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Protein needs carbs to work

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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I got into a conversation this morning with a non-diabetic who's using protein shakes (as part of an exercise regime) but says that he's been told he has to take on carbs with the protein or the protein isn't effective.

Anyone else heard this - it's not a question for me, but for him really, as I am low carbing.
 
I don't really know the answer Swimmer, but I suspect there's a difference between someone on a VLC doet and who is in Ketosis and using gluconeogenesis to provide energy and a non-diabetic on a normal diet taking protein shakes in terms of wether the protein "works" or not. Bet Borofergie can give you an answer. Why not PM him if you don't get a reply here?
 
This answer is for someone on a mixed diet.
During an intensive exercise regime glycogen stores are depleted so need a supply of glucose to top them up. Protein is also required for several purposes including muscle rebuilding, regulating fluids, fighting potential infection and inflammation.

Glucose is normally the bodies first priority. If no direct supply of glucose from carbs is provided then the body can use protein to supply it. So if it's eaten alone it's being used as an 'expensive' fuel and directed from it's other uses.The body also doesn't store protein so it needs providing on a daily basis but it really doesn't need much.
 
swimmer2 said:
I got into a conversation this morning with a non-diabetic who's using protein shakes (as part of an exercise regime) but says that he's been told he has to take on carbs with the protein or the protein isn't effective.

Anyone else heard this - it's not a question for me, but for him really, as I am low carbing.
Click to expand...

If he's involved in anaerobic exercise (such as weight lifting), then he's probably depeleting his muscle glycogen stores so, in order to exercise again he needs to replenish them with carbohydrates. The protein is to provide amino acids to rebuild his damaged muscles (and make them bigger). They don't have to be taken together, but for anerobic exercise it makes sense to.

One of the things about low-carbing is that while it's great for aerobic (realatively low-intensity training) such as running or cycling, it's not great for anaerobic exercises (such as sprinting or weight-lifting) because your muscle glycogen levels don't recover after exercise (allowing you to do more than a few sessions in a week).

Lots of body-builders are big fans of ketosis (because it helps to reduce body fat), but they engage in either targeted ketosis (where they eat some carbs before an exercise session) or cyclical ketosis (where they spend part of the week in ketosis and then go through a "carbing-up" stage).

In my experience, no-one knows more about nutrition than the body-building community.

I bet you wished you'd never asked...
 
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