WHAT'S THE MAGIC NUMBER - Carbs/Protein/Fat

Lina4Lina

there is no magic number but my sleep err macro numbers are 60c/20p/20f.

And the 'essential carb' argument makes no sense to me. Glucose is the preferred energy source of both the brain and muscles. It is why you store glycogen. Also, there are certain vitamins that only come from carb sources, one of those sources being grains. Yes we can supplement now and eat how we please including grain-free but that isn't certainly how we developed.

corpus_validum

[You have essential proteins and amino acids and you have essential fats.

Can someone please tell me the essential carbohydrate that we need? Because I do not know of any...

I think you're missing the point of nutrients while trying to bring up the subject of essentials. If you look at the linked chart, you'll see that in general, vegetables (essentially carbs) provide a greater amount of nutrients per calorie than say meat (animal protein):
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/healthy-food-nutrient-density-of-green-vegetables.html

When I initially started here and was concerned mostly about my body composition (wanting musculature with a low body fat %) rather than weight loss, I focused on getting my protein needs met first on a daily basis. I used to strive for 1 to 1.5g of protein per lb of body weight until recent blood test results showed I'm in the normal range for everything except for my hight protein levels, which I thought was OK

But after researching some more and finding studies correlating higher levels of IGF-1with increased risk of certain cancers and reduced lifespan, I'm now striving for a lower level of protein intake (15 to 25%).

As to body composition, I'm still doing my resistance training. Haven't noticed a decrease in LBM despite lower protein levels but I know I won't be competing for Mr Olympia anytime soon either.

So what's the magic number - carbs/protein/fat? Depends on what your goals are and how "healthy" you want to be. If that's ambiguous, then the standard MFP ratio you start off with (55%C,15%P,30%F) is still a pretty good start.

SailorStevens

"... But after researching some more and finding studies correlating higher levels of IGF-1with increased risk of certain cancers and reduced lifespan, I'm now striving for a lower level of protein intake (15 to 25%)."

Great post, great read...

As for the quoted segment above, I can see why seemingly good-for-you protein may in some ways be hazardous in varying degrees.

I posted a topic here about a week ago and may explain (in part) why this may be true.
Visit -> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/725678-the-trojan-horse-effect
This talks about the "Quality" of certain foods, like proteins.
Maybe we can't trust some proteins these days as they may not be "pure" in the sense of added man-made additives or possible environmental contaminates.

I certainly don't know the answer, but it is food for thought... (if you will excuse the pun)

Graelwyn75

I stick to 45 carbs, 25 protein, 30 fat.
That gives me about 104g protein for my 126 Ibs body, though with exercise, I tend to often end up in the 120s or 130s for protein.
I used to be higher carbs but feel more comfortable on this for now.