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High Protein low carb diets
Welcome to high protein low carb diets beginners primer.
What is a high protein low carb diet? Before we can answer this question, we need to find out what the macronutrients
do.
All food, from breadsticks to salmon steaks are comprised of macro - nutrients, micro - nutrients and water.
The macronutrients are the only food components that provide energy, to maintain life. It is important to note that the
micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements are not a source of energy.
Vitamins do not necessarily affect
exercise but perform highly specific metabolic functions, especially in energy metabolism. Vitamins and minerals are
vital to all our biological functions including the synthesis of new muscle tissue. Vitamins help release the energy
provided by the macro nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
Without the macronutrients, we would suffer from manlnutrition, starvation, and death. Without the micronutrients, we would
suffer deficiency diseases, health decline and death. So, you can see how important these two groups are necessary for
life.
For the simplification of high protein low carb diets, we will concern ourselves with the macro nutrients, protein,
carbohydrates and fat. Let's find out what the macrnutrients are and what they do.
Protein power plan for your high protein low carb diet.
Protein is very important to a high protein low carb diet. Protein builds muscle. Without an adequate supply of protein,
your body will not support any kind of muscle growth. If you supply your body with the optimum amount of protein, you
ensure optimal growth, it’s as simple as that.
Inside your body, there is a self repair process that occurs day in and day out. The main nutrient that is responsible for
building and repairing body tissues is protein. Protein is that wonderful nutrient that allows muscle to repair and grow.
Actually, protein is everywhere in our bodies, bones, muscle, connective tissue, blood cells, skin, hair, and fingernails.
Just how does protein build muscle? The process is quite magnificent, you see, during digestion, protein is broken down
into amino acids by other proteins (enzymes). You see, the proteins in food are too large to be absorbed through your
intestines, so they're broken down during digestion into smaller components called amino acids. Amino acids are then
able to penetrate the intestinal wall and are absorbed into the blood stream.
After digestion, the amino acids enter the cells and upon receiving instructions from DNA, are reconstructed to form new
protein needed to build and repair tissue. After they're reassembled, they're used to build and maintain the body's
structure. An absolutely perfect building system! All you need is the right food and presto, you have the building
material for your foundation. So, you see, protein is absolutely necessary for the maintenance and growth of
body tissues. Once protein is absorbed, it will:
Help synthesize hormones, neurotransmitters, enzymes and other bio chemicals;
Be consumed as energy during periods of intense stress, injury and caloric deficit;
Assist the functioning of the immune system; And
Help repair existing levels of tissue.
Amino acids are often called the building blocks of life. Amino acids are like links in a chain, and when they join
together they form protein strands. Protein strands are derived from roughly 22 amino acids and depending on how they
are strung together will determine the characteristic of that protein. There are 14 amino acids that the body can
produce and are called non essential amino acids. The other 8 are called essential amino acids which the body cannot
produce and must come from your diet. Here is a list of amino acids:
Essential
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Theronine
Tryptophan
Valine
Phenylalanine
Non essential
Alanine
Asparagine
Arginine
Cysteine
Glutamic Acid
Clycine
Histidine
Aspartic Acid
Beta-Hydroxy Glutamic Acid
Hydroxyproline
Norleucine
Proline
Serine
Tyrosine
Based on the mechanics of exeercise, muscle fibres are actually torn at the microscopic level when the muscle is
forced to lengthen when it wants to contract. These tears can be felt the morning after your work out, your muscles will
be very sore depending on the amount of stress you put on your body. I’m sure most of you have experienced this pain
(especially after a heavy leg day!). In order to protect you from future assaults, your body will make your muscles
larger and stronger to better accommodate the stress. In order to repair the tears in the muscle, protein is needed.
Protein is broken down into amino acids and enter the cell where they are reconstructed to form new proteins which repairs
and builds the muscle. You can now see why protein is referred to as the building blocks of life. While other foods
are important, it's protein that actually builds your muscles. Only protein gives your muscles the nitrogen necessary
for growth, recovery, and repair. Nothing gives you more nitrogen than protein.
In order to build your body, you must be in positive nitrogen balance. That is, protein contains a fairly large
concentration of nitrogen which in healthy adults, is usually at an equilibrium or nitrogen equilibrium where their
protein intake meets their protein requirement. A positive nitrogen balance means that the body is retaining protein
and using to make new tissue. This is good. A negative nitrogen balance means that the body has secreted more
nitrogen than was consumed and this is bad. The body has lost protein and over time, leads to losses in muscle size
and strength.
Here is a list of excellent protein choices that you will want to include in your high protein low carb diet.
Chicken breast Venison
Round steak Scallops
Sirloin steak Lean ham
Pork tenderloin Low fat milk
Lean turkey Low fat cottage cheese
Turkey breasts Low fat cheddar cheese
Bass Low fat yogurt
Cod Lean roast beef
Flounder Tuna
Haddock
Halibut
Mackerel
Perch
Red snapper
Salmon
Sole
Trout
Carbohydrates and your high protein low carb diet
Carbohydrates is the bodies leading source of energy. When you have a hard workout, your body draws on carbohydrates,
which is stored as glycogen in the muscles. Glycogen is the product of glucose which comes from the breakdown of
carbohydrates after the digestion of food. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscle.
During a long intense workout, you can easily deplete your glycogen reserves. When your muscles cannot get enough
glycogen, fatigue sets in and your body begins to lose endurance and performance drastically reduces. I’m sure all of you
have experienced this drastic drop in strength and endurance at one time or another during a long intense training session.
Carbohydrate types
Carbohydrates come in three categories:
• Monosaccharides- simple sugars such various fruits and honey
• Disaccharides- sucrose such as table sugar
• Polysaccharides- complex carbohydrates such as pasta, whole grains, and legumes
The difference between each of the above carbohydrate is the rate at which they are converted into blood sugar by the
body and metabolized as energy. Carbohydrates that are converted quickly such as simple sugars and sucrose provide short
term energy. Complex carbohydrates are converted at a much slower rate and provide long term energy. Either way, the
carbohydrate ends up as simple sugar. That is, carbohydrates are simply different forms of sugar. Simple carbohydrates
contain one sugar molecule or two sugar molecules linked together. Complex carbohydrates contain many sugar molecules
linked together and they are called polysaccharides.
Our stomach breaks apart the carbohydrates and converts them into simple carbohydrates or sugar. Here's where the
problem lies with carbohydrates. All carbohydrates are eventually converted into simple sugar no matter if they are
simple or complex. This invokes a response from the hormone insulin. Hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's
finish up with the last macronutrient, fat and then we'll get into the implications of the bodies hormones with regards
to the foods we eat.
Fat and the high protein low carb diet
Fat is a very misundertood nutrient with all the coverage by the media and how evil it is. Let me ask you a question,
when you hear the word fat, what immediately comes to mind? Bad? Evil? No good? Fat is a favorite topic in the media.
New information about fat comes in every other week. Unfortunately, the information is often contradictory and the
volume of facts can be overwhelming. There have been volumes written about fat but the goal of this section is to
shed some light on the topic of fat. Let's begin with a short introduction to fat and go onto the different types of
fat you will most likely encounter.
There are numerous vital roles that fats play in optimal health and growth. Fat provide the body with:
-Insulation;
-Fuel;
-Padding for vital organs;
-essential fatty acids; and
-the building blocks for cell membranes
Fat is a concentrated source of energy. After a hard intense workout, you glycogen supply can be reduced to nothing. Fat
stores on the other hand are practically an unlimited source of energy. In fact it has been estimated that the average
adult male carries enough fat to ride a bike from Chicago to Los Angelas, which is a distance of 2,000 miles. If fat
stores are practically unlimited, why worry about carbohydrate intake and glycogen replenishment? And why not just
increase fat intake to supply your energy source? True, there is a lot of fat on your body to supply plenty of fuel
for hard training and for a long time. But fat can only be broken down and used for fuel as long as oxygen is present.
If oxygen is not present, fat cannot be used for fuel. Glycogen on the other hand does not need oxygen to be present
in order for it to be used as fuel. When starting exercise, oxygen is not present. It takes anywhere from 20 to 40
minutes of exercise before fat can be used as energy as oxygen becomes more abundant. Glucose and glycogen are called
up first.
Fatty acids from food are broken down into 3 groups: Saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.
Saturated fats
Saturated fats harden at room temperature and usually come from animal sources such as beef and butter fat. Milk, cream, ice cream,
and other products made from milk or cream all contain butter fat. If you diet is high in saturated fat, you may want
to reduce your daily consumption. The body needs very little saturated fat and too much saturated fat can raise
cholesteral levels, increasing your risk for heart disease and impair certain aspects to your immune system.
Therefore. you may want to keep your intake of fatty animal products like egg yolks; whole milk; butter; fatty cuts
of meat and poultry; and palm, coconut, and hydrgenated oils.
Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are usually in liquid form at room temperature and come from vegetable, nut,
and seed sources. Polyunsaturated fats are essential fatty acids, meaning you must get them from your diet because
your body cannot make them. Polyunsaturated fats are found in corn oil, flaxseed oil, pumpkin oil, safflower oil,
soybean oil, and sunflower oil. Polyunsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature, and remain in liquid
form even when refrigerated or frozen. There are two kinds of Polyunsaturated fats, linoleic acid and linolenic acid.
The first kind of polyunsaturated fats are called Linoleic Acid. Also called omega 6 fatty acids, linoleic acid is
an essential nutrient. This kind of fatty acid is found in abundance in the foods you frequently encounter. Linoleic
acids are not bad for you but have to be kept in balance and in taken in at moderate levels. The problem with
linoleic acids is they are very easy to get from your diet, relative to omega 3 fatty acids. Remember, moderation
and balance is the key.
The second kind of polyunsaturated fats are called Linolenic Acid. Also called omega 3 fatty acids, linolenic acids
are found mainly in fatty, cold water fish and their oils and flaxseed oil. Omnega 3 fatty acids have been given
alot of attention over the last couple of years with the introduction of certain programs that promote the use
of omega 3 fatty acids. I'm not going to argue with the benefits that omega 3 fatty acids can offer.
Current research
has shown that omega 3 fatty acids actually lower blood levels of triglycerids and a heart damaging form of
cholesteral called very low density lipoproteins. In addition, omega 3 fatty acids lower blood pressure in
people with high blood pressure and may reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death- heart attacks. New research also
shows that omega 3 fats can actually boost the immune system. I recommend that you try and eat fish two or three
times per week including, mackeral, salmon, sardines and herring.
Monounsaturated fats are found in almond oil, avocado oil, canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil, and certain cold water fish
species such salmon, halibut, mackerel, and rainbow trout. Monounsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature,
but solidify when refrigerated.
Monounsaturated fats help lower the bad cholesteral (LDL) and mantain the higher
levels of good cholesterol (HDL).
Essential fats and your high protein low carb diet
Dietary fat is essential for good health. Fats act as carriers for vitamins E, D, A and K and help in absorption. Fats
also supply the body with essential fatty acids (EFA’s). Essential meaning your body can’t produce these fats and they
have to come from food. EFA’s are required for normal growth, a healthy circulatory system, the maintenance of cell
membranes, a healthy nervous system and strong connective tissues and cell walls. They also lubricate and protect your
joints and help keep your skin smooth. Vegetable fats such as corn, soybean, safflower, and walnut oils are all high
in essential fats.
Fat calories tend to bodyend to be converted to body fat more easily than either protein or Carbohydrates. Why? There are
roughly 9 calories per gram of fat as opposed to 4 calories per gram of protein or carbohydrates. That’s roughly 2 1/4
more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates! Make no mistake about it, the more fat you eat, the more fat you
get. Simple as that. Od, now that we know a little about fat, let's find out more about the high protein low carb diet.
What's a high protein low carb diet?
All food is made up of macronutrients and decreasing any one macronutrient requires increasing another. For example,
let's say you are eating 30% protein, 20% fat and 50% carbohydrates.
By decreasing your fat intake by 10% you are
reducing overall fat intake to 10% leaving a shortage of 10% in the overall ratio. Than means either protein or
carboydrates will have to make up the extra 10% shortage. It's important to note that it doesn't matter what you are
currently eating, it all boils down to the percentage of protein, carbohyrates and fat that you consume. By decreasing
the amount of carbs you eat, you will increase the amount of protein and fat.
A high protein low carb diet will contain a larger percentage of protein and fat as compared to carbohydrates. Why lower
carbohydrates? Carbohydrate consumption has a direct effect on hormonal balance, more so than protein or fat. This in
effect has a direct effect on overall health.
Here's where insulin comes into play. Insulin is a hormone produced and released into the blood by the pancreas. It affects
virtually every cell in the body. Insulin regulates blood sugar, controls the storage of fat, directs the flow of amino
acids, fatty acids, it functions as a growth hormone, and much more. Insulin is essential for life and without it, we
would die very quickly.
When you eat carbohydrates, insulin is released into the blood stream to perform two main functions:
1) Transport glucose into the cells to be used for energy. Glucose is a simple sugar formed by the breakdown of all
carbohydrates.
2) Help convert and store the sugar as glycogen in the liver and as fat in the fat cells.
As you can see, insulin is a very important hormone that affects your overall health.
There is another homrone called glucagon that has the opposite effect of insulin. Glucagon acts as a messenger carrying
signals to metabolize, or use, fat. When insulin levels are low for sustained periods of time, glucagon should be
released to begin burning fat in the form of stored triglycerides.
There is a delicat balance between insulin and
glucagon and they work in opposite ways to maintain balance in the body's storage and usage of fat. If your body
starts to store fat, this means that glucagon is not being released into the blood stream. Carbohydrate consumption
is the primary dietary factor that influences your hormonal balance.
Ok, we know that insulin is life sustaining in the proper amounts. What about if there is too much? Too much insulin
causes enourmous health problems. Too much insulin can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, elevated
cholesteral, and diabetes. How can you control it? Through your diet. You see, diet is what makes insulin levels go
crazy so it makes sense that controlling your diet can effectively control insulin. In fact, the diet is the only
way to control insulin.
As we said earlier, carbohydrates is the main culprit that affects insulin levels. Therefore it stands to reason that
by reducing your consumption of carbohydrates and balancing your macronutrients, you can effectively reduce the
amount of insulin released in your blood.
I'm not going to go into more detail since a full discussion on hormonal
activities is way beyond the scope of this web page. The main point to remember is that fat and protein can be used
as an active energy source in place of carboydrates. Both protein and fats do not affect insulin levels anywhere near
that of which carbohydrates do. Therefore it makes sense that you can effectively use fat as an energy source while
using protein as building materials.
You can keep insulin levels in check since you are reducing the amount of
carbohydrates you consume by balancing your macronutrient intake. There you have it, the low down version of the
high protein low carbohydrate diet. For a full discussion of the high protein low carb diet, try protein power by
doctors Michael and Mary Eades. You can get a copy at Amazon by clicking on the image below.
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