Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Isn't the focus on protein in the diet more of a weightlifting thing? The amount of protein often recommended for building up muscles is quite a lot, at least double the amount mentioned in the article as the recommendation. If you're trying to hit that amount I can imagine it getting very hard with a regular diet.


It's about feeling satisfied and full too. Satiety. With the demonization of carbs and fat, protein is all that's left for calories. And its the most satiating/satiefying. Which every article like this seems to gloss over.

Protein does two things. The minimum amount required is necessary to replenish amino acids and proteins. The excess is spent on calories. At the end of the day, calories are sort of calories. The body needs energy and it needs one of the three and protein is really the third best of the three, but has the least bad reputation. This is where marketing has overtaken science and fact based decision making.

Complex carbs are the best energy but they need to be cut with bran and fiber to regulate their absorption speed. That kind of gets left out of the fiber discussion, that fiber is part of a pairing with carbs.

The other option for raw calories once nutritional goals are met is raw fat, which historically was called salad dressing. Instead of downing absurd amounts of protein for calories, or covering every carb in fiber; one can douse everything with https://www.walmart.com/ip/La-Tourangelle-Organic-Sunflower-... or https://www.amazon.com/Oleico-Certified-Verified-Expeller-Sa... or https://www.costco.com/chosen-foods%2C-100%25-pure-avocado-o...

The seed oil hysteria (which is really only focused on omega6s/polys anyway,) along with the perception of "fat" making you fat, has steered people away from monounsaturated fats being a primary calorie source despite being cost effective, healthy, and quick to consume.

Another place where marketing/blognutrition has overtaken reality is the idea of every protein needing to be complete, vs just eating complete protein over the course of a week or day. Collagen is missing tryptophan, which is abundant in whole milk, yet collagen is wrongly extolled as "not a source of protein and shouldn't be counted."

The other part of satiety is learning mindfulness, and being ok with hunger, and being mindful of not letting hunger control behavior mindlessly..




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: