".

Otherwise, going back to my biology studies, then maybe Althea has a good take on this one.

10:35 Dec 31, 2020 

Monomers are smaller chemical building blocks that, when 'joined together', form polymers. For example, ethylene is the monomer that forms the plastic, polyethylene (polythene). Most plastics contain organic polymers. Amino acids are the monomers that make up the polymers that are called proteins. Similarly, nucleic acids (which make RNA and DNA) are polymers of nucleotides. My suspicions would be that 'matières plastiques' relates to these polymers but I don't know why you wouldn't use 'polymères'.

10:21 Dec 31, 2020 

... just not totally sure how scientific it is; although it is describing what the animal kingdom uses to "build and repair" our tissues, so why not?

09:52 Dec 31, 2020 

I like the sound of building blocks

08:47 Dec 31, 2020 

I imagine this is relates to the word plasticity (malleability) rather than anything synthetic or man-made, which I don’t believe is the original meaning of the word. The text goes on to define these particular plastic materials. But I’m not a scientist and don’t know how to express this without confusing it with the plastic matter that is currently destroying our environment!

07:29 Dec 31, 2020 

Could it be metaphorical, something like "cement" or "building blocks"?