Macronutrient Intake: Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat
In the last blog we spoke about how calorie intake and energy balance can affect weight gain or weight loss. The next important stage of evaluating your nutrition is checking your macronutrient intake. Macronutrients are the groups that food is divided into based on their chemical structure. They are divided into protein, fat, carbohydrates. I have also added in fibre and water into this section as I feel they are just as important in the context of an all-round diet.
The problem people have nowadays is that the media has vilified each of the macronutrients and led you to believe that they are all bad.
"Fat increases chance of heart disease."
"High protein intake can damage your kidneys and liver."
"Sugar is addictive and causes you to gain weight."
Everybody has heard at least one of these in the past. The thing is they simple aren't true. While they originate from some scientific research, they are a prime example of the research being extrapolated incorrectly and a false conclusion being drawn. Each one of them has a place in your diet and I'm about to explain why. None of the macronutrients inherently cause you to gain weight, hence why we spoke about calorie balance first.
The problem people have nowadays is that the media has vilified each of the macronutrients and led you to believe that they are all bad.
"Fat increases chance of heart disease."
"High protein intake can damage your kidneys and liver."
"Sugar is addictive and causes you to gain weight."
Everybody has heard at least one of these in the past. The thing is they simple aren't true. While they originate from some scientific research, they are a prime example of the research being extrapolated incorrectly and a false conclusion being drawn. Each one of them has a place in your diet and I'm about to explain why. None of the macronutrients inherently cause you to gain weight, hence why we spoke about calorie balance first.
Arguably the most important macronutrient due to it's wide variety of functions.
Protein is made up of a combination of amino acids (AA). These AA combine in different ways to produce different types of proteins which also have different effects within the human system. Some of them are used for transport (haemoglobin for transporting oxygen), immune responses and sending messages between cells. There are 20 different AA, at this juncture it is irrelevant to name them all. However it is important to know that some of these are essential and some of them are not. By essential it means that we need to take these in through our diet. 9 of the 20 amino acids are essential, the other 11 are non-essential as these can be synthesised through other chemical compounds.
If you consider that every cell in your body, from your skin, to your muscles to your toe nails consists of protein, I shouldn't need to say much more than that. Amino acids are the building blocks of everything. Protein has received a bad reputation over the last couple of years with people attributing it to a rise in kidney problems, or consuming excess protein will lead to the accumulation of excess body fat, both of which are simply untrue (1, 2). The RDA is way below what people should be consuming, even if you never engaged in competitive sport. The benefits of consuming a higher protein include:
Another benefit of a higher protein diet is that it can be useful for people who tend to binge eat. A diet higher in protein tends to lead to people eating lower portions of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates tends to be hyper-palatable, leading to people over-eating or binging. Tell me, when was the last time you saw someone over-eat on chicken breast or steak.
Protein has received a bad reputation but has been shown consistently safe to consume in large amounts (>2g/kg of bodyweight). So we need to make sure we are getting enough protein in our diet to cover ourselves so our body has a steady supply of AA to continue to keep us running smoothly. We also need enough protein in our diet to stimulate the process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This is the process in which the body will use these AA to create new muscle tissue.
The new recommendations are also far greater than what we are currently consuming. When you think about it, it would make more sense for you to feed yourself with more of that which is going to help you grow, or feel satisfied for an extended period of time.
Protein is made up of a combination of amino acids (AA). These AA combine in different ways to produce different types of proteins which also have different effects within the human system. Some of them are used for transport (haemoglobin for transporting oxygen), immune responses and sending messages between cells. There are 20 different AA, at this juncture it is irrelevant to name them all. However it is important to know that some of these are essential and some of them are not. By essential it means that we need to take these in through our diet. 9 of the 20 amino acids are essential, the other 11 are non-essential as these can be synthesised through other chemical compounds.
If you consider that every cell in your body, from your skin, to your muscles to your toe nails consists of protein, I shouldn't need to say much more than that. Amino acids are the building blocks of everything. Protein has received a bad reputation over the last couple of years with people attributing it to a rise in kidney problems, or consuming excess protein will lead to the accumulation of excess body fat, both of which are simply untrue (1, 2). The RDA is way below what people should be consuming, even if you never engaged in competitive sport. The benefits of consuming a higher protein include:
- Higher protein meals provide higher satiety (greater meal satisfaction, feeling of fullness).
- Protein is the building block of lean muscle tissue, so if gaining muscle is your goal, then your going to need to consume higher levels of protein.
- During a dieting phase, higher protein diets can essentially save muscle mass, allowing you to lose body fat and simultaneously retain the muscle you have already built.
- When consuming food, your body requires energy to digest, absorb and assimilate the nutrients from it, this is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF). Protein requires more calories to digest/absorb/assimilate than the other macronutrients making it another useful tool for people in a dieting phase.
Another benefit of a higher protein diet is that it can be useful for people who tend to binge eat. A diet higher in protein tends to lead to people eating lower portions of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates tends to be hyper-palatable, leading to people over-eating or binging. Tell me, when was the last time you saw someone over-eat on chicken breast or steak.
Protein has received a bad reputation but has been shown consistently safe to consume in large amounts (>2g/kg of bodyweight). So we need to make sure we are getting enough protein in our diet to cover ourselves so our body has a steady supply of AA to continue to keep us running smoothly. We also need enough protein in our diet to stimulate the process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This is the process in which the body will use these AA to create new muscle tissue.
The new recommendations are also far greater than what we are currently consuming. When you think about it, it would make more sense for you to feed yourself with more of that which is going to help you grow, or feel satisfied for an extended period of time.
Up next is dietary fat. Fat's or fatty acids (FA) can be divided into different sections depending on their chemical structure. You have saturated FA, unsaturated FA, trans saturated or hydrogenated FA and omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids. When it comes to trying to discern which ones are good or bad, the only ones we should be trying to avoid are the trans FA as their structure has been altered artificially and do not interact well with the body for want of a better expression. In short:
Unsaturated (mono > poly) > saturated > trans saturated fat.
Your body needs a certain level of dietary fat as you need essential fatty acids (EFA) from these foods. They are called essential, as your body cannot synthesise them itself and needs to take them in from the diet. These essential fatty acids come in the form of Omega-3 (α-Linolelic acid) and Omega-6 (Linoleic acid).
So while the notion that fat makes us fat isn't true, it is certainly easier to overeat on fat and hence put us in a calorie surplus. There are various sources of dietary fat and it's good to keep your intake as varied as possible.
Dietary fat is crucial for a number of reasons:
Sources of good dietary fat include:
Fish, avocado, cheese, eggs, nuts, flaxseed, seed butters (sunflower seed butter), olive oil, coconut oil, dark chocolate.
As they are very calorie dense, they are best eaten sparingly in a varied diet. The current RDA is set at approximately 12% of your total energy intake. For the majority of people a good range to work off is 0.5g/kg up to 1g/kg of bodyweight. So for example an 80kg male would have an intake of between 40 to 80g. For a 60kg female their range would be 30g to 60g. There are no right or wrong answers for "how much fat do I need". As an absolute value, 30g is a good minimum to aim for. For people looking to maintain their weight or lose fat then the lower end of the range would be recommended. The higher end of the range allows those who are looking to gain some weight to add in calories easily as fats are very calorie dense.
Take home message it, fat doesn't make you fat.
You need a certain amount of fat to survive and function optimally.
So while the notion that fat makes us fat isn't true, it is certainly easier to overeat on fat and hence put us in a calorie surplus. There are various sources of dietary fat and it's good to keep your intake as varied as possible.
Dietary fat is crucial for a number of reasons:
- There are several fat soluble vitamins in the body including vitamin D, A, E and K. So while you may get enough of these vitamins from your diet as a whole, by restricting or not getting enough dietary fat your body will not be able to transport these effectively in the blood.
- Given that the brain is made up of a lot of fatty tissue (approximately 60%) it would make sense to dedicate a certain amount of our diet to consuming these vital macronutrients. For optimal brain development and to stave off the development of degenerative cognitive disorders associated with ageing.
- From a psychological point of view, fat makes a lot of your meals taste nicer. Think about the difference in taste between normal Greek yogurt compared to it's 'low fat' equivalent. The Greek yogurt will taste nicer due to it's higher fat content. From a dietary adherence point of view, keeping fat in the diet allows you to consume these 'nicer tasting' foods and stay on track with the rest of your diet. Restricting fat has the potential to lead to cravings for hyper-palatable foods, leading to over-consumption of calories and potentially weight gain.
Sources of good dietary fat include:
Fish, avocado, cheese, eggs, nuts, flaxseed, seed butters (sunflower seed butter), olive oil, coconut oil, dark chocolate.
As they are very calorie dense, they are best eaten sparingly in a varied diet. The current RDA is set at approximately 12% of your total energy intake. For the majority of people a good range to work off is 0.5g/kg up to 1g/kg of bodyweight. So for example an 80kg male would have an intake of between 40 to 80g. For a 60kg female their range would be 30g to 60g. There are no right or wrong answers for "how much fat do I need". As an absolute value, 30g is a good minimum to aim for. For people looking to maintain their weight or lose fat then the lower end of the range would be recommended. The higher end of the range allows those who are looking to gain some weight to add in calories easily as fats are very calorie dense.
Take home message it, fat doesn't make you fat.
You need a certain amount of fat to survive and function optimally.
And finally we come to carbohydrate. While carbohydrates are essentially, non-essential in the diet, except for fibre. Your body has the ability to produce glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis from other sources except from direct ingestion of carbohydrate, for now that's irrelevant.
Carbohydrates can either be classified as monosaccharides, disaccharides or polysaccharides.
Monosaccharide {simple} = glucose (blood sugar) or fructose (fruit sugar)
Disaccharide {complex} = sucrose (glucose + fructose) or lactose (glucose + galactose)
Polysaccharide {storage form} = glycogen
There is an abundant of sources of carbohydrates in our diet from bread, milk, table sugar, fruit, vegetables and many others. When we ingest it, our body has the necessary enzymes to break these carbohydrates down so that they can be transported into the blood stream and used for energy in the cells.
Carbohydrates are the bodies preferred fuel source due to the ease and speed at which is can produce energy using a glucose molecule, when compared with using fatty acids. Hence, why there has been such a focus placed on the importance of carbohydrate intake for athletes. As mentioned above, the human body has the ability to produce glucose by way of gluconeogenesis from either stored glycogen in the muscle cells or in the liver or other compounds (FA or AA). Carbohydrate intake should be varied. Your level of intake will be dictated by your level of activity. The range is roughly 3-8g per kilogram of bodyweight. The more active you are then the more carbohydrate you may need. This is just a recommendation as there are plenty of other ways in which you can structure you carbohydrate intake.
Carbohydrates can either be classified as monosaccharides, disaccharides or polysaccharides.
Monosaccharide {simple} = glucose (blood sugar) or fructose (fruit sugar)
Disaccharide {complex} = sucrose (glucose + fructose) or lactose (glucose + galactose)
Polysaccharide {storage form} = glycogen
There is an abundant of sources of carbohydrates in our diet from bread, milk, table sugar, fruit, vegetables and many others. When we ingest it, our body has the necessary enzymes to break these carbohydrates down so that they can be transported into the blood stream and used for energy in the cells.
Carbohydrates are the bodies preferred fuel source due to the ease and speed at which is can produce energy using a glucose molecule, when compared with using fatty acids. Hence, why there has been such a focus placed on the importance of carbohydrate intake for athletes. As mentioned above, the human body has the ability to produce glucose by way of gluconeogenesis from either stored glycogen in the muscle cells or in the liver or other compounds (FA or AA). Carbohydrate intake should be varied. Your level of intake will be dictated by your level of activity. The range is roughly 3-8g per kilogram of bodyweight. The more active you are then the more carbohydrate you may need. This is just a recommendation as there are plenty of other ways in which you can structure you carbohydrate intake.
Fibre is also under the heading of carbohydrates as it is vitally important. Insoluble fibre helps bulk stool in your large intestine and helps stop constipation. It keeps the digestive systems running efficiently and also helps reduce the risk of some cancers, specifically bowel cancer. A lot of peoples diet's are low in fibre. As a rule of thumb it is ideal to aim for roughly 15g of fibre per 1000 calories consumed. On average that would be 25-40g.
Water. We know it's so important yet still we don't get enough of it. Your brain is made up of 95% water and your blood approximately 80% so it makes sense to stay hydrated does it not? A slight drop in hydration levels can have huge ramifications across a variety of processes including cognitive function and sporting performance. Other processes in which water helps are:
You should aim for 30-40ml/kg of bodyweight at a minimum. So for an 80kg male, that's 2400-3200ml of water everyday. This will rise based on activity levels or self-reported hydration levels. Staying euhydrated at all times is much better strategy than waiting until you are dehydrated before you decide to take action. Look after yourself first. Don't like water? Add no added sugar mi wadi to your drinks and drink that. Simples.
- Ingestion
- Chewing
- Swallowing
- Digesting
- Lubricates the joints
- Regulates body temperature through sweating
You should aim for 30-40ml/kg of bodyweight at a minimum. So for an 80kg male, that's 2400-3200ml of water everyday. This will rise based on activity levels or self-reported hydration levels. Staying euhydrated at all times is much better strategy than waiting until you are dehydrated before you decide to take action. Look after yourself first. Don't like water? Add no added sugar mi wadi to your drinks and drink that. Simples.
If you would like more nutrition info (our introduction to nutrition guidelines) then here's what you need to do.
- Email [email protected] with any questions you might have.
- Sign up for your free coaching consultation here!
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