Which is better protein or carbs?

[dshelton]

A lot of people get confused about what they should be eating when it comes to carbohydrates and protein. With so many different diets out there saying eat this way and you will lose weight it can be difficult to know what works best. The truth is you in order to have a healthy diet you need both carbohydrates and protein. Each has a vital role in health and nutrition.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are what gives your body energy it needs to perform daily activities. Think of them as the fuel source. Just like a car out of gasoline if you run low on carbs you will feel sluggish and tired.
You want to make sure you’re eating the right kind of carbohydrates called complex carbs. These include whole grain breads, pastas, vegetables, and fruits. These are complex carbs because they require more energy for your body to break them down, but they will also release more energy when they are broken down versus simple carbohydrates like white bread, pastas, and white sugar. These are processed carbs and stand a greater chance of being stored as fat. So to get the biggest bang for your buck go with complex carbs vs. processed carbs.
Proteins
Since carbohydrates are the energy source for the body. Think of protein as the building blocks to fortify the body. Protein builds muscle and helps curb your hunger.
Just like with carbohydrates you want to make sure you’re getting the right kind of protein. Lean protein sources consist in fish, chicken, beans, nuts, and low fat or fat free dairy products. The types of protein you want to stay away from in pork, beef, and fried meat. Pork is higher in sodium than any other meet, and beef has a higher fat content. Fried meat of any kind speaks for itself. To keep your muscles lean and strong go with the leanest protein you can find.
As you can see cutting out one of these nutrients will leave your body lacking in a vital area for optimal health. Having the right balance between carbs and protein will help keep you in optimal health. The general recommended daily intake is to have 50% of your calories consist of carbohydrates and no more than 35% of your calories come from protein. If you exercise frequently you may want to have 60% of your daily calories come from carbs and 10 to 15 % come from protein.

[hollee]

I think protein has it over carbs but one must still have some good carbs.

[Miranda]

I agree. My answer is BOTH.

[Obesity Discussion]

The general recommended daily intake is to have 50% of your calories consist of carbohydrates and no more than 35% of your calories come from protein. If you exercise frequently you may want to have 60% of your daily calories come from carbs and 10 to 15 % come from protein.

I'm not sure I agree with this 100%. For someone who lifts a lot of weights, only 10-15% of their calories coming from protein is not ideal. On a 2000 calorie diet that would only be 50-75 grams of protein. Also, if they're looking to lose weight, they need a lot of protein to help protect their muscles from getting used by the body for fuel. Not sure 10-15% of calories coming from protein would be ideal in that scenario either.

Thoughts?

[Quietus]

Protein vs carbs? there's no contest there, carbs are not essential by any means, if you stop eating them the body just uses the next thing in line for fuel. This is proven by keto or atkins-style diets that only eat protein and fat, dietary fat gets used as fuel instead of carbs along with the ketosis of stored fat. People function just fine without carbs, but can't funtion without protein.

The importance of complex carbs, or more specifically "whole grains" has been overblown, they aren't actually any better for body composition than simple carbs. That is to say.. 300 calories of oatmeal, 300 calories of "whole wheat bread" and 300 calories of ice cream are all turned into the same end result in your body, just at different rates. The complex carbs with fiber take longer to digest and might keep you fuller for longer, so it might indirectly cause you to eat healthier and not gain weight. That said, no doubt eating fiber from oatmeal and the antioxidants from vegetables is a good thing, but theres no magic that makes them better for weight loss if you ate the same amount of calories of them as you did in ice cream.

[dshelton]

Interesting points on these two scenarios as far as exercising. I would agree with the weight lifting scenario for sure. The main point is the in order to have the energy to sustain the workouts a greater percentage of carbs needed to be taken in. The stats come from Livestrong.com here is the link.

The Impact Of Protein And Carbohydrates In Exercise | LIVESTRONG.COM

An individual should tweak it just a little bit in order to meet their needs.

[dshelton]

Quietus, Carbs are an essential part of a healthy balanced diet. It is a macro nutrient meaning your body needs it to perform its vital functions. Our brains only uses glucose as a fuel source. So without carbs being broken down into glucose our brains will not have the fuel needed to operate thus, cognitive abilities and even some motor functions will start to deteriorate. As far as whole grains being over blown not so much. Complex carbs like vegetables and whole grains require more energy to break down into glucose, and they also produce vitamins and minerals our bodies need as well. Ice Cream is broken down a lot easier and doesn't produce the vitamins and minerals our bodies need either.

[Irving]

While our bodies can get away with zero carbs, I personally wouldn't recommend it. There's a nice happy medium somewhere in the middle.

That article you cited dshelton, I'm shocked at the content as it's very biased towards say running style activities.

That's a very poorly written article and I would by no means follow it, or the person who wrote it.

[bcs3000]

Quietus,
I agree with you. The right carbs are okay, but carbs are not essential; the body has natural processes to generate a healthy and stable glucose balance in he blood from non-carb sources. I eat lots of colorful (non starchy) vegetables, for the nutrients, and because I like them. They come with carbs, but the carbs are not what I'm aiming for. I also believe that grains, including "healthy" whole grains cause more harm than good.

[Obesity Discussion]

Protein vs carbs? there's no contest there, carbs are not essential by any means, if you stop eating them the body just uses the next thing in line for fuel. This is proven by keto or atkins-style diets that only eat protein and fat, dietary fat gets used as fuel instead of carbs along with the ketosis of stored fat. People function just fine without carbs, but can't funtion without protein.

The importance of complex carbs, or more specifically "whole grains" has been overblown, they aren't actually any better for body composition than simple carbs. That is to say.. 300 calories of oatmeal, 300 calories of "whole wheat bread" and 300 calories of ice cream are all turned into the same end result in your body, just at different rates. The complex carbs with fiber take longer to digest and might keep you fuller for longer, so it might indirectly cause you to eat healthier and not gain weight. That said, no doubt eating fiber from oatmeal and the antioxidants from vegetables is a good thing, but theres no magic that makes them better for weight loss if you ate the same amount of calories of them as you did in ice cream.

I think whole grain carbs more important than just what's listed above vs. poor quality carbs....

Poor quality carbs can cause a lot of other issues including larger blood sugar swings, feeling sluggish, and for those trying to lose weight, having those slower burning whole grain carbs will help you feel fuller longer. We all get the idea, but I the way too look at it is....

Carbs in moderation and ideally at the right times.....whole grain carbs over poor quality carbs whenever possible.

If I had a choose between a carb heavy and protein heavy eating regimen, I know where I'm going.

[jay29]

I think low-carb rather than now-carb is the way to go.

[zombie]

In my opinion I think it depends on the person. I'm currently eating low carb to lose my last weight. I have a cup of oatmeal in the morning and that's really all the major carbs I eat. I have lots of energy. I feel better when I eat mainly proteins and veggies. Even over healthier carbs. My husband on the other hand is weak without carbs and feels better when he eats them.

[bcs3000]

In my opinion I think it depends on the person. I'm currently eating low carb to lose my last weight. I have a cup of oatmeal in the morning and that's really all the major carbs I eat. I have lots of energy. I feel better when I eat mainly proteins and veggies. Even over healthier carbs. My husband on the other hand is weak without carbs and feels better when he eats them.

I pretty much agree with you; and for me I found it worked both ways. In my "pre-transformation" days, which ended a little over a year ago, I was eating low fat foods, lean proteins, veggies and whole grain products. I felt fine and had a good energy level, but I was hungry more often than I liked. After a lot of research and some self experimentation I switched to higher fat (no real restrictions as long as it was from real food), moderate protein, non-starchy veggies, NO grains (e.g. bread, pasta, corn, cereals), and no processed sweets, artificial or otherwise. It took about two weeks or so to get adjusted to it, but after that my energy level was fine and hunger times and cravings were diminished. May not work for everybody...

[faithlee87]

What you have to remember that carbs give you that well needed energy. You can’t carry out normal day to day activities if you haven’t got any energy, let alone do any form of exercise. A good mix of the 2 is where it’s at. It’s a great description of what carbs and proteins are, but for a healthy diet I suggest the following proportions. 33% fruit and veg 30% carbohydrates 17% dairy products 15% protein and 5% fat.

[bcs3000]

What you have to remember that carbs give you that well needed energy. You can’t carry out normal day to day activities if you haven’t got any energy, let alone do any form of exercise. A good mix of the 2 is where it’s at. It’s a great description of what carbs and proteins are, but for a healthy diet I suggest the following proportions. 33% fruit and veg 30% carbohydrates 17% dairy products 15% protein and 5% fat.

Thanks for the suggestions, Faithlee87. I long tried a food plan close to the proportions that you suggest, and it just didn't work for me from a perspective of weight loss, hunger levels and some of my health markers. Energy level was okay back then, but not up to what it is now.

I don't aim for low carbs, but what I do get come mostly from vegetables (usually raw or prepared from fresh, no grains or products made from grain, no legumes or anything particularly starchy). I do take in more fats than you recommend. I don't limit myself to lean cuts of meat, which means marbled steak and chicken with the skin on are okay. I like natural cheeses and full fat plain yogurt (which is getting harder to find!), and whole eggs. My lipid panel drawn last month has vastly improved over the thirteen months that I've been off the "low fat foods/healthy whole grains" path.

[Obesity Discussion]

What you have to remember that carbs give you that well needed energy. You can’t carry out normal day to day activities if you haven’t got any energy, let alone do any form of exercise. A good mix of the 2 is where it’s at. It’s a great description of what carbs and proteins are, but for a healthy diet I suggest the following proportions. 33% fruit and veg 30% carbohydrates 17% dairy products 15% protein and 5% fat.

in addition to the 17% carbs you list, fruit is mostly carbs, veggies have some carbs in it, and so do dairy products (sugar in milk). Also, diary has some protein and fat in it too....It seems kind of hard to keep track that way you broke it down.

Overall, that's a very carb heavy eating regimen.

I'd say that what you suggested is at least, if not more than half of your calories coming from carbs which is a bit heavy carb-wise for my tastes. I wouldn't recommend more than 30-35% of one's calories coming from carbs......but ideally mostly complex carbs, which is why fruit in moderation is important. 1/3 of your calories as fruit is a lot of simple sugars.

While dairy has some protein in it, that combined with the 15% of other protein you suggested isn't ideally enough protein to consume during weight loss....the reason being is that as you try to lose weight, your body will not only burn fat, but it will burn your muscle tissue too. Eating a lot of protein will help protect your muscles from getting eaten away by your body as it searches for energy sources to consume.