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FACT SHEET #6

Return to healthy living

Carbohydrate & Protein

Need to know!

Carbohydrate and protein are two of the three 'macro-nutrients' which your body needs to function properly, the other one is fat. Both carbohydrate and protein are critical for good health and for exercise performance and you cannot substitute one for the other. Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel for our muscles and is the fastest source of energy. Protein is also crucial for health and well-being, however, it only ever provides a 2-10% contribution as a fuel source for exercise in normal conditions. But, without protein we would not be able to lay-down new tissue cells such as muscle, which is what resistance training is all about! So, in reality we need to ensure that we include a sensible amount of both of these essential nutrients in our daily eating habits.

Nice to know!

At the moment, even top sports people are unclear about what's winning the carbohydrate Vs protein battle, so where does that leave you? Well, the best advice that can be given to anyone undertaking exercise on a regular basis is that which has been vigorously and scientifically researched over many years.

It has been proven that insufficient supplies of carbohydrate lead to premature fatigue and poor performance along with an inability to maintain concentration at work. So, if you dramatically restrict your intake of carbohydrate and then exercise, you can expect to feel tired quickly, struggle to complete what you're doing today and struggle even more tomorrow! The choice is yours.

One other finding from nutritional research regarding the amount of protein you're eating, is that even though exercise increases protein needs, there is no scientific evidence to prove that we need more than 1.8 grams per kilograms of body weight per day. In fact, any protein consumed in excess of your requirements is either excreted in our urine or stored as fat. Why? well we cannot store protein as protein, however, the building blocks of protein, known as amino acids, are used to build tissue.

In conclusion, the message for active people is to plan your daily eating to provide you with adequate carbohydrate and protein.

Fun facts

  1. Eating carbohydrates results in the release of serotonin which is a 'feel-good' hormone and results in an improved mood state.
  2. High protein diets increase the workload placed on the kidneys, this is on top of their normal work which involves the filtration of 200 litres of fluid per day!
  3. On several occasions books promoting low carbohydrate, high protein diets have been the top selling books in the world - selling more copies than the Bible!
  4. Cyclists in the Tour de France will consume 850g carbohydrate per day which is the equivalent of 50 slices of bread!
  5. Pregnant exercisers will need 10g extra protein per day whereas those who are breast-feeding will require an extra 20g.