Protein/carb balance?

If you're pre-diabetic, going the lower carb / higher protein route may be a good idea. I do 40-30-30. I'm hypoglycemic. It does wonderful things for keeping my sugar stable.

I'm a chiropractor and nutritionist so I'll give you my take on that. There's a significant amount of evidence that a higher protein diet is actually healthier. Sports nutritionists and athletes commonly cycle carbs over a course of days or weeks to drop body fat. The problem, it seems, is the type of carbs in our diets. There is mounting evidence that grains are the main problem. When your body digests them, inflammatory compounds are created (translated, they induce swelling). Those compounds in excess are linked to many chronic diseases. The dietary solution is to eat an anti-inflammatory diet - fruits, veggies and lean protein (the core of most diets!). Some take that concept to an extreme and eat totally grain-free but that's difficult in our society. But awareness is key. Here are a couple web sites on the issue:
www.thepaleodiet.com - put together by Cordain, the leading researcher on the topic
www.deflame.com - by Seamans, based on Cordain's research but has a nice synopsis of dietary guidelines for anti-inflam diets
Hope that helps and good luck!

I don't have any health problems, I'm on 50/30/20 but like someone else said, you could probably do 40/30/30. More protein is definitely better than more carbs and your protein intake right now seems very low. MFP's recommendations for protein are pretty low. My base protein is 105g/day and then whatever I get back from exercise.

I personally think you're doing great with lowering the carb intake and upping the veggies and fruits (they are the best carbs in the world :happy: ). If you change your ratio settings as in the comment above, you should be all good! :flowerforyou: Also, overdoing on protein means having lots and lots of it. If you have just some protein with each meal, you should not worry at all about overdoing it! Now, the more you exercise, the more protein you need to replenish your body, but at the most you need (in grams) is only half of your body weight ( in lbs). 180lbs=90grams protein a day.

I'm a chiropractor and nutritionist so I'll give you my take on that. There's a significant amount of evidence that a higher protein diet is actually healthier. Sports nutritionists and athletes commonly cycle carbs over a course of days or weeks to drop body fat. The problem, it seems, is the type of carbs in our diets. There is mounting evidence that grains are the main problem. When your body digests them, inflammatory compounds are created (translated, they induce swelling). Those compounds in excess are linked to many chronic diseases. The dietary solution is to eat an anti-inflammatory diet - fruits, veggies and lean protein (the core of most diets!). Some take that concept to an extreme and eat totally grain-free but that's difficult in our society. But awareness is key. Here are a couple web sites on the issue:
www.thepaleodiet.com - put together by Cordain, the leading researcher on the topic
www.deflame.com - by Seamans, based on Cordain's research but has a nice synopsis of dietary guidelines for anti-inflam diets
Hope that helps and good luck!

Great response. I agree with your opinion more than 100% and I was going to say the same things! Did you study traditional nutrition? Usually they teach accordingly to the US food pyramid, which tells to base the meals around carbs, and that is a big no no for anyone. So, I started learning about nutrition in my own ways and want to help people too with good advice! I think I need to study the holistic medicine and that will take me on a right path! A bit off topic here, but I gotta share my passions related to healthy living and eating, right? :happy:

I was accepted into the medical program to become a Naturopathic Doctor in Seattle, Washington. I didn't get to go because I couldn't afford to make the move from Illinois to Washington.

I am currently searching for local programs in the St Louis area to pick back up where I left off.

Wow, good to know I am not alone!!!

I sooo believe in Paleo and other low carb lifestyles such as Protein Power, Atkins, etc. They are focused on Real, Whole Foods.

Regarding the argument that we need grains for fiber, that's just an excuse a carb addict used to justify the craving! If you're going to talk fiber, you get significantly more fiber from veggies. Without the fiber argument, there is no nutritional need for grains in our diet. High grain diets cause excess fat in almost any mammal (including humans): have you heard of "corn fed beef" which has more fatty marbling? (btw, corn is a grain, not a veggie). Have you checked the main ingredients in dog and cat foods lately? Yep, grains. And pet owners wonder why their pets are gaining weight and having health problems (wild dogs and cats don't eat grains). Even "diet pet foods" are grain based. I pay extra so my cats have grain-free food - they have a full dish 24/7 to eat as much as they want and they're both slim healthy cats. I know, not proof but I'm planting seeds here. The estimates I've seen on the American diet are around 70-80% grains! yikes! Personally I do eat some grains but nothing like I used to (bread is still my weakness so I don't bring it home unless I have a cheat day planned)

Regarding the argument that we need grains for fiber, that's just an excuse a carb addict used to justify the craving! If you're going to talk fiber, you get significantly more fiber from veggies. Without the fiber argument, there is no nutritional need for grains in our diet. High grain diets cause excess fat in almost any mammal (including humans): have you heard of "corn fed beef" which has more fatty marbling? (btw, corn is a grain, not a veggie). Have you checked the main ingredients in dog and cat foods lately? Yep, grains. And pet owners wonder why their pets are gaining weight and having health problems (wild dogs and cats don't eat grains). Even "diet pet foods" are grain based. I pay extra so my cats have grain-free food - they have a full dish 24/7 to eat as much as they want and they're both slim healthy cats. I know, not proof but I'm planting seeds here. The estimates I've seen on the American diet are around 70-80% grains! yikes! Personally I do eat some grains but nothing like I used to (bread is still my weakness so I don't bring it home unless I have a cheat day planned)

Well my apologies that this is WAY off topic, but since you brought it up... wild dogs and cats don't eat dehydrated pellets of kibble, either.
Nor do they eat the raw featherless chicken and defurred/skinned beef & venison my dogs eat, but that's as close as I can get to an appropriate diet most of the time. I have to supplement their diet with fish oil for O3s because I'm forced to buy mostly grain-fed meat for financial reasons. I haven't had the stomach to venture into hunting or picking up fresh roadkill for them yet. :laugh:
I do have a point here, I promise. My point is your cats are getting essential nutrients out of the very unnatural grain free kibble you feed them (by the way, Taste of the Wild, a grain-free kibble, isn't really any more expensive than Purina & the like and is cheaper than nasty Science Diet most vets push because they're paid by Hill's to push it) and humans can get nutrients out of grains as well as dairy. I would never argue grains & dairy are an absolutely essential part of my diet, but they have nutritional value to humans nonetheless.